My Georgetowner Moments: 60 for 60 Years
• October 23, 2014

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.
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A Good Life at the Georgetowner
• 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.”

Car Break-Ins Near Rose Park
• September 25, 2014

The Metropolitan Police’s Lt. John Knutsen, who oversees Georgetown, reported Sept. 22 on how police are addressing car break-ins on the east side of Georgetown: “Starting tonight we will be deploying a mobile lighting system in the Rose Park area, which will be manned by a police officer. While it may not be there every night, I hope to have it as continuously as possible. If anyone has suggestions as to where it would be most effectively placed, please let me know. I don’t want to shine the lights through anyone’s windows… I think providing some light in the park would help with safety concerns and deter theft from autos.”

• Arrest at 2:43 a.m., Sept. 20, on Prospect Street for Simple Assault. There also was an arrest at almost the same time/date for Destruction of Property on Thomas Jefferson Street. (Crimes were not necessarily committed at the locations.)

• Burglary on Potomac Street, Sept. 20 between 2:20 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. Entry was via an unlocked door, and property was stolen from the residence.

• Because of playground renovation, the Rose Park pathway lights have been disconnected and as a result it is rather dark there at night. There was another car break-in last week on Dumbarton Street at Rose Park.

• Neighbors are advised to walk cautiously and vigilantly through Rose Park at night, to remember to lock house doors and windows. As for cars, keep as much hidden in vehicles as possible. This includes power or charging cables, which might indicate electronic devices, such as phones, tablets or GPS gear, in the glove compartment or under the seat.

Compiled from information provided by the Citizens Association of Georgetown