Memories: Anne C. Brown

Anne C. Brown shares memories of growing up and living in Burke, VA, which has been home to several generations of her family. Born in 1921, she recalls growing up in the Depression, classes in Burke's original 3-room elementary school, World War II, commuting to work and small town life.

Oliver Farm, Annandale, Virginia

On Christmas Eve 1931, Robert Stringfellow Oliver, his wife Charlene Byrd Oliver, seven children and 24 cattle moved from Shirlington to this farm house in Annandale, which stands on Gallows Road near Columbia Pike. The cattle drive and move were so well planned that Mrs. Oliver was able to entertain as usual on the very next day, Christmas. Before marrying his wife and becoming a farmer, Mr. Oliver had been a street car driver in D.C. Their original farm was in Shirlington, but when that area became too crowded, Mr. Oliver purchased 89 acres in Annandale in 1926. He spent the next five years clearing the land and building the house. In Annandale, Mr. Oliver was a dairy farmer. Each morning the dairy company would pick up the milk cans and also regularly return for unannounced inspections.

Gladys Oliver McElwee, next to the youngest of the eight children remembers that the house had electricity and one bathroom for the ten members of the household. Her five brothers shared one large room. There was also an outhouse in the fields. Besides cows, the family had pigs, chickens, work horses and a vegetable garden. Gladys remembers that one of her brothers while milking a cow got mad at her and sprayed the cow's milk in Gladys' face. Mrs. McElwee also recalls her father leasing land during World War II for an Army radar station. One of her fondest memories was going to D.C. for dance lessons. She would catch the bus on Columbia Pike and ride into Washington for a quarter. She also remembers that her family avoided the local general store and would ride into Alexandria to shop, because her father said that the local store was too expensive. To this day, Gladys said she does not consider herself a farm girl although she grew up on this farm in Annandale.

Undated photograph courtesy of Gladys Oliver McElwee

Essay: The CCC Road

Bill Sheads writes about the road built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930s to open access to a large forested tract bounded by Old Keene Mill, Backlick, Braddock and Rolling Roads.

Created in 1933 by the federal government to combat the severe economic conditions of the Great Depression, the CCC provided jobs and training for the unemployed in public works projects across the nation. Many of these projects involved fire prevention, including fire roads like one in this essay.

Courtesy of Bill Sheads

Oral History, Part 2: Delbert (Bill) Sheads and Elsie Sisson (1921 - 2008)

In Part 2 of two interview sessions, Bill and Elsie (Sheads) Sisson, brother and sister, reminisce about their family, which came to the Braddock District from Culpepper, Virginia, in 1903. They talk about people and places, schools, lumbering and saw mills, and church life.

Memories: Joanne Mellender Hollis

Joanne Mellender Hollis first moved to Fairfax as a child in 1932. She remembers activities of her childhood and life during World War II, when German prisoners-of-war were assigned to work on her family farm.

Oak Hill Memories: Bernice Watt Montgomery

Bernice Watt Montgomery lived the first ten years of her life at Oak Hill when it was a 50-acre working farm. Her grandfather had purchased the property in 1889 for $900. She tells of her family and remembers her childhood on the historic property until its sale in 1935.

Oak Hill Memories: Mary Grace Watt Pulley

Mary Grace Watt Pulley lived the first seventeen years of her life at Oak Hill when it was a 50-acre working farm. Her grandfather had purchased the property in 1889 for $900. She tells of her family and remembers her childhood on the historic property until its sale in 1935. Her sketch shows the layout of the buildings and grounds as she remembers them.

Oral History: Rosemarie Schelling

Rosemarie Schelling and her family moved to the Braddock District when her husband was stationed at the Pentagon during the 1960s. Their five children joined a neighborhood of large families. Rosemarie Schelling remembers family activities, outdoor sports, rural roads, and holiday celebrations.She traces changes in daily life.

Oral History: James Roland

James Roland was born in northern Virginia. His parents had moved to the area from Tennessee after World War II because of the better job market. James Roland learned carpentry and dry wall from his father, joined him in business, and then turned to carpentry and building. As a boy, he delivered papers on horseback. He remembers retrieving Civil War artifacts on local property, raising farm animals and distances traveled on rural roads for shopping, schools, and medical care. Railroads and hobos are among his early memories.

Oral History: Valerie Vahouny

Val Vahouny and her family moved to a new home in the original Kings Park development in 1963. Like many families in the 1950s, she and her husband first lived in an apartment until their growing family required more space. She talks about family and community life, daily activities, and celebrations, Valerie Vahouny remembers Braddock Road as a two-lane street with no traffic lights and a half-hour commute into the District of Columbia where her husband worked. She talks about physical growth and neighborhood changes over time.