The Village News has been going strong for over fifty years. Looking back through the November issues of the newsletter (or any issues) offers a brief snapshot of Cabin John throughout the years. It goes without saying that the Chicken & Crab Feast got top billing in many of them! But it is also interesting to note that some of the community’s concerns in the 1970s and 1980s—airplane noise, development—are still being collectively addressed today. Here are some of the headline stories and tidbits from past November issues:
In 1970, just a few years after the Village News started, a bake sale sponsored by the majorettes and the PTA raked in $90 on Election Day. Over 70% of registered voters in Cabin John and Bannockburn came out, “and that’s something to be proud of.” A classified ad in 1972 read “Needed: One Village News Deliverer. We need a deliverer for the 100 houses in the Cabin John Gardens! This will earn some lucky person $1 every month!” In 1975, “the protests by the Cabin John community concerning ‘noise pollution’ by jet plane overflights brought about a meeting with officials from the FAA, EPA and various elected officials…about 400 jets roar overhead daily.” “Goodbye, N-8 Bus Line.” On November 12,1976, with champagne and pretzels being passed around, the N-8 bus made its final trip through Cabin John. “The little buses—their small size geared to weight limitation on MacArthur—had been running since 1960 when the last of the old No. 20 trolley cars had given up their ghost.” “Cabin John has finally been granted two crosswalks on MacArthur Blvd” following several accidents with cars and pedestrians, declared the 1984 issue. An advertisement in this issue listed a “House for Sale: 6503 81st Street, 3 bedrooms for $128,000.” A 1987 story with some urgency explained “‘Cabin John’s Future is Directly Involved in Updating Master Plan. Citizen and Community Action Gets Under Way.’ Your involvement is needed now if you want to influence the type of community Cabin John will be in the next decades.” Issues included transportation; facilities and services; historic sites; development and environment, which noted that all development must be considered in the context of preserving the existing sense of space in Cabin John by maintaining trees and narrow streets; protecting streams, springs and drainage; and retaining the current housing scale and density.
In 1990, the Cabin John Post Office celebrated its first Customer Appreciation Day. A 1929 postal van was on site and customers could get a specially designed Cabin John cancellation on their mail. The Wild Bird Center on MacArthur Boulevard (where Level Fitness is today) celebrated its 8th birthday in 1993 by hosting two bald eagles and a peregrine falcon for local visitors. In 2004, cyclist Lance Armstrong and the Tour of Hope rode down “Cabin John’s ‘Main Street.” In addition to 20 team members, over 1000 local riders joined the last leg from Rockville to the Mall,” passing by many residents who lined MacArthur Boulevard. A photo of Cabin John’s unofficial mayor, Danny Harris, and his wife Margaret smiling with their huge black walnut haul for the Potomac Conservancy’s “Growing Native” program appeared in the 2007 issue. In 2011, Landell’s Barbershop took over the space previously occupied by Sharon’s Bouquet Florist by Captain’s Market. Hair cuts were $16 and a hot shave $14.
“Cabin John Citizens Association Meeting Looks at Air and Street Traffic” yet again in 2016, one of many times these serious concerns were raised in the newsletter over the decades. In 2017, “The Inaugural Cabin John Turkey Trot Set for Thanksgiving Day” was announced. The 2.5 mile run/walk goes down MacArthur, along the C&O Canal, then up to and across the one lane bridge. The Turkey Trot continues to be a community favorite. “Cabin John Citizens Association Commits $2000 for Moses Hall Cemetery Clean-Up.” In 2019, half the profits from the 50th Annual Chicken & Crab Feast funded the initial clean up of the culturally significant African American burial site on Seven Locks Road. The Morningstar Tabernacle No. 88 Cemetery and Hall was named one of America’s Most Endangered Historic Places by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 2021.
By Rachel Donnan, CJ Historian
Contributing Writer