Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1941-05-15
MONTGOMERY
Wl SIDELICHTS
By Elsie White Haines

Monday evening, May 9Th, we
were invited to Sandy Spring to
hear the reading of the annals of
fourth month 1910 to fourth
month 1941."
Each Spring for u years at the
"full of the moon" the Friends of
this neighborhood have sat in the
UNCOVERED brick meeting house
and heard the record of events of
the past year read by their histo-
rian, R. Bentley Thomas, for the
past few years.
Nothing exciting about this rec
ord just the usual births, deaths,
marriages, reports of weather con-
ditions, and the travels of various
members of the community-made
interesting by clever phrasing, and
the characteristic wit of the his
torian.
"Firefiies and strawberries came
in May. "March saw the return
of the red-winged blackbirds." All
through the four volumns of the
annals already printed - we find
these blackbirds mentioned as COM
ing to the same locality each year.
In our neighborhood We almost
always see one of these birds as we
pass Green Lane" the Small es-
tate above Olney, just as we see a
cardinal or perhaps two, as we
round Williams Corner.
Remarking upon the returning
popularity of horseback riding =
there are about fifty fine riding
horses in the neighborhood," writes
Mr.. Thomas. He adds, "some ride
with grace = some just ride"
When the first of these Brooke,
Thomas, Snowden and other fami-
lies established their Quaker col
ony, there was no other mode of
travel.
1t was a quiet year in Sandy
Spring-trues there was some men
ton of the SHADES raising the
roof" We listened wide eyed,
until we found that to meet the
needs of their growing School for
Boys they had indeed, raised the
roof and added another story to
their house! ~
Among the obituaries were those
of Charles F. Brooke, and Mrs.
Allan Farquhar. Mr.. Brooke was
the last charter member of Olney
Grange, organized in 1874. He and
his wife, who also died recently,
were married over 60 years ago.
Mrs. Farquhar was great lover
of flowers = she was Cockey and
came from Pikesville.
CHANGING back to the annals of
fifty years ago we found the
weather much like that of this
year - '.from 18th to 10th of the
fourth month, unusually high tenn
peratures were recorded, from 80
to 85 degrees, and afraid to dis
pense so early with Winter cloth
ing, Sandy Spring has seldom
passed so uncomfortable a week."
The historian of 1891 also notes,
"there was much la grippe, which
scientists proclaim was due to I'M
usually large sun spots" then he
remarks, 1--WE are glad to get even
that near the cause of this little
understood malady." They also
had an epidemic of measles and
mumps, such as we had this year.
"That year (1891) Samuel Bond
OF Oakdale store established a de-
livery wagon the first to be noted
here = Laurel store commenced
sending bread to our doors; each
year the farmer adds more outside
expenses to his living costs, which
used to be confined so strictly to
the products of his own farm"
complains the historian.
This interested us: "April II,
1909, Another large balloon sailed
over from Washington, but as yet
no flying machine has come our
way, still no way of travel except
"old horses. Did not DR.. Roger
Brooke have an automobile around
1905 - we well remember the
rumble Of those steel tires as he
dashed" around at fifteen miles
neY. hoalY.