the Georgetowner Editorial Board • December 18, 2015

A Georgetowner newspaper tradition for decades, the naming of Georgetowners of the Year includes a woman who has devoted the better part of her life and talents to revealing and promoting an old Georgetown estate’s history and renewing its splendor to all of Washington and then taking this wonderment to the next level; a women and a priest with similar interests but different backgrounds and abilities who forged a bakery with delicious results that helps veterans—from our city or Iraq—gain real-world business skills; an educator with roots deep in Georgetown’s African-American past who is a force for good—whether bringing neighbors closer or getting the streets repaved—in our community to be reckoned with, now and in the future.

LESLIE BUHLER

Leslie Buhler stepped down as executive director of Tudor Place after 15 years of what the historic house and garden non-profit called, “transformational leadership.” Buhler arrived in 2000 and made sure one of Georgetown’s crown jewels was maintained to the highest standards and included a master preservation plan of restoration and upkeep. She also made the historic home at 31st and Q Street more accessible to all — from children to preservationists to neighbors. She leaves Tudor Place in a perfect place for its bicentennial next year. For all this and more, Leslie Buhler is a Georgetowner of the Year for 2015.

FATHER RICK CURRY and CONNIE MILSTEIN

If ever there was a bakery that’s more than a bakery, it’s Dog Tag Bakery on Grace Street, where a lot of grace goes on at a daily basis. The bakery, part of Dog Tag Inc., has as one of its slogans “baking a difference.” The enterprise operates a six-month training program aimed squarely at “driven, entrepreneurial-minded wounded veterans and their spouses.” The bakery is run and worked by wounded veterans. Its founding heart and soul are its co-founders, philanthropist Constance Milstein and Rev. Rick Curry, S.J., of Georgetown University.

A developer and lawyer, Milstein is committed to helping veterans. Blue Star Families is one of her projects, and she has opened several non-profit bakeries in New York, all of which show her commitment to helping veterans. She is in the top ranks of philanthropist-business leaders in Washington, D.C., providing leadership on the boards of cultural D.C. mainstays like Ford’s Theater, the National Symphony Orchestra and the Washington National Opera.

Milstein and Father Curry, a Jesuit priest who brings compassion and experience, form the perfect partnership for the bakery. Curry founded and headed the National Theater for the Handicapped, a non-profit theater and training institution for persons with physical disabilities for three decades. He is also the author of two books, “The Secrets of Jesuit Soupmaking” and “The Secrets of Jesuit Breadmaking.”

Their partnership has resulted in a do-good, feel-good Georgetown institution that’s already become a go-to place for locals and does Georgetown proud. For all this and more, Father Rick Curry and Connie Milstein are each a Georgetowner of the Year for 2015.

MONICA ROACHÉ

Monica Roaché is one of the newest members of the Georgetown-Burleith Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E, but her family has been here for many years. As part of this town’s original African-American families, Roache is a fifth-generation Georgetowner who has always promoted this part of our history — from the book, “Black Georgetown Remembered,” to the October dedication of the Rose Park tennis court to black tennis star sisters, Margaret Peters and Roumania Peters Walker. The Peters sisters taught tennis and life lessons to Roache and many other children. For all this and more, Monica Roaché is a Georgetowner of the Year for 2015
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the Georgetowner Editorial Board • September 26, 2015

By the time this issue of The Georgetowner went to press, Pope Francis had come to town. His Holiness was safely ensconced, presumably getting ready for bed, at the Apostolic Nunciate, the Vatican’s diplomatic presence in Washington on Massachusetts Avenue.

We were in the midst of an unprecedented — for Pope Francis — event in this city, where unprecedented events are practically a daily occurrence. We have recently seen visits by the heads of state of Saudi Arabia and Spain. Chinese President Xi Jinping will be toasted at a White House State Dinner on Friday.

You may recall that the prime minister of Israel was here earlier this year to try and change minds about the nuclear treaty with Iran. This town is a city where large personas, big symbols and bigger egos are fellow travelers.

It is also a city that has a strong Catholic presence and history. Two of the most visible universities are Catholic University and Georgetown University. Then there are the two major Catholic churches: the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, where the pope is to speak to a gathering of U.S. bishops, and the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, where he will officiate at a Mass canonizing 18th-century missionary Junípero Serra (both on Wednesday).

Americans moved and encouraged by the often startling activities and pronouncements and encyclicals of this pope are in a kind of swoon and ecstasy over his U.S. visit (New York and Philadelphia are also on the itinerary). No head of state, no rock or movie star, no politician can command this kind of attention, probably not even the previous popes who visited America: Pope Paul VI in 1965, followed by the popular and durable Pope John Paul II on several occasions and by Pope Benedict XVI in 2008.

This is a visit with all the trimmings that the Roman Catholic Church in Washington and the Vatican can muster. This isn’t a simple stop-over, a wave from a helicopter; this is “thousands upon thousands descending on Washington” — gathering at the White House for the pope’s chat with President Barack Obama, for a pope parade near the National Mall, at St. Matthew’s Cathedral and at the Mass in front of the Shrine.

Pope Francis is decidedly a people’s pope, with an intellectually questing Jesuit spirit and what appears to be a broad tendency toward forgiveness, compassion, tolerance and empathy for most everybody on the planet. It is not that he is revolutionizing the church by deed, but rather changing the world by attitude and appearance. He’s already spoken out on climate change, greed and war, and adopted a forgiving attitude on divorced Catholics.

When asked about gays — and, by inference, gay marriage — he famously said, “Who am I to judge?” (although one might follow that up with, “If not him, who?”). The pope is visiting a country whose general citizenry includes people who are quite willing to judge, thank you.

At 78, with not all the time in the world for patience or the big picture, he’s engaged the world as it is — on earth if not in heaven.

the Georgetowner Editorial Board • August 1, 2015

Leslie Buhler will be stepping down as executive director of Tudor Place after 15 years of what the historic house and garden non-profit called, “transformational leadership.” Buhler arrived in 2000 and set on making sure one of Georgetown’s crown-jewel historic properties was maintained to the highest standards and included a master preservation plan of restoration and upkeep. She also made the home at 31st and Q Streets more accessible to everyone — designing a modern museum program that included a digital presence.

Tudor Place was completed in 1816 by Thomas Peter and his wife Martha Custis Peter, a granddaughter of Martha Washington, and is noted for its architecture, archive, and extensive collections, including more than 200 items owned by Martha and George Washington. Now a National Historic Landmark on five and a half acres in Georgetown, the estate had been open to the public 12 years when Buhler took the helm.

Buhler expanded Tudor Place programs and tours for young and old, alike, newcomer and longtime Georgetown supporters. Her educational efforts benefit 3,000 children each year. She has maintained a great relationship with her Georgetown neighbors.

As for maintaining the National Historic Landmark house, Buhler and Tudor Place made good use of a $3.5-million campaign funded in part by awards from Save America’s Treasures and the D.C. government. The house, the grounds and the collection have never been in better shape. Of course, the need for adequate funding continues.

“Tudor Place has benefited enormously from Leslie’s outstanding leadership and engagement with the community,” said Geoffrey B. Baker, president of Tudor Place’s board of trustees. “She has led the institution through a major assessment and planning process and developed an educational component that engages young and old with the powerful lessons of American history and culture. It is with profound gratitude that we wish Leslie well.”

“I’ve experienced great professional and personal satisfaction in advancing one of the greatest house museums in the nation’s capital, bringing attention to the extraordinary collection and archive it holds, and engaging the public with wonderful historic and cultural resources unique to Tudor Place,” Buhler said. “I look forward to the next chapter in my life knowing that the museum is stronger and poised to successfully complete a capital campaign to ensure its future as a 21st-century museum.”

Georgetown is indeed fortunate to have had Buhler at Tudor Place. The town is immensely grateful to her for all for her work in ensuring that one of its treasures is not only is cared for but shines as it is enjoyed by so many and will be for years to come. She has been and remains our friend.

the Georgetowner Editorial Board • July 16, 2015

It is an issue as old as the town itself: where did all the traffic come from? Why is it totally stopped, moving too slowly or too quickly? Why is it in front of my house?

The Citizens Association of Georgetown tackled these topics less than three months ago with its meeting, “Talking Traffic, Transportation & Bridges,” in hope of answering such questions as: Can traffic congestion ever be reduced in Georgetown? Is there a solution to the nightmarish rush-hour backups on 34th Street? How will repairs on the Pennsylvania Avenue and Key bridges affect us?

Similarly, at the June Advisory Neighborhood Commission meeting, discussions with representatives from the D.C. Department of Transportation honed in on the 34th Street traffic blues.

The CAG meeting had the time to discuss many topics — from the Metro to taxi and buses to traffic congestion — and proved informative and illuminating. It did hear from neighbors about the change in the traffic patterns for 34th and M Streets.

One 34th Street resident, Ann Satterthwaite, and her neighbor complained about traffic on 34th Street that is snarled from M Street north to Q Street and sometimes farther. Traffic used to back up later in the week, she said. Now, it is four days, at least. A neighbor said his house vibrates with the increased traffic: “I wake up every morning at 5:30 to 7 a.m. with the house shaking.”
DDOT reps said at both meetings said they would look into the matter at 34 and M, as if it were vaguely recurring and dimly seen. Why was this back-up going up to Reservior Road? What happened? DDOT said simply: “We don’t know.”

But this negative change did start about four months ago, the same time that the Key Bridge intersection was repainted and re-drawn, so to speak.

The ANC talk did get specific. DDOT heard from residents and commissioners about traffic saturation directly due to traffic-light time, a change in sequence and those dividing poles that designate each lane.

Along with this discussion came the obvious, known for more than a century: there is heavy pedestrian traffic at the corner of Wisconsin and M. That slows car traffic. Add to the traffic mix an illegally parked car blocking a rush-hour parking lane, and you’ve got a lane out — one third of the traffic flow jammed by one car. With that, let us reiterate our request: bring back a traffic control officer to Washington’s busiest corner.

Commissioner Ed Solomon suggested a simple solution: take away some of these plastic poles that make the cars turn more tightly — and thus more slowly — onto the bridge. Yes, this might definitely help.

And, yes, frustrations abound, and at least neighbors are speaking up more often, and DDOT is listening better. To this end, ANC chair Ron Lewis expressed a certain resignation: “Traffic will go where it wants to go.”