Ice Skating at Bowie's Foxhill Lake in 1969

Foxhill Lake, January 24, 2013

January 26, 1969 (44 years ago today): The Washington Post published "Take Note: Washington's Winter Fun," an article about sledding, skating and other winter activities in the D.C. area.  The "Skating in Maryland" section included the following:  "A warming house with do-it-yourself wood burners and ample log supply adds a special touch at Foxhill Lake in Foxhill Park, off Route 197 in Bel Air between Route 450 and the John Hanson Highway."

According to a spokesperson at that time, Maryland National Capital Park and Planning posted "No Skating" signs at Foxhill Lake and other area ponds until the ice was at least five inches thick, which allowed for four or five good skating days each winter.

Times have changed.  No longer would the Washington Post refer to the area as "Bel Air," and "No Skating" signs are posted year round at FoxHill Lake.  It's also rare for Foxhill Lake to freeze over for very long (this week being an exception).

This photo was taken two days ago after an overnight snow blanketed the lake.

15-Year-Old Steals and Crashes Plane at Freeway Airport

Piper Cherokee wreckage at Freeway Airport (Photo by Arnie Miles)

January 12, 1975 (38 years ago today):  A 15-year-old boy suffered a broken collar bone and bruises to his face after he stole an airplane from Freeway Airport and crashed during takeoff.  The boy had wandered away from St. Elizabeth's Hospital in D.C. the day before, where he was enrolled in a special program for deaf children.

Maryland State Police believe that the boy was homesick, and he was attempting to travel to New Jersey to reunite with his family.  He apparently walked more than twenty miles before coming across the airport while walking along Route 50.

Despite taking off into the wind, the boy was able to get the plane thirty feet into the air before it crashed 300 feet from the end of the runway.  He was able to escape the wreckage, and he walked to a nearby farmhouse for help.

The boy was charged with with grand larceny and breaking and entering.  The teenager had no prior record.

The single-engine Piper Cherokee was totaled in the crash.


Source:

Homesick Deaf Lad Steals Airplane; Crashes, But Survives
The Bowie Blade, January 16, 1975

Lifetime Bowie Resident Gabriel "Flick" Nalley Passes Away at 95

Lifetime Bowie resident Gabriel “Flick” Nalley passed away this week. He was 95. My condolences go out to the Nalley and Kuciemba families.

Family members lost a father, an uncle, a grandfather and a great grandfather, and the community lost a window into local history.

Flick Nalley was born in 1917 on the Belair Farm where his father worked. He later became the farm’s Assistant Manager with duties that included overseeing the tobacco and corn crops.

Levitt’s purchase of the property forced Nalley to leave the farm. Nalley moved his house on Belair to a new location on Forest Drive. Levitt suggested that it would be cheaper for Nalley to purchase one of the new Levitt houses, but Nalley wanted more open space because he was “used to living on a 2300 acre farm.” Two stone pillars that once greeted guests at an entrance to the Belair Farm can be seen today on Forest Drive at the end of Nalley’s driveway.

Nalley later worked for Levitt during the development of Belair at Bowie.

Jeff Krulik filmed this interview with Flick Nalley a couple of years ago. I posted this over the summer, but thought it was worth posting again.

Click here to See Flick Nalley’s obituary.

Model Homes Open at Levitt's Belair at Bowie Development

October 8, 1960 (52 years ago today): The model homes for Levitt & Sons' Belair at Bowie housing development opened to the public off U.S. Route 50 on Sussex Lane in Bowie.  People waiting to see the homes caused a 1 1/2 mile traffic jam.

Levitt & Sons' President, William Levitt, declared it to be the biggest opening since he joined the firm 30 years earlier.  Customers ordered 243 houses in the first five days the model homes were open - a total of more then $4 million in sales.

Customers bought the houses sight unseen.  It would be another year before the first houses would be move-in ready.

Customers had a choice of six house designs ranging in price from $14,999 to $27,500.


Source:

Levitt's Biggest Opening
The Washington Post, October 15, 1960

Sniper Shoots Student at Benjamin Tasker Middle School

October 7, 2002 (10 years ago today): Thirteen-year-old Iran Brown was shot by the "Beltway Snipers" after his aunt dropped him off at the Benjamin Tasker Middle School in Bowie.  Brown's aunt, a nurse, drove him to the Bowie Health Center, and he was later transported by helicopter to the Children's National Hospital in D.C. Despite having serious injuries, Brown survived the shooting.

A shell casing and a Tarot card (the Death Card) were discovered at the scene.  "Call me God" was hand written on the front of the card, and the back of the card contained the following note:  "For you mr. Police.  Code: 'Call me God'.  Do not release to the press."

After news of the shooting broke, parents rushed to the school to pick up their children.  Benjamin Tasker Middle School closed for the day, but other Prince George's County Schools remained open.

President George W. Bush called the shooting "cowardly and senseless."

The shooting brought Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose to tears.  "Today it went down to the children," he said to reporters.  "Someone is so mean-spirited that they shot a child.  Now we're stepping over the line. Shooting a kid. I guess it's getting to be really, really personal now."

At the scene of a shooting in Montgomery County later that month, the snipers left a note that said, "your children are not safe, anywhere, at any time."

In the days that followed the shooting, brush was cleared in the wooded area between the school and Foxhill Park - the area where the shooter was believed to be hiding during the attack.

Horse Racing Begins at Prince George's Park in Bowie

Bowie Race Track, 1973 (Photo by Arnie Miles)

October 1, 1914 (98 years ago today): Cardigan beat Ischgabibble by a head to win the first horse race ever held at the newly built Prince George's Park in Bowie.  A late train carrying horses from Havre de Grace caused several horses to be scratched from races.  All bets were canceled for the second event of the day after a judge started the race before all horses reached the starting gate.  Horse races were held a total of ten days that October.

The last day of horse racing at the Bowie track was held on July 13th, 1985.




Remember This One?
Washington Post, June 8, 1963

On Inaugural Day of Its Meet
Washington Post, October 2, 1914



 

Photos of Bowie Maryland 1973 through 1975 by Arnie Miles is licensed under a Creative
Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States
License

William Woodward, Sr., Owner of Belair Dies at Home in New York City

Belair Mansion, September, 2012

September 25, 1953 (59 years ago today): William Woodward, Sr., owner of the Belair Mansion and Belair Stud Farm, died at his home in New York City at the age of 77.  He bequeathed the Belair property to his only son, William Woodward, Jr. (Billy), with the hope that the "farm may mean as much to my son as it has to my uncle and myself, and that he may spend many happy days there maintaining the place in a modest  and simple way as has been our habit."  Little did the elder Woodward know that his son would die only two years later, setting the stage for the purchase and development of Belair by Levitt & Sons.

William Woodward inherited Belair from his uncle, James T. Woodward, in 1910.

Prior to his uncle's death, Woodward became involved in horse breeding when he purchased three mares from the estate of Governor Oden Bowie and a stallion.  He later purchased horses from France during World War I.  With the help of trainer Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons, Woodward's Belair Stud was responsible for two Triple Crown winners (father and son pair Gallant Fox and Omaha) as well as other winners of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, Belmont Stakes and other major horse races.

The following two books were used as sources for this post.  Both books are available at the Belair Mansion and the Belair Stable Museum.

• Belair Stud, The Cradle of Maryland Horse Racing, Kimberly Gatto, 2012
• Belair from the Beginning, Shirley V. Baltz, 2005