Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1962-11-08
By Lila Thomson
Sentinel Reporter

sentinel Reporter
LA DEES AND GEN
TLEMUN!
In this corner, wearing
purple trunks the long
time champion =. Randolph
Hills Civic Association! In
the other corner, wearing
green trunks the chal-
lenger Randolph Hills
Home Owners Association!
In the middle, ladies and gen.
tlemen, wearing no trunks at
all, stripped right down to bare
facts, and swinging in all direc-
tons, we have alleged closed
meetings, bridges across the
B & o tracks, shopping centers,
name-calling, deputy sheriffs,
innocent bystanders, and the
gol-darnedest feudin' and fight
in in Montgomery County that
anyone ever saw since the gun
totin' Hatfields and McCoys got
messed up in flock of friendly
little neighborhood spats. Most
of which were somewhat fatal.
The Big Brawl has its roots in
the odd fact that Westinghouse
Rd., provides the only access to
the sprawling Randolph Hills
development. Ten years ago
when Perlmutter Bros. pur-
chased the tract lying, roughly,
off Randolph Rd., between Veirs
Mill Rd., and the B & 0 with
Garrett Park across the tracks,
egress was possible at two
points: Waverly Crossing and
by way of a bridge at Strath-
moor.
The bridge disappeared"
before Randolph Hills began to
rise.
Several years ago when RAN
dolph Hills homes were well
underway, the developer said
he would provide an adequate
second road when his third Sec
tion was completed. At this
time, it was still possible to get
out of the area via Waverly
Crossing although area resid-
ents were unhappy at the dan
gers involved. Two years when
a fatal accident occurred at the
crossing, it was closed off.
Randolph Hills Civic Associa-
ton, formed six years ago,
began to pitch in 1859 for an
overpass of B & o tracks at
Nicholson La; later in the same
year, it included as a possible
solution an access road to Viers
Mill Rd., through a narrow strip
of Rock Creek Park to tie in,
eventually, with a proposed
extension Of Beech DR..
The following year, 1860, it
reaffir1ned it's belief in a Nichol-
son La. overpass. In 1861, after
the North Bethesda Congress
of Citizens Associations pow
vowed, the Randolph Hills
group changed its stand on
Nicholson La. overpass when it
learned this would result in clos.
ing off Randolph Rd. at the
railroad and would send a
stream Of traffic past the ele-
mentary school.
In the meantime, Garrett
Park residents had jumped into
ways and means of getting RAN
dolph Hills out of its cul de sac
and let 1t be known they were
anything but happy over the
prospect of pouring Randolph
Hills traffic into their commu-
nifty.
Early this fall, the developers
Perlmutter began construction
of a shopping center at Rocking.
horse Rd., and COachway DIR.
In September, Randolph Hills
residents received a surprise
announcement that a new organ.
ization was forming to put pres.
sure on the county to construct
an overpass over the B & Q
tracks which would serve as a
southern outlet for the area
Eugene Policy, a Randolph Hills
resident, and assistant to the
president of the Perlmutter
developing organization, was
active among the organizers
The organization was to be
known as Randolph Hills Home
Owners Association. A meeting
was called for September u.