Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1957-11-14

doned before the new coopera-
tive even 'got off the ground"
Also scratched before the race
was the idea of the coop owning
and managing the single-family
houses (the only part of the com
munity" left), which were to be
built.
Financing was the snag here.
Mrs. Wood says mo investor
would dream of lending his good
green money for such a hair
raising radical purpose" Nor
would any government agency
guarantee such a loan.
What remained of the original
plan was that the coop would
develop the land by putting in
the roads, sewers and water and
build the homes on a non-profit
basis.
Thanks to the perseverance of
Mrs. Herring, and the hard work
and long hours of her board of
volunteers, Is houses were ready
by 1919.
More houses were added the
following year but by then the
headaches were multiplying fast
er than the houses.
The sky-rocketing building
costs after World War II were
suddenly accelerated by the Ko.
rean War which also brought with
it shortages of materials.
There were all the grueling
exasperations ard delays that
every builder knows" Mrs. Herl-
ing remembers, But we inno-
cents weren't toughened enough
to take it"
In the middle of developing
the land, the county switched to
a new road code and costs there
were almost doubled.
To protect its members, the cor
poration made firm contracts
with each purchaser but the pur-
/ chase price was out-of-date al
most before the ink was dry. BY
\ the time a house was ready, the
i contract which guaranteed the
builder cost plus percentage
spelled bad news for the middle
man, Bannockburn, Inc.
| Finally, even Mrs. Herring had
! to admit defeat and in 1851 the
corporation began parceling out
its land to individual builders to
build and sell by more conven-
tional methods until now only
| 35 acres are left untouched.
/ However, Bannockburn still re-
tains much of the spirit of the
planned community" as Mrs.
Herring points out. Even physical
ly its planning is evident.
Its streets are wide and curv-
ing and the houses are placed on
their sites to take best advantage
of the natural contours and most
of its many beautiful trees were
saved.
Thanks to the many open
spaces" each house has a view
that doesn't include the neigh
boris although none of the lots
are much more than a quarter
of an acre.
The houses, which range in
price from $4,000 to $4,000 are
for the most part unconventional,
modern in design. Split level
ramblers were common in Ban
nockburn long before they be-
came the rage elsewhere.
The old Club House is operated
by the Bannockburn Community
Club with cooperative nurseries,
day camps. and children and
adults classes in the creative arts
| going full swing all the time.
There seems TO be little dis
sension between charter mem
bers and the newer residents who
bought after the coop folded.
Besides the Club House there Is
the Bannockburn Swimming Pool
which is a community pool run
by both the old and the new resi-
| dents.
The turnover is small in com
parison to like communities
throughout the county and we
/ don't think it will insult them if
we describe the majority of the
natives" as the intellectual egg
head" type. At least the ones
we have met so far answer to
this description.
Mrs. Herring is still active in
handling any of the real estate
exchanges in the community. At
ter living in an apartment in the
old Club House for number Of
years she and her husband, John,
who writes a labor newsletter
bought one of the non-co-op
houses in Bannockburn a few
years ago.
Educated at Vassar and Oxford
University, Mrs. Herring moved
from New York to Washington
in 1871. She served as executive
II cecrefar.v for the IeapIIn for In.