Montgomery County Heritage Days

Photo: Jerry A. McCoy

Jingson Guo, 7 years old, intently studies historic Silver Spring artifacts on display.

On June 23-24 the Silver Spring Historical Society participated in the 10th annual Montgomery County Heritage Days weekend.  This yearly free event spotlights historical sites and attractions scattered throughout our county as a way of connecting residents and visitors alike to Montgomery County's fascinating history.

Over 200 people visited Silver Spring's 1945 Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Station to learn about our community's history.  The star attraction, for young and old, was the Northern Virginia NTrack's narrow-gauge model train layout.  Of particular delight was a small portion of the layout that replicated the intersection of Georgia Avenue and the B&O railroad tracks (today's Metro and CSX freight lines), that included many of the surrounding structures, from the train station itself to the World Building.

Photo: Jerry A. McCoy

The Northern Virginia NTrack’s model train layout was a big draw for all ages during the B&O Railroad Station’s two day open house.

Marilyn Slatick curated an encore presentation of vintage train photos taken by Robert B. Davis, who was the Silver Spring station agent operator.  Mr. Davis was on hand where he regaled visitors with stories about the four decades plus that he worked at the station.  Walter Conklin provided a B&O train simulator computer program that allowed anyone in control of the computer's keyboard to operate (or even crash) a train.

Photo: John S. Sery

Jerry A. McCoy talks Silver Spring history with a visitor to the B&O Railroad Station.

Yours truly presented the one-time-only exhibit "Pieces of Silver Spring's Past," highlighting artifacts representative of Silver Spring's heritage.  This exhibit featured an array of objects, from the aluminum 1937 Silver Spring Post Office lobby dedication plaque and the solid wood 1945 "LADIES" restroom door from Tastee Diner (SSHS has the men's bathroom door but it is not in as nice of shape!) to the 1963 marble cornerstone from the Gramax Heliport Building (today's Gramax Towers, located at 8060 13th Street).

These and many more objects have for years been in storage, where the public has no opportunity to learn the myriad stories that they have to tell.  It is my fervent desire that these objects, as well as the archival holdings of the Silver Spring Historical Society, will someday find a permanent home where these materials will be publicly accessible. Any suggestions would be welcomed.

Photo: John S. Sery

Parents monitoring their toddler enthralled in the Thomas the Tank engine model train layout.

Please contact me at sshistory@yahoo.com or Silver Spring Historical Society, PO Box 1160, Silver Spring, MD, 20910-1160.  Our web site is www.sshistory.org.

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