Evening star., 1950-11-06

built IN the county-the number
is we'll over 1000. He is taking
an active part in politics as a
Democrat. He is member of the
board of the Suburban Bank and
Mr.. Lutes, the president. says his
advice is the most valued among
the members. Mr.. Fig came from
Europe as a boy-another story of
the immigrant who made good.
The property across the Coles
vile Pike, the hamburger stand
corner, was purchased in 1925 by
E. Brooke Lee and his two asso-
ciates for $4,000 or about 20
cents a square foot. Today the
retail frontage is being leased on
the basis of a SIS a square foot
valuation. Mr.. Lee and his asso-
ciates who are his brother, P.
Blair Lee, president of Phila-
delphia savings bank; and DR..
Harold D. Harvey, New York
surgeon who roomed with him at
Princeton, are in. beautiful
profit position in this property
which was held with some diff
Guilty through the depression.
1t was Brooke Lee, the Demo-
cratic boss of Montgomery County.
who put through the idea of the
big publicly owned parking spaces.
The legislature authorized bond
issues for the purpose. Bethesda
was in the original bill but op-
ponents of the idea in that COM
munity managed to knock it out.
An issue of 100000 in bonds was
sold for the Silver Spring parking
lots and an extra tax placed on all
commercial properties to pay for
them. Free Parking" signs
greet the motorist on all main
roads entering the town. A check
on the tags show that half of
them come from the District and
merchants report that checks on
their sales slip show that half the
sales are to District residents.
Recently the community OBJ
tained authority to issue another
100000 in bonds to add to the
free parking space.
Lutes Describes Site.
Fred Lutes, the bank president,
gave little talk before the Ex-
change Club of Silver Spring the
other day on his memories of the
town. Mr.. Lutes, who is 81, ar
rived there in 1915.
There wasn't a single place in
Silver Spring where you could buy
cup of coffee" he said. If you
were hungry you could get some
crackers and cheese in the general
store.
THAT was B. R. Gannon's and
next to it was Hunter Bros, farm
equipment place. There was a
grocery store run by w. "A. Kings
bury, the Wilkins & Jordan coal
and feed establishment, the Silver
Spring Home Bakery run by Pop
Dietal. F. F.. Dudley opened a
drug store that year-and that
was the total of the Silver Spring
business center in that day.
Louis Schrider, who worked fol-
Gannon's. used to start out each
morning with blackboard and q
mule, delivering purchases and
taking orders. The orders usually
included a can of kerosene for nc
one had gas or electric lights.
THE first Silver Spring subdi-
vision was opened in 1907 east OF
Georgia avenue near the railroad
crossing by r. Holt Easley. He
called it Silver Spring Park.
"The trolley line owned a right
of way paralleling the Georgia
avenue road. When the tracks
were taken up the right of way
was added to the road space.
That's why the avenue is so wide
through Silver Spring. We are
often congratulated for having
planned it that way. But it was
not planned. 1t just happened.
There was a fine stand of
chestnut on the site where the
first houses were constructed and
board walks were made from it.
When arrived here the boards
were loose and many a wife was
able to hear her husband walking
all the way to the house from
the car stop and know from the
rhythm of his tread how he was
doing.
Silver Spring didn't begin to
grow until 1919. There were two
reasons for that. The Washing
ton Suburban Sanitary Commits
sion was created and began to put
in sewers. And Brooke Lee came
back from the war and began to
build houses. He tells me Re got