Neighborhood

Gary Tischler • March 30, 2016

Former Citizens Association of Georgetown President Pamela Moore, who has joined the board of directors of the American Initiatives for Italian Culture (AIFIC), sees some similarities between her work with CAG and promoting cultural interests shared by the United States and Italy.

“One of the things I’ve always loved about being and living in Georgetown, and what makes it so special, is that sense of history, and the appreciation of history here,” she said. “People care about preserving what’s here: the buildings, the streets, the homes.”

The AIFIC was founded in 2013, a year that was designated the Year of Italian Culture in the United States.

Moore decided to get involved in part because of the opportunities she and her husband had to travel in Italy when they were living for a time in neighboring Austria, specifically in Vienna.

“We went to many of the places you’d expect, but also to different parts of the country, the smaller towns and villages, the south. And one genuine characteristic that comes through is that sense of history, which we often don’t quite have a sense of here, but also the friendliness, the welcoming nature of Italians. And there are so many different kinds in the different regions,” she said. “It sparked my interest in the country and the culture, and so here we are. “

Her colleagues on the AIFIC board are Maria Gliozzi and Elisabetta Ullmann.

The still-fledgling organization is engaged in mobilizing resources here and abroad to help support innovative projects in research and education, including programs that center around arts and culture.

One of the concrete and beautiful results of that effort is a collaboration and exchange between the American Youth Philharmonic Orchestras of the Washington, D.C., area and the Padua Music Conservatory of Padua, Italy. It is considered a twinning project, which “connects two countries with one heart” through the sound of music.

The two orchestras will perform in Washington and in Padua. Five young musicians will travel to Italy and perform in the Padua concert in October and five young Italian musicians will perform in the American concert.

The concert in Washington will be held April 5 at the Italian Embassy, where AYP Artistic Director Christopher Zimmerman will share the conductor’s podium with Italian maestro Simone Tonin. Soprano Cheryl Porter will be the soloist in the American pieces and soprano Rosella Caporale in the Italian.
“The concert, I think, will show what cooperation can accomplish, and will, it’s hoped, initiate other projects,” Moore said.

Juliana Zovak • February 18, 2016

When Donguk Kim first came to America from South Korea in 2003, he never dreamed he would one day be the proprietor of a storied market in Washington’s most historic neighborhood. But he did have dreams.

“I wanted to be a successful businessman in America and I heard there were many chances there,” he said.

He came to Maryland in 2004 with his wife and son. They lived in a homestay and attended church with their host. Through a church connection, he began running a dollar store a few months later. After that, he ran a deli in Silver Spring. That’s what Kim was doing in 2012 when he saw a listing in the Korea Times for Scheele’s Market, at 1331 29th St. NW.

Considering the market’s loyal customer base, taking over Scheele’s was no simple matter. The 120-year-old market has been a staple in the neighborhood for generations. Indeed, a few years ago, neighbors contributed to a special fund to ensure that the building remain a market through an agreement with the property owner.

Kim has taken the initiative to maintain the market’s strong relationship with the customers who come for groceries, beer and wine and fresh deli sandwiches. The blizzard of 2016 also gave him a chance to shine: he was open throughout the weekend. “I’m always listening to what my customers want and I try to get it soon,” he said, referring to his plan to add requested merchandise to the shelves.

Kim’s customers, meanwhile, love the quality of the food, the dedicated service and the friendship the quaint market fosters. Scheele loyalists include senators and the Secretary of Energy, who once posed for a photo with Kim.

They are just as devoted to Scheele’s as Kim is to them. One customer described the recent attempts to get a few tables and chairs out front, allowing customers to eat their sandwiches while enjoying the scenery and the buzz of life in Georgetown (that plan has not yet been approved by the District).

Kim believes that the market has the potential to become more profitable. Grocery purchases currently account for about half of sales, he said, and new customers are few. Though the work is hard and the hours are long, he enjoys interacting with the community and getting the chance to experience life in the nation’s capital.

“I’ve liked adventure all through my life. South Korea is not a bad country, but I was always longing for America.”

Along with running a business, Kim has managed to fulfill that desire for adventure by visiting places such as the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Mexico and Miami. And he also has Scheele’s, which, though quiet and unassuming at first glance, has certainly been an adventure of its own.

Robert Devaney •

“The City of Conversation” takes place entirely in the Georgetown living room of Hester Ferris, the kind of set very familiar to Georgetown residents who were part of — or chronicled — the high tides of the village’s fame as a locus of social and political power. Although Georgetown has changed over time, its image nonetheless remains potent.

In the second half of the 20th century, the leading ladies of Georgetown’s social and political scene included Evangeline Bruce, Lorraine Cooper, the Washington Post’s powerful publisher Katharine Graham, Pamela Harriman, who became Ambassador to France, and Sally Quinn, the savvy and stylish author, novelist, Post reporter and wife of legendary editor Ben Bradlee. (Those five were profiled in the 2003 book “The Georgetown Ladies Social Club” — the title a phrase first used by Ronald Reagan — which could serve as a bookend to the recent “The Georgetown Set: Friends and Rivals in Cold War Washington.”)

Female movers and shakers are still in style here, but the political and social scene is not what it was. There is more of an emphasis on fundraising and charitable events, with leaders such as Elizabeth Bagley, Nancy Pelosi, Valerie Jarrett, Kitty Kelley and Quinn.

We talked with Quinn and with another Georgetown resident, biographer Kitty Kelley, about Georgetown’s political and social scene, then and now.

SALLY QUINN, famous for her talked-about profiles in the Washington Post’s Style section, never wrote a play. Her two novels, “Regrets Only” (1986) and “Happy Endings,” both feature a smart, beautiful blonde reporter for a major Washington daily.
Comments about Georgetown then and now from Sally Quinn:

“What I like about the play is that it is not a frivolous play about parties.… The drama is right-on” — about another era, a time and a place that no longer exist.

“So many of these hostesses had dysfunctional families. … They put their energies into being hostesses — today they would be CEOs.”

Of the main character in the play, she said, “Her priorities were completely skewed. In the end, it’s a mistake” not to make your family a priority.

Now, she said, the entertainment has become about panels and seminars with dinner afterward. And there are still the charity balls — “It’s corporate now. A lot of them are digital people — from that world.”

KITTY KELLEY is famous for her biographies, most of which have drawn cries of outrage from their subjects. She is working on a book about living in her beloved Georgetown. (Send her your stories.)

Comments about Georgetown then and now from Kitty Kelley:

“I think Georgetown still shines.… There are other places, such as moneyed Greenwich or Beverly Hills, which have power and prominence. But Georgetown has that and radiates history — now and in the past.”

“These women started as a hostess — like Nancy Reagan — as a woman operating behind the scenes in influencing legislation. In the play, Hester entertains both parties in her home. … Parties at homes do exist — but they’re fundraisers.”
“‘The City of Conversation’ is a period piece, and tells a family story in a Georgetown setting, but also tells more about what has happened to our politics.”

“It’s interesting that the Supreme Court is at the center of our partisan divisions. The struggle over the Robert Bork nomination will be seen as pivotal to the loss of civility between the two parties — add to that the Clarence Thomas hearings.”

Kelley recalled Henry Kissinger’s often-quoted remark: “The hand that mixes the Georgetown martini is time and again the hand that guides the destiny of the Western world.”

Robert Devaney • October 28, 2015

During October 1972, “The Exorcist” filmed on location at Georgetown University for a week, part of a stay of about 20 days in and around Washington, D.C. William Peter Blatty, author of the 1971 novel on which he based the screenplay, and a 1950 graduate of the college, who heard of a possessed boy from Mt. Rainier, Md., and of attempts at exorcism at Georgetown University Hospital and in St. Louis, Mo., that occurred in the late 1940s.

For the film, Georgetown students were recruited for various crowd scenes. Nuns in traditional habit were seen walking along 37th Street (not a common sight then as well as now) and Jesuit priests and professors were used as extras. Neighbors also got some bit parts. One 35th Street resident, Emerson Duncan, who routinely walked his two Scottish terriers nearby, was asked if his dogs could be used as extras. He himself was ruled out; he looked too much like an actor.

Along with director William Friedkin, actors and crew worked inside and in front of Healy Building, where a student protest was part of the film within a film.

Other campus locations included Healy Circle, the Quadrangle, the facade of Dahlgren Chapel, Kehoe Field and the Lauinger Library steps, which one of the priest walked down in the fog during a spooky scene.

Elsewhere, the Mule Bridge over the C&O Canal was used, as was the courtyard of Christ Church on O Street. Other shots showed actress Ellen Burstyn walking along 36th Street to her home across from 1789 Restaurant. That famous house at 3600 Prospect St. NW was given a fake addition extending east towards the now-famed Exorcist Steps so that the window from which the priest jumped would be close enough for his fatal fall.

When the shoot was being set up for the fatal tumble down the steps, between the possessed girl’s house and the Car Barn, enterprising students monitored the gate to the Car Barn rooftop and charged admission for anyone who wanted to enter and watch from above.

“The Exorcist” premiered the day after Christmas, Dec. 26, 1973 — and, yes, all hell broke out. Some moviegoers fainted, vomited or ran from the theater. Some religious leaders proclaimed that the novel and film conjured up demonic forces.

A few years later, Rev. Robert Henle, S.J., president of Georgetown University during the 1972 filming, told editors of the student newspaper, the Georgetown Voice, that he regretted allowing the production on campus.

While Henle may have disliked any negative image the film might have given of the university, the steps are now a Georgetown must-see attraction — and a favorite of walkers and runners. For those so inclined, they are also the perfect spot to meditate upon the deeper meaning of “The Exorcist.”

Robert Devaney • March 8, 2015

Forty years ago, as a Georgetown University student, I gave the Georgetowner Newspaper little attention. It seemed to me to be the old people’s newspaper. Today, it occupies my waking hours and then some.

My news journey between then and now remains oriented to Washington, D.C., and Georgetown. While I may have worked for U.S. News & World Report, Army-Navy-Air Force Times and the Washington Times, the Georgetowner was always there, whether in the background or not.

I met editor and publisher David Roffman through his brother Randy, who worked for the newspaper, at the Bread & Chocolate on Prospect Street (it would become Cafe Milano). Dave muttered to his brother, “Another [guy] in a suit.” I can also say I met the Georgetowner staffers through Georgetowner Francis Scott Key. In my work for the Francis Scott Key Foundation, I had completed the Star-Spangled Banner Relay — from San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park to Georgetown, specifically the as-yet unbuilt Key Park in 1991, and wrote about it for the newspaper. Dave and I became great friends.

In 1992, I met Sonya Bernhardt when she owned an art gallery, and she, too, has become a great friend. She credits me with getting her involved with the newspaper. I credit her with saving the Georgetowner and breathing new life into the old girl. The paper had gotten zippier under the influence of Roffman during the 1980s, but it was Bernhardt — as third owner and third publisher — who put the newspaper on a more serious business footing for the 21st century.

Friendship is perhaps not the first word to come into one’s mind when thinking of Georgetown. Yet, it is a defining, quiet feature of our neighborhood. I have experienced such loyalty and trust with businesses and neighbors here. In 2005, sculptor and fellow Key Foundation colleague, John Dreyfuss invited me to rent an apartment at Halcyon House, a glorious, historic spot. My other little places around 35th and Prospect streets attest to neighbors’ generosity and concern.

Most of us in the news business may not make it to the millionaire’s club, but we do get opportunities to meet some of the world’s most interesting folks. Within weeks at the newspaper, I saw Frank Sinatra at Warner Theatre and, soon enough, Gov. Bill Clinton at Gaston Hall. A year or two ago, it was Bono at Gaston Hall and President Barack Obama at Georgetown Waterfront Park. Regardless, the lives and stories of Georgetown neighbors can keep up with all those high and mighty – that’s why this newspaper was created in the first place.

Yes, we have run many excellent stories and profiles over the years, but we believe the Georgetowner’s coverage of the September 11 attacks with front pages through the end of 2001 was superlative — given our resources — and revealed the urgency of our new century. Again, I tip my hat to writer Gary Tischler, the strong heart and gentle soul of the Georgetowner.

Meanwhile, the work and fun never end — whether meeting and working with the most interesting persons in Georgetown, covering various news, attending community events or showing our interns how to report (or giving them a tour of this great town). As with the phrase, “once a Georgetowner, always a Georgetowner,” it is the same with this newspaper: “Once on the staff of the Georgetowner, always on the staff of the Georgetowner.”

Robert Devaney • January 20, 2015

“I grew up in a small town,” said developer Richard Levy, one of those recently interviewed for the oral history project of the Citizen Association of Georgetown. He meant both Georgetown and Washington, D.C., he said. It was a sentiment echoed by those at the table and by many in the audience.

The facts may be the same, but the feelings are more vivid. That is why Georgetowners of all stripes crowded the grand room of the City Tavern Jan. 13 for another live presentation of the CAG project, coordinated by committee chair Cathy Farrell.

Five prominent residents, at one time or another, were there to tell their story about growing up, living or working in Washington, D.C.’s oldest and most famous neighborhood: Anne Emmet, Philip Levy, Richard Levy, Elizabeth Stevens and Gary Tischler. Emmet, an artist, was ready with some insight into old social traditions. Sons of real estate pioneer Sam Levy, Philip and Richard Levy recalled growing up on M Street above the family store. Stevens, with her husband George Stevens, Jr., founding producer of the Kennedy Center Honors, raised three children on Avon Lane. Tischler has been a writer and editor at the Georgetowner over four decades.

With a nod to the old and new, Stevens began the talk, saying that it is “so lovely to live here,” recalling the elegant specialty shops, such as one run by Dorcus Hardin, along with Neam’s Market and the French Market. She also recalled Menehan’s Hardware Store on M Street. She noted that with Jackie Kennedy the town had gotten real style. Nevertheless, she said that Georgetown “hasn’t changed that much.”

Richard Levy, who learned more Georgetown history while researching for his West Heating Plant condo project, reminded the crowd that the town once had 12 gas stations and at least two car dealerships and that the parking lot behind the Old Stone House was a used car lot. He also pointed out that Georgetown has had a vibrant group of Jewish merchants. Living in a house once occupied by John F. Kennedy, he cited the Kennedy era as Georgetown’s second re-birth. (The brothers also mentioned the Biograph Theater and Key Theater, ran by their other brother David, now deceased. The CVS on M is where the Biograph was; the Key, Restoration Hardware.)

Owner of Bridge Street Books on Pennsylvania Avenue, Philip Levy recalled watching football on TV at his father’s store and the cops walking the beat. For him, this “small town” was full of country western music (the Shamrock was on M Street) and was the bluegrass capital of the world (after Nashville). He listed the Bayou, the Cellar Door and Shadows, where Ri Ra is now. He noted the importance of Blues Alley.

Emmet began by mentioning that her mother bought the family’s P Street house in 1950 for $50,000. As her mother become bedridden, Emmet’s neighbors pitched in. To sighs from some in the audience, she mentioned Dorothy Stead’s dress shop. She remembers when Volta Park was a “junk heap” and she was not allowed to go there. She and her girlfriends got to meet the King of Jordan. Then, at a different time, they went with the boys to Wisconsin and M, carrying paint cans and brushes. They held the wet brushes against the turning cars — and never got caught (The audience howled). She said the town has changed a lot. Emmet did stress one of Georgetown’s enduring qualities: “Friends, neighbors, we all took care of each other.”

Tischler, known as the longest-serving and most prolific writer for the Georgetowner, said he began writing in 1980 for the newspaper, which just celebrated its 60th anniversary. He wrote immediately about Sen. Ted Kennedy and then about burlesque dancer Blaze Starr (not in the same story or breath, we assure you). He has written about 2,000 articles about the town and its people and called the place “steadfast” and “classy.” He gave a quick list of notables for him — “George Stevens, Ed Shorey, Don Shannon, Virginia Allen, Chris Murray” — and worried about not naming others. Tischler gave a tip of his hat to author Kitty Kelley, who, he said, “is famous but never acts like it.” Indicating his love of the arts, he also said, “The best view of Georgetown is from the Kennedy Center, and the best view of the Kennedy Center is from Georgetown” — and that he hoped to keep writing 2,000 more stories.

If you want to interview and be interviewed for the oral history project, contact the Citizens Association of Georgetown — CAGtown.org — CAGmail@CAGtown.org — 202-337-7313. [gallery ids="135659,135661" nav="thumbs"]

Sallie Lewis • January 16, 2015

We asked a few Georgetown families to talk about what they love to do around Christmas or Hanukkah, and what it means to them. The village is quieter, easier to traverse – all the better to appreciate all that you and yours have. It is indeed a special time of year.

LIZ & STEVEN BARENTZEN
Quiet, Peaceful Neighborhood

“One of the things I like the most is how quiet it feels,” said Liz Barentzen of Christmas in Georgetown. “A lot of people leave the city, students are gone. On Christmas Eve, when we take our walk, it feels peaceful and light.” Liz and Steven Barentzen met in New York City and were married there before moving to Washington, D.C., in 2004. Their two young sons, Cash and Wesley, were born in D.C.

Each recurring holiday season, the family of four upholds many traditions — from going to the National Christmas Tree together, to ice skating at Washington Harbour and having dinner at Founding Farmers. One of their most treasured traditions comes on Christmas Eve. “I have a Manhattan clam chowder recipe that was my great-grandmother’s,” said Liz. “We have that for an early supper, and then we walk through the neighborhood looking at the lights and stopping for a few parties.”

Later, Liz and Steven have some of their close friends over for an evening get-together and celebration. “Christmas is the time for family and reflection, togetherness, warmth,” said Liz, and this Barentzen family tradition certainly exudes all of these things.

The Barentzens are involved with the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. ASPCA was the first humane society established in North America, and today it is one of the largest in the world. The family first got involved when their dog passed away shortly after moving to D.C., and it continues to make a donation every year.

ALLISON & CHRIS PUTALA
Hanukkah, Christmas and Martin’s Tavern

“It’s the holiday cheer of our community that we like best,” said Allison Putala. Her Georgetown block has more than 10 kids who are under 10 years old, plus a host of other fun and lively neighbors.

Growing elsewhere (Atlanta for her, Amherst for him), Allison and Chris Putala met in D.C. and were married at the Mellon Auditorium in September 2008. They have lived in Georgetown for the past eight years and have two children: a daughter, Caroline, who is in preschool and their son Jack, who is 2.

The Putala family mixes the traditions of Hanukkah and Christmas each holiday season. From making a great grandmother’s special dip to reading “A Child’s Christmas In Wales,” the family fosters the holiday spirit, sharing traditions and making memories that their children will remember throughout their lives.

One of these traditions includes going to Martin’s Tavern during the holidays, where little Caroline Putala has a special “Everybody Loves Martin’s Tavern” song for the occasion and is a popular patron in her own right. Like the Barentzens, the family also enjoys going ice skating at the Georgetown waterfront and having dinner at Founding Farmers. Allison is on the board of the N Street Village, a women’s homeless shelter in D.C. that gets women out of the cycle of abuse and prepares them for the job market.

KRISTEN & JOHN LEVER
Breakfast With Santa, Noche Buena

“Christmas is a time to be thankful for all the things that we have and to spread goodness. One of our favorite events to go to is the Breakfast with Santa at Volta Park,” said Kristen, who with her husband John has lived in Georgetown since 2001. They will celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary in 2015. Kristen is on the board of Friends of Volta Park in addition to Baby Love, an organization that provides baby gear and supplies to mothers and children in need.

The couple has two children, Ian, 8, and Kara, 6, and the family has a slew of special holiday traditions. With two children under the age of ten, the holidays are especially sweet for the Lever family.

“On Christmas Eve after dinner the kids put on their plaid PJs and we sit in front of the fire, and John reads ‘The Night Before Christmas,’ ” said Kristen. One of the family’s happiest Christmases in recent memory occurred last year when the Levers moved into a new house in Georgetown. The house was roomier and allowed the grandparents and additional family to stay over for the holidays.

Christmas in the Lever house is a cultural fusion, thanks to John’s Chilean heritage. In Chile, they celebrate “Noche Buena,” the Chilean version of Christmas Eve. Mixing the two styles of celebration and customs together is something that gives the Levers their own flair each Christmas.

D.C. is filled with magical corners and specially decorated places during the Yuletide. For the Levers, one of their favorites is Book Hill Park in Georgetown. They enjoy looking down at the hustle and bustle on the streets, the glowing Georgetown Public Library and all the decorated storefronts. They also love the Georgetown waterfront with its wash of lights and the Kennedy Center aglow on the river.

When asked what Christmas means, the Putalas summed it up in one word: “Family.”

LESLIE & PAUL MAYSAK
Slow Down, Shop Local
Photo by Erin Schaff.

“Christmas to me is about spending time with family and taking time to slow down and enjoy all that we have,” said Leslie Maysak, who with her husband Paul has lived in Georgetown for 15 years. Today, the couple has two sons, Jack and Liam, 11 and 8, respectively.

Every Christmas, the family of four loves going to the holiday trains exhibit at the U.S. Botanical Gardens, and they pick up their Christmas tree near their house. “We always get our tree at The Georgetown Visitation School,” said Leslie, adding that it is carried to their home in a little wagon. “We love the small town, village feel of Georgetown,” she added, shedding light on the enviable quaintness that attracts people near and far to our tree lined streets and cobbled roads.

With its bountiful garlands and famed tables aglow, the Maysaks treasure their time at Martin’s Tavern during the holidays. The family is a big proponent of shopping local during Christmas. “We try to do as much Christmas shopping as we can in Georgetown,” said Leslie. And with the evident commitment to their neighborhood, it should come as no surprise that the Maysaks also enjoy giving back. The family supports the Georgetown Ministry Center in addition to picking up hams for the homeless food drive during the holiday season.

Please let us know about your own family traditions. Email editorial@Georgetowner.com. We will put the most interesting on our website before Santa Claus arrives.
[gallery ids="101955,135821,135814,135819" nav="thumbs"]

Sonya Bernhardt • October 23, 2014

Sixty years after the first edition of our star-bannered community newspaper hit the streets of the village, The Georgetowner is proud to be a continually growing part of this very special neighborhood. The jump to the internet, Facebook, Twitter, and other types of social media presently available, have been a natural evolution for the paper. Your continued interest has made these advancements an effortless joy. These virtual presences are vital to our future, but we feel strongly about the physical offices we lease in Georgetown, that allow you to stop in and say “hi,” and the physical product we print that you can hold, read, ponder, save as a keepsake or recycle at your leisure. The ever-growing loyalty and long term relationships with our readers, advertisers, and supporters confirm for us that these traditional staples are a part of the recipe that has kept us thriving at a time when many newspapers are not and an expense we are happy to bear.

Our belief in working with community non-profits, our presence at community events, and our documentation of social happenings confirm our genuine interest and commitment to you. We recently joined the George Town Club to provide yet another venue in which we can continually listen to you, gather and converse. Come join us there on Thursday mornings at The Georgetowner’s Cultural Leadership Breakfast series.

I consider publishing this independently owned community newspaper my life’s work, and it makes me smile every day. Come talk to me about your business, come talk to me about an event that we can help you with, and wave to me on the street when you see me. Thank you, Georgetown, for letting me be a part of you during this working lifetime, as we send the paper into its next 60 years of star-bannered success.

David Roffman •

Having been associated with The Georgetowner (assistant editor, editor, publisher) for 42 years of the publication’s 60 years, I have many memories of the village I served — its people, its places and its events. Here are at least 60 moments in Georgetown I recall with love.

— Fats Domino and his orchestra performing at the Crazy Horse on M Street in the 1960s.

— Stuart Davidson, opening Clyde’s Saloon.

— Sunday brunches at Doc Dalinsky’s Georgetown Pharmacy with the likes of Herblock, David Brinkley, Joe Califano, Ben Bradlee, Collins Bird .

— Celebrations at Wisconsin and M for Redskin’s, Hoya’s and Bullet’s championship wins.

— Parades down the length of Wisconsin Avenue as part of the annual Francis Scott Key Star-Spangled celebrations in the early 1980s.

— Louis Alexander Traxel, brandishing two antique pistols to keep order at a Citizens Association meeting.

— Oak Hill Cemetery caretaker George Kackley reciting to us the history of this famous resting place.

— Interviewing the likes of Kevin Kline, John Houseman, Stacey Keach, Jack Lemmon, Sissy Spacek and Mr. T at Howard Joynt’s Nathans Restaurant.

— Faithfully attending the monthly Advisory Neighborhood Commission meetings with Bill Cochran as chairman.

— Watching William Friedkin, directing a scene for “The Exorcist” at the Car Barn steps.

— Watching Iranians protest the Shah of Iran on Wisconsin Avenue.

— Attending opening night of Michael O’Harro’s Tramp’s Discotheque in 1975.

— Chatting with Edward Bennett Williams about George Allen’s Redskins at Harold’s Deli.

— Listening to Roberta Flack at Mr. Henry’s of Georgetown.

— Listening to Herbie Mann at Blues Alley.

— Listening to Billy Joel and Foreigner at the Bayou on K Street.

— Talking books with Mrs. Johnson at the Francis Scott Key Bookstore.

— Meandering through the maze of Little Caledonia, Georgetown’s Tom Thumb department store.

— Regularly lunching with Virginia Luce Allen at the Georgetown Senior Center.

— Experiencing the “Rocky Horror Show” at David Levy’s Key Theater.

— Breakfasting at Martin’s Tavern and Clyde’s Omellette Room.

— Dining with Richard McCooey at his 1789 Restaurant.

— Meeting Muhammed Ali at Chris Murray’s Govinda Gallery.

— Shopping at Neam’s Market, the French Market and the Food Mart

— Meeting David and Polly Brooks at the opening of their Appalachian Spring crafts shop.

— Visiting with J. Bernard Wyckoff and learning about the early days of Georgetown’s preservation movement.

— Listening to Eva R. Hinton hold court at CAG meetings.

— Conducting a walking tour of Georgetown for actor Eli Wallach and his wife actress Anne Jackson.

— Admiring CAG’s many presidents including Grosvenor Chapman, Charles Poore, Olcott Deming, Peter Belin and Juan Cameron.

— Seeing classic films at the Biograph theater.

— Watching Burt Lancaster filming a scene for “Scorpio” on O Street.

— Hosting Georgetown’s First Annual Physical Fitness Day at Volta Park.

— Joe Pozell’s funeral procession down Wisconsin Avenue.

— Christening the Francis Scott Key Park in Georgetown. The Georgetowner conceived the idea, and thanks to Randy Roffman, Robert Devaney, Jonda McFarlane, Norm Larsen and others for making the dream come true.

— The reaction to 9/11 in Georgetown.

— Vietnam War protests in the streets of Georgetown.

— The day Martin Luther King was killed and the mandatory curfew placed in Georgetown.

— The opening of Rick Hinden’s and David Pensky’s Britches of Georgetowne.

— Johnny Snyder and Sam Levy, Emil Audette and Lillian Harper, C. Millicent Chatel, the commercial realtors of Georgetown.

— Sizzling steaks at Dino’s Paramount Steak House.

— Ice cream cones from Swensen’s.

— Befriending John and Ginger Laytham.

— Working with Gary Tischler, the most versatile writer in D.C.

— Steak and cheese from Booeymonger’s.

— Having Grace Bateman, Rory Quirk, Bob Sellers, Debbie Dean, Suzi Gookin, and Mary Bird write for the newspaper.

— Profiling Rae Koch, hostess for years at The Old Stone House.

— Kibbitzing almost daily for 30 years with Scotty Feldman at Potomac Wines & Spirits.

— Interviewing Eva Marie Saint and Elizabeth Ashley at the Jour et Nuit.

— The legendary Cellar Door nightclub.

— Hardware men Jim Weaver and Frank Menahan.

— Interviewing author Kitty Kelley

— Averell and Pamela Harriman

— Katharine Graham

— Rev. Timothy Healy, S.J. (A.M.D.G.)

I could go on, but there are my 60 memories — a few combined into a single line item — for our newspaper’s 60th anniversary.
[gallery ids="101876,136896" nav="thumbs"]

Gary Tischler • October 13, 2014

I was asked recently by two young videographers if and how the Georgetowner had changed since I began writing stories here.

 I thought about that for more than a minute.  Have things changed in 34 years?  Hell yes, they’ve changed.  Everything has changed, not just at the Georgetowner, but in newspapers and the media and Georgetown and Washington.

Our newspaper is being put together, designed, written and edited on iPhones, tablets and computers that have a combined weight that is considerably less than the linotype machine that publisher Dave Roffman used to set type for many years.  The digital age swept away the IBM Selectric typewriter, and 35 mm film and old reading habits.  Somewhere in an attic there are no doubt typewriter ribbons, old Remingtons and Polaroid cameras.

 It’s true that I’ve spent 34 years writing stories for the Georgetowner. At first I worked in the many offices that bore the name, The Georgetowner.  Now I write in a homemade office huddled over a screen, sending and reading e-mails.   Thirty-four years is a lot of stories—more than 2,000 would not be an exaggeration.  I’ve met a lot of people, accumulated cherished friends and acquaintances and spent a lot of time talking with people, in person and on the phone.   Not to mention bathing in experiences and occasions, openings, plays, concerts, rallies and protests, swearing-ins, courtroom trials, government meetings, parades and, more and more often, funerals.

So, yes, things have changed in the profession and at the Georgetowner.  The paper has moved through distinct publishing eras – the years of Amy Stewart, Dave Roffman and Sonya Bernhardt, the last still moving forward.

When I moved here in 1975, the Washington Post was basking in the afterglow of its Pulitzer Prize-winning Watergate coverage.  Katharine Graham, Ben Bradlee and Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein were the best-known names in journalism. Graham died in the summer of 2001 and Bradlee, who looked and acted every inch the part of dashing journalist, lies in a hospice. The Washington Post itself is owned byJeff Bezos, the head of Amazon, in a true 21st-century deal.

The Georgetowner isn’t just the Georgetowner anymore either—we have The Downtowner, two websites and a newsletter. It is a mostly happy marriage between digital and print.

As for myself, I have had the good fortune to be a witness to all kinds of history, thanks in no small part to a partner that encourages and abets that good fortune.  Writing and reporting, journalism and newspapers are all about people, all kinds of people.

 So, instead of name-dropping or title dropping, I’ll just drop a few things I’ll never forget:  Lou Traxel, citizen extraordinaire; the sea of hats at Dorothy Height’s funeral at the National Cathedral; the bitter cold at Barack Obama’s first inauguration; the musicians gathered for a celebration of Woody Guthrie’s music; seeing Cary Grant walk the red carpet; sitting in on the trial of the accused killers of Officer Remington; David Levy and Devine putting on a searchlight opening of “Polyester” at the Key Theater.

Every anniversary, it seems we recite the names and the qualities: the late Tom Quinn’s red-faced gift for characters in the movies and on stage; Kitty Kelley’s love of Georgetown and down-to-earth kindness; the classiest arts guy around, George Stevens, Jr.  And we remember those no longer with us: P Street resident Eva Calloway, almost 100 years old inviting me to dance; the exuberant optimism and intelligence of the Rev. Meg Graham at St John’s Church; and Virginia Allen’s stubborn way of success at the Senior Center.

I am often reminded when reminiscing of the woman in Samuel Beckett’s short play, “Rockabye.” The character, fading and ill, still remembers her life. At the end of each memory, she whispers, or shouts, or hollers and rasps one word: “More.” Here’s to “More.”