Evening star., 1955-05-18
BY JOHN v. HORNER

BY JOHN V. HORNER
To Mrs. Masoner, moving to
Wheaton seemed quite imprac-
tical.
She and her husband had spent
10 years in a Colonial Village
apartment. That was convenient
to his work in the Pentagon and,
in q matter of minutes, she
could whip across the river into
town.
In 1949, however, the Masoners
needed more space for their
daughter and baby son. They
wanted a house. The one they
liked best was on Elnora street in
Wheaton.
Mrs. Masoner was frankly ap-
prehensive. This was long way
out; she thought.
"I'm a city girl" she said. "I've
never before lived in the country.
Why, this place is II miles from
WoodieS!"
The Masoners were persuaded.
in the final analysis. by the
Montgomery County school repu-
tation and by the promise of easy
shopping within a few blocks of
home.
Hates to Shop
Shopping. That family chore,
a common denominator in all
communities, is one of the most
striking things about the ever
expanding suburbs of Metropol-
itan Washington.
Mrs. Masoner will tell you she
hates to shop. Perhaps that's
because, like many women, she
has to do so much running
around in such a short time.
Her lawyer husband, Lawrence,
rides the IA miles to the Pen
tagon in a car pool and leaves
her the station wagon. That's
a break not all housewives get.
At 13 their daughter Katie is in
the seventh grade and goes to
school all day. But Ken, who
is just 6. spends only two hours
a day in kindergarten.
So, as soon as Mrs. Masoner
packs Ken off to his class at
l pm. on Fridays, she jumps
into the station wagon-usually
with couple of neighbors, and
lights out for the stores. They
are six blocks away, sprawled
out in the vicinity of Georgia
avenue, Viers Mill and Old Bla-
densburg roads.
First stop is the supermarket
There Mrs. Masoner spends
about $25 a week to lay in q
weeks basic supply. She anc
the neighbors go for economy.
size packages of detergents, larc
and other staples.
DOOASS NUtIOHS, drugs
From the grocery store, she
heads for the library, returning
an armful Of books and borrow.
ing more for a family of avic
readers. At the notions store
next door. she finds a Upper anc
the thread she needs and just e
block away is the branch bank
Usually Mrs. Masoner stops al
the drug store and frequently al
the hardware establishment tc
buy flower seed or paint.
Everyone around here seems
to be painting something all the
time" she says.
The bakery, with its tempting
buns and doughnuts, often lure:
her in for a purchase. Mrs
Masoner and her friends stop al
the postoff1ce before going to the
filling station to service the car
Sometimes it's difficult to Grove
all this into two hours before
Ken leaves kindergarten.
Now that they live in Wheaton
and enjoy the advantages of Z
modern shopping area, Mrs
Masoner goes downtown only
once a month. Her trips Il
Silver Spring also are limited
although she goes to either Of
those business centers when tht
occasion demands. She flnd'
better selections for major iten'
OF clothing, furniture. etc.
The families on Elnora street
expect to shop at Langley Park
miles away, when Maryland
gets around to improving the
twisting Old Bladensburg road
Pattern for Thousands
What the Masoners and theil
neighbors do about shopping Il
| a part of the pattern for hun
dreds of thousands Of resident!
in the Metropolitan Area. 1t is
| in fact, a part of the pattern IL
the whole great fight into sub