A Season of Change & Light

Pat Tyson (Lyttonsville), Genevieve McDowell Owen (North Woodside), and Eva Santorini (Rosemary Hills) light a community Unity Lantern at the 2022 Talbot Avenue Bridge Lantern Walk. Photo by Jay Mallin

by Genevieve McDowell Owen

As the crisp air and falling leaves signal the arrival of autumn, our neighborhood is beginning to glow with the enchanting colors of the season. Fall and winter bring back beloved North Woodside traditions, both new and old, along with change.

The opening of the new Talbot Avenue Bridge is one of the changes coming. This important link between the North Woodside, Lyttonsville, and Rosemary Hills neighborhoods is scheduled to be finished and open to traffic around the new year. Residents will hopefully get a chance to walk the new bridge before that, though, during the upcoming Lantern Walk. I especially enjoy this newer
neighborhood tradition; walking and singing in the warmth of candlelight and community. Plus I enjoy the opportunity to talk with the local elected officials who typically attend.

The Lantern Walk, scheduled for November 11 at 5pm (rain date November 12), commemorates the historic Talbot Avenue Bridge and serves as a bridge of remembrance that connects our past and future. I encourage everyone to participate in this event, which not only honors the historical importance of the bridge but also fittingly takes place during Montgomery County’s Remembrance and Reconciliation month, a time to “remember the past and dedicate ourselves anew to the work of justice and reconciliation through action.”

Just across the bridge another change is in the works: a new Lyttonsville park*, situated just on the other side of the Purple Line tracks from North Woodside. This welcome addition promises to be a space where neighbors can come together, play, enjoy the outdoors, and see restored parts of the historic bridge. I also look forward this time of year to seeing neighbors new and old at one of our long-time traditions, the Holiday Tree and Menorah Lighting festivities. Keep an eye out for more details about these events coming up in December. In the meantime, happy Halloween!

Genevieve McDowell Owen is President of the North Woodside Citizens Association. This “Letter from the President” ran in the Fall 2023 issue of NWCA’s neighborhood newsletter, The Beacon.

*On September 7, 2023, the Montgomery County Planning Board voted to approve the design of the future neighborhood park in Lyttonsville, which, when completed, will be the closest park to many North Woodside residents. Pat Tyson, President of the Lyttonsville Civic Association, and Anna White, a NWCA board member, were among the many community members and groups who provided oral and written testimony in support of the park. It will feature a Bridge Memorial made from the historic Talbot Avenue Bridge’s steel girders. For more information, including NWCA’s written and oral testimony, click here.

Jack-O’-Lanterns That Tell Stories

By Barry Galef

From Jason and the Argonauts: Orpheus charming the serpent that guards the Golden Fleece. Photos by Barry Galef

As a boy, I loved Halloween—especially the part where you carved a pumpkin. I wanted my jack-o’-lanterns to be special, but never felt like they stood out. Then in 1970 I tried something a little different: I added some delicate details carved just through the surface of the skin but not the flesh. To my surprise, they showed up in the dark, even though the only light I was using was a candle. It turned out that only the skin of the pumpkin is opaque; the flesh is very translucent and lets light through even if it’s an inch or two thick.

I used that idea the next year, and the next, adding more and more surface detail and minimizing the places where I carved all the way through. Eventually, I realized I was mimicking the technique of woodcut or linoleum block prints—and started using the gouge-like tools designed for that art. Now I can get as much detail as I want, and if I use a bright LED bulb the design shows up to brilliant effect.

From Kalevala: Ilmarinen, a hero of the Finnish epic, forging a key to unlock the prison of the sun and the moon

I take my time in planning an image on paper before transferring it to the pumpkin. It takes only a few hours to cut around the shapes and carve away the areas I want to show up bright on the jack-o’-lantern. Once I have the design, it takes perhaps ten hours of work to finish the job.

Rather than showing just a single face or monster, I like illustrating complex and dramatic tales. That gives me a chance to tell a story. And if I take good care of them, the jack-o’-lanterns can last surprisingly long—a month or even two! I’ve found that it’s important to keep them cool, to spray them occasionally with a weak solution of bleach to avoid mold, and to cut away any bad
areas as they appear.

In recent decades, I’ve tied the story on my jack-o’-lanterns to the theme of the Christmas Revels, a pageant-like show presented each December at GWU’s Lisner Auditorium. This year, the connection is particularly close: We’re both using Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. It’s a story of honor, wonder, danger, and redemption in King Arthur’s court, perfect for both Halloween and Christmas.

In addition to showing the jack-o’-lanterns at parties and rehearsals for the Revels, I display my jack-o’-lanterns outside my door at 2020 Lanier Drive for the night of Halloween. Come by to see it this year—and then come see the show that shares the same story. You can get tickets to see the show at www.revelsdc.org and see more of my jack-o’-lanterns (and other art) at www.barrygalef.com.

From Beowulf: A thief stealing gold from a ship burial that is part of a dragon’s treasure hoard. I’ve used my own face as the thief.

Letter from the President: Volunteering

By Genevieve McDowell Owen

Hello Neighbors, I’ve been a bit under the weather lately, although I’m a bit sheepish about admitting it since my malady, mal de débarquement, was caused by a cruise—actually by being a middle-aged lady who cruised and then suffered a very bumpy flight home through some bad weather. The cruise was great; the continued debilitating dizziness is not.

So I reached out to my new friend, Chat GPT, an artificial intelligence chatbot, and asked it (them?) to help me write my Beacon letter on a theme close to my heart: the importance of volunteering in our community. A few seconds later this is what appeared on my screen:

“Volunteering in a neighborhood, like North Woodside, is an important way to support and strengthen local communities. It allows residents to contribute to the improvement of their own neighborhood by providing their time and skills to local organizations and initiatives. Volunteering also offers an opportunity for individuals to connect with their neighbors and build relationships, fostering a sense of community and belonging.

Volunteering in North Woodside can take many forms, from participating in community events to helping to maintain public spaces and facilities. Volunteer work can help to beautify and enhance the neighborhood, making it a more enjoyable place to live, work, and visit. Additionally, volunteering can help to address local challenges and issues, such as poverty, homelessness, or environmental degradation.

Volunteering can also have personal benefits for those who choose to get involved. It provides an opportunity to learn new skills, gain experience, and build a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment. Volunteering can also be a way to give back to the community and make a positive impact, which can be a source of pride and motivation.

In conclusion, volunteering in a neighborhood like North Woodside is a valuable way to support and strengthen the local community. It offers opportunities to connect with others, address local challenges, and make a positive impact on the neighborhood. Whether it’s participating in community events, helping to maintain public spaces, or volunteering with local organizations, there are many ways to get involved and contribute to the betterment of the neighborhood.”

Not bad actually, although it’s a bit…stiff. I’m not sure I can improve upon the message much except to add that lately I’ve been feeling grateful for the folks who have stepped up to fill the volunteer roles that make our community so friendly and enjoyable. Among them are Luisa Cardona for heading up the Spring Egg Hunt, Cheryl Copeland, Design Committee Chair, for putting in many volunteer hours beautifying our community, and Phyllida Paterson for her participation on that committee and also making sure we have a steady stream of new trees to replace the ones lost to age and disease.

I’m grateful for all the volunteer work of all the NWCA committee chairs, including Julie Lees and Merrie Blocker, for their longtime commitment to safer streets and holiday events; the Welcome Committee team; the lovely folks who bring you the excellent Beacon, Anna White, Jean Kaplan Teichroew, and Rebecca Doran; and our steady listserv moderator Chris Betti. Plus I send thanks out for the many hours of volunteer work put in month after month by our association board: Tony Byrne, Ellen Kandell, James Mannion, Jenny Hess, David Cox, and Anna White again (another of the many volunteer hats she wears for North Woodside). And I’m grateful for all the folks who have served on the NWCA board or on a committee over the years, and for those neighbors who contribute to the wider community, like Manuel Vera and the folks organizing the upcoming Street Fest.

Even as volunteers have organized a winter celebration at our community tree for 74 years(!), as a community we’ve lost beloved traditions for lack of volunteers. So I’m delighted that you will soon get a chance to sign up in person to lend your talents and skills to the continued awesomeness of North Woodside at our annual citizens association meeting.

Update: Thanks to all who signed up to volunteer at our annual meeting. Weren’t able to attend? Stay tuned on the neighborhood listserv for a link to an online signup form.

Covid-19 Memoriam and Reflection

White flags honor lives lost to Covid-19, part of a installation outside RFK Stadium in October 2020. Photo by Holly Furdyna

On April 10, 2023, President Biden signed a resolution formally ending the coronavirus national emergency enacted in March 2020, and the White House plans to end a separate coronavirus public health emergency and disband its Covid-19 Response Team on May 11, 2023. More than three years since the global pandemic reached our area, it seems we are finally transitioning out of the “time of Covid,” a period that has affected all of us in one way or another.

To mark this transition, we would like to acknowledge the hard work of all neighbors who rose to meet the challenges of the pandemic, whether serving as an essential worker or scrambling to find adequate PPE for them, frantically switching to teaching students online, juggling work and young children at home, caring for ill family members, providing resources to those in need in our community, and much more.

It was a difficult time for many neighbors, especially those whose lives were touched by the loss of loved ones, whether from Covid-19 or by other causes, with opportunities to say goodbye and rituals for grieving severely limited by restrictions on in-person gatherings. In the Spring 2023 issue of the Beacon we recognized the human loss of the pandemic, through the lens of people who live or work in North Woodside. This list of names is, no doubt, incomplete. Condolences to all neighbors and their families who were touched by the deaths of loved ones these past three years.

Amidst the challenges and heartaches, there were also positive aspects of the pandemic for many: the slowing down of the busyness of life, spending quality time with immediate family members, connecting with neighbors in creative ways, finding time to take up new hobbies, and much more.
How were you impacted by the pandemic? And how has your life changed as a result of it? What memories will you carry with you for the rest of your life? We all have a story we could share. In the Spring 2023 issue of the Beacon, we spotlighted one neighbor’s personal story of loss, as well as its silver lining.

Covid Remembrance

By Eric Schechtman

Eric Shechtman holds a photo of his parents on their wedding day.

We are now three years since the pandemic began impacting us in March 2020. Many people lost loved ones. Early in the pandemic I lost both of my parents, Allan and Judy Schechtman, within nine weeks of
each other.

My parents lived in Cleveland, Ohio, their entire lives. I grew up there, and after a short stint in Los Angeles, work brought me to this area and North Woodside in the late 1980s. I have no family here, so my wife, Shira, and I would go see my parents in Cleveland at least three times a year for Passover, the Jewish New Year, and Thanksgiving. Even after they moved out of my childhood home and into a senior apartment, we kept this pattern. So when we said goodbye at Thanksgiving in 2019, we never imagined that was the last time we would visit either of them in their apartment.

In April 2020, just one month after much of the world shut down and with my parents’ building locked down, we were forced to celebrate Passover via Zoom. Only aides, screened daily for fever, were allowed in. We think an aide brought Covid to them. Just one month later, my father was diagnosed and admitted to the hospital the same day. Two days later we dropped everything and traveled to Cleveland. Unfortunately only one of us—my brother—was allowed into his room, so I had no opportunity to say goodbye. Three hours later my father was gone.

The death-and-mourning traditions we have in Judaism are very helpful for coping with the loss of a loved one. But two of them—a funeral service and the tradition of shiva—were taken away. We had to hold a graveyard service, with very limited attendance, and I (rather than a rabbi) sang the memorial prayer. Shiva, the first seven days of mourning, is normally a time when family and friends come to visit, but we had to do it over Zoom. It was very lonely.

Nine weeks later we had to repeat this for my mother, but at least this time we had five days to say goodbye.

The Silver Lining

The traditions Judaism provides for death and mourning make sure no one is totally alone. After losing a loved one, we join a minyan (a group of at least 10 adults) to say the memorial prayer morning and night daily. For parents we do this for 11 months.

Others in the minyan may also be mourning. This becomes a support group by another name. At each anniversary of a loss, a minyan member speaks to the group about their loved one, even many years later; it helps to bring them alive.

Not every congregation is large enough to support this, including my local one. But I could Zoom anywhere around the world, so I found solace at my childhood congregation in Pepper Pike, Ohio. By joining there, I also had a way to break into a minyan group where I didn’t know anyone: Those my father taught when they were children recognized my name. I became more integrated into the morning and evening minyans over four months, and I ended up rejoining this congregation.

At almost exactly the end of 11 months of prayer for my mother, in-person attendance was allowed again, even as Zoom continued, so my wife and I took the opportunity to travel there periodically. I began reconnecting with members of my childhood congregation, who got me through all of this. To stay connected I became the Zoom host for all their services, and now three years later we have completely integrated into our new congregation as very active members, even though we live here. This is the silver lining—a gift from a very difficult situation.

New Talbot Avenue Bridge Construction Resumes

Construction of the new Talbot Avenue Bridge resumed earlier this year after a multiyear delay. Below, workers prepare in early April to pour the cement. When it opens, the bridge will reconnect the communities of North Woodside and Lyttonsville. Sign up for construction updates.

Future Park to Commemorate Local History

On March 30, 2023, Montgomery Parks held a community meeting to unveil the revised design concept for the future Lyttonsville Neighborhood Park, featuring a Bridge Memorial constructed from the girders of the historic Talbot Avenue Bridge (1918–2019). The bridge served as a connection between the once racially segregated communities of Lyttonsville and North Woodside. Last fall, local civic groups, including the North Woodside Citizens Association, sent a letter to Montgomery Parks advocating to incorporate the girders in a way that re-creates a sense of the bridge. For more information about the future park, including many more images of the design concept, visit the park’s website.

To join community advocacy efforts for the future park, contact the Talbot Avenue Bridge Committee.

Traffic and Safety Update

By Julie Lees and Jean Kaplan Teichroew

The Traffic Committee has been working with Oscar Yen, a traffic operations engineer at the Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT), to review traffic-control and pedestrian-safety measures in North Woodside. Following is an update on the issues we’ve discussed and their status:

1. Glen Ross, 3rd, Warren, and Lanier: To improve visibility in the intersection, MCDOT is working on the bump out at the corner of Glen Ross and 3rd. Neighbors in adjacent homes have been contacted, and the plan has been approved.
   
   
2. Columbia:
   a. To fix the stop sign at the exit of the public parking lot, MCDOT sent an email to Montgomery County Parking Department, which maintains the parking lot.
   b. A new stop sign was installed at Rookwood.
   
   
3. Intersection of Luzerne and Columbia: The committee suggested adding a crosswalk given the church, day care center, school bus stop, and traffic volume. But MCDOT determined that
   additional traffic control is not necessary because adequate sight lines allow pedestrians to see approaching vehicles and sufficient gaps in traffic allow crossing safely at this location. Nor will MCDOT install a crosswalk, but a work order has been sent to the shop to relocate the “No Parking/Permit Parking” sign to increase the sight line.
   
   Neighbors: If you can photograph overparking and/or pedestrians unable to cross safely at Luzerne and Columbia, you may help us focus MCDOT’s attention on this problem.*
   
   
4. 2nd and Luzerne pedestrian-safety issues, according to MCDOT:
   a. All the crosswalk striping work orders were sent to the shop and forwarded to the pavement contractor.
   b. Visibility of the stop signs is adequate.
   c. Oscar had not been made aware of previous lighting concerns, but he will check to see if the streetlight at this intersection has been upgraded to LED.
   
   
5. 2001 Glen Ross: A work order has been sent to the shop to remove the “No Thru Trucks Over 10,000 G.V.W.R.” sign. (G.V.W.R. = Gross Vehicle Weight Rating)
   
   
6. Grace Church: MCDOT will not install a 25-mph speed limit sign because it would stand too close to the 15-mph advisory sign for the speed humps. (Note: Hanover has a 25-mph speed limit sign that was installed in error, but it will not be removed.)
   
   
7. Stratton traffic circle: MCDOT states that a work order will be created to add yield signs along all approaches to the circle. In addition, Oscar will check the parking and no-parking zones within the circle; no parking should be allowed within the circle or 35 feet approaching it. Existing signs designate permit parking and time-of-day parking restrictions.
   
   
8. Additional Stratton issues, according to MCDOT: A study can be conducted to
   see if speed humps are warranted. Oscar will request a 48-hour speed/volume assessment. Another measure to handle cut-through traffic is access restrictions, which will also apply to residents.
   
   a. Bump outs and chicanes are not feasible on this street because it is narrow
   and vehicles park on both sides.d
   b. MCDOT does not install “Children at Play” or “Traffic Calming Zone” signs.
   c. Oscar will check both ends of Stratton for speed limit signs. If absent, they can
   be added.
   d. 2nd at Stratton: MCDOT cannot install pedestrian signs (indicating pedestrian activity) for vehicles turning right from 2nd onto Stratton. Such signs are installed only at an unprotected crosswalk on the same roadway; here the crosswalk is on Stratton—not 2nd. Oscar noted that traffic law requires motorists to stop for pedestrians once they are already standing in a crosswalk; pedestrians waiting on the curb do not have the right-of-way.

* Contact the Traffic and Safety Committee

Scavenger Hunt: Gnomes & Birds

How many gnomes can you find around the neighborhood? And how many decorative birds? Bonus challenge: How many different species of live birds can you spot or hear?

Free Bike Tune-Ups & Repairs

A reminder that I continue to offer free bike tune-ups and repairs. This includes a wash, degreasing components, lubrication, mechanical and safety check, air, and adjustments to brakes, derailleurs and other parts of the bike. Folks only pay for the purchase cost of new parts, if needed. Email me at manvera@yahoo.com.

— Manuel Vera