Oral History: John Fox

John Fox was seventeen when his family moved to Annandale in 1939. His father started the Annandale Volunteer Fire Department, and John Fox served with that department. He describes the technology of fire fighting and major blazes facing the volunteers.

Oral History: Elly Doyle

Elly Doyle moved to Fairfax County during the early 1950s. A civic activist and former member and chairman of the Fairfax County Park Authority Board, she traces the development of the activities of county parks and her role in that growth.

Oral History: Aubrey Chason

Aubrey Chason's family moved to Annandale in 1931 when he was three years old. He remembers childhood activities, going to school, the area's rural character before development, the home front in World War II, and working for local companies. Aubrey's wife, Ann Chason, joins the discussion near the end of the interview.

Oral History: Paul Brown (Jul. 25, 1929 - Sep. 16, 2005)

Paul Brown grew up in Fairfax County. He remembers childhood activities, pickup neighborhood baseball, long bus rides to school, and neighborhood grocery stores. He reminisces about family history and about the days when the Braddock District had no electricity and telephones were party lines. Paul Brown's family lived in Brimstone Hill, whose construction dates to the 1820s.

Oral History: Ernest (Buddy) Belote

Ernest (Buddy) Belote can trace his family roots in Northern Virginia to pre-Revolutionary days. His ancestor, Colonel William Fitzhugh of Bedfordshire, England, purchased about 22,000 acres of land in Northern Virginia and began cultivating what would become one of the largest tobacco plantations in Northern Virginia. The property encompassed the current Ravensworth neighborhood in the Braddock District. After discussing the Fitzhughs, Buddy Belote talks about his career in radio and television news, his daughter's Olympic swimming achievements, and Braddock District development.

A Look Back at Braddock Oral History Project

Oral History: Dale Adler

Dale Adler grew up on a ten-acre farm just off Braddock Road. Despite her father's lengthy absences as a photographer, the family raised their own produce as well as beef cattle. She recalls her school experiences and the beginning of subdivision growth.

A Look Back at Braddock Oral History Project

Kings Park Realty Advertisements

Kings Park was part of the growth of suburban communities in the Braddock District during the 1960s. Most residents were families with a stay-at-home mother, and community activities for children and adults developed including Friday night movies for children, adult dinner dances, and sports teams.

Courtesy Robert Hunt

Annandale Women's Club, 2001

In 2001, members of the Annandale Women's Club recreated David Robinson's 1927 painting, The Women's Club. (back row, left to right: Helen Mobley, Alice Snitzer, Priscilla Dodge, Helen Winter, Bette McBeth. Middle row: Marion Poats, Peggy Longmeier, Elizabeth Barrow. Front row: Moira Leite, Edith Livengood, Ann Dohleman.

Sun-Gazette, April 26, 2001

Burke International Airport Proposal, Land Auction Announcement

In 1959, the federal government advertised the sale at auction of land originally purchased and consolidated to construct an international airport at Burke. When an alternate site in Chantilly was chosen, almost 900 acres of land formerly designated for the airport passed to the Fairfax County Park Authority. Burke Lake and Burke Lake Park were built on that land.

Information courtesy of Frederic Kielsgard and Ross Netherton (from Memories of Beautiful Burke)

Simpson Family: Top 'o the Hill Gang

Four young friends, (l to r) Bernice Rice, Mildred Simpson, James Wycoff, and Virginia Simpson at Spring Grove Farm, circa 1935. With no electronic entertainment, children played outside and with each other as late as they could.

Courtesy Suzanne Fowler Neale