Evening star., 1936-08-16
37-MiIe Drive Brings Sun
day Tourist to Delight
full Area.
Chicago PhiIanthropist Be.
hind Development of
Climbing Garden.
By James ". Miller.

the world? Sugar Loaf is its name
and it is 1890 feet high. Presidents
of the surrounding region call it the
man made" mountain.
Small wonder for that nickname.
Of course, no mere man can really
make" mountain. But in this
particular case, Gordon Strong, Chi
cago philanthropist, who owns it, has
come just about as close to achiev-
ing the feat as is humanity possible.
For at least Is years, and probably
more, he has been spending untold
thousands of dollars from his own
personal funds in landscaping it,
building a fine winding road that
reaches almost to the peak, adding
countless ornamental S hr ub b cry
plants and many stately trees, con-
Structing four beautiful way sta
tions" located at strategic points on
the climb, from which visitors may
get grand panoramic views Of the sur
rounding countryside. and building
splendid stone steps from the point
where the road stops, all along the
fern -fringed trail to the summit.
But does the philanthropist re-
quire any fee for the privilege of
visiting his wonderful public park?
None at all. AS for personal acclaim,
he deSpiSes that sort of thing Prob
ably not one visitor in a thousand
has ever seen Mr.. Strong at close
range, and even If he did, would fail
to recognize him.
What is particularly pertinent
about Sugar Loaf today Is the fact
| that it makes an ideal visiting place
for motorists, picknickers and mixers.
Indeed, it's no exaggeration to say
within SO miles of Washington that
is more precisely suited to the Sun
day recreation needs Of the entire
| family.
AS for the highway, for the most
part it is made up of good stretches
of concrete and tar, with occasional
bad shoulders just beyond Rockville
SINCE the 37-mile ride to the mini
ature mountain takes only about
an hour and a half, your journey
may be started before or after din
ner; in fact, at virtually any time
that suits your convenience. How
ever, bear in mind that the sanctuary
gates close promptly at dusk; be sure
to tell mother and sister to wear
their low-heeled shoes; urge dad to
bring along his camera and binocu-
lars; and assure grandma that she
can ride almost to the summit and
enjoy most of the views along with
the other members of the family,
even though she probably will forego
the steep climb along the trail to
| the very top.
Cut out the map on this page.
especially prepared for The Star by
the American Automobile Association,
and your trip will be an easy one.
You can follow MaSsa chusettS avenue
until Wisconsin avenue is reached. and
then take this avenue to the right,
thereby heading toward the north
west; or ride along Sixteenth street to
its very end and then cut across Con-
necticut avenue and past the Colum-
bia Country Club and through Be-
theSda. In either case. simply make
sure you are on route 240 and you're
well launched.
When you reach Rockville, continue
straight ahead along West Montgom-
cry avenue and pretty soon you'll
find yourself on route %. Stay on
this through Dickerson. Just before
| you reach this lovely little town YOU
pass through DarneStown and Bealls-
vile. About mile this side of Dick
erson you cross the Monocacy River,
and just beyond the town an enormous
sign-post guides you to the right, onto
a road leading the mountain which
is not quite 3 miles away.
Don't overload your accelerator
Maryland motoring at leisurely pace
is especially pleasant this time Of the
year. Everywhere your eyes will be
treated with inevitable evidences of
the crop-maturing season. Small
grains have been cut and are now
being threshed. Already ripe or else
rlpenlng fast are corn, apples, peaches
and pears. Stimulating to the city
dWeller'S noStrilS is the sweet smell of
new-moWn hay.
Many fields today are being plowed
under to make way for Fall wheat
seeding. Here and there drying in
the sun are enormous pyramids of
wheat straw, waiting to be baled and
stored away. Maybe the Western
plains are suffering from drought
Not so the fertile farm lands of North
Central Maryland. Montgomery and
Frederick Counties are filled to over
flowing with bountiful crops. and the
rural buildings look well-kept and
prosperous, with many new ones under
construction.
NEAR Beallsville a small, plateau
like section of the road will give
you splendid view of the Blue Ridges.
You cross the Monacacy River just
this side of DickerSon and in couple
OF minutes see the sign. to the right
OF the main highway, directing you to
the mountain. 1t points out that
Sugar Loaf received its name in 17l8
from Swiss Nobleman, Baron Graf
fenried, who assisted in the search
for silver mines with Martin Charter.
a remarkable Frenchman, married to
Shawnee Indian wife, who lived
near the mouth of the Monocacy
River.
Now you find yourself on brief
stretch of rather rough gravel road
which demands slow driving. Follow
this to the mountain.
How appropriate is the name Sugar
Loaf! Those mighty rocks, SEEM
ingly perched precariously on the
loftiest points, certainly do resemble
the delicious loaves of sugar-:oated
bread so popular 80 and more years
ago. Later on, at closer range, you
almost suspect some Of the boulders
have been whitewaShed, so milky
white are they. incidentally, the
mountain, many long years ago, used
to be known as Lost Mountain, be-
cause hunters often strayed away on
its wooded stones