The Barcroft News
February 1999 - Volume 96, Number 6
February Meeting: Dangerous Intersections
Afraid to walk across Highway 50 at the Henderson intersection? Tired of seeing cars blaze through the red light there? Worried about those who think Highway 50 is a racetrack (but still use their cell phones while racing)? Then come to the February BSCL meeting and discuss ways to alleviate this dangerous intersection. We will also consider ways to encourage motorists to use George Mason Drive instead of cutting through the neighborhood.
The county at one time planned to close the Henderson Road crossing, but that plan is apparently not on the books anymore. Still, some in the neighborhood wonder what can be done to make the crossing safer, given the frequent -- and sometimes deadly -- accidents there. Addressing these and other questions will be Sherrell Crow of the Virginia Department of Transportation. He's a former county employee so is familiar with the neighborhood. Mr. Crow had hoped to appear at the January meeting, but had to reschedule. Please come to the meeting. A good turnout would show the state we want our traffic problems fixed. The meeting begins at 7:30 p.m., on Thursday, February 4. See you there.
Laissez le Bon Temps Rouler
Join the swinging Crawdads in celebrating Mardi Gras (aka Fat Tuesday) at the Community House on February 16. Their hot tunes blend perfectly with the red beans and rice – and both will make you want to get up and dance (or maybe just whoop and holler). Costumes encouraged; purple and gold attire always appropriate. 8-11 p.m. $5 cover. BYOB. Call Kathy Kerr (892-6458) for information or to volunteer.
Barcroft New Year’s Eve Party
10, 9, 8, 7. Yes, Barcrofters, there will be a neighborhood New Year's Eve Party on
December 31, 1999. That’s right, we are already planning to welcome the next year, century,
and millennium. This will be your last chance in the 1900s to attend an event in the Community
House. Relaxed, friendly atmosphere, low cost, right here in Barcroft. No need to worry if the
traffic lights go out at midnight, since there will not be any between the party and your home
(at least if you are staying in our neighborhood)! Millennialists Barbara and Randy Swart are
the interim organizers, but they would not mind if somebody else got fired up and took the job
away. You can call them at 521-2080 or send an email to millennium@bscl.org
to reserve your place or suggest a party idea or volunteer to help.
To rent the Community House for your own function (some other night) please call Tom Palance
at 979-8366 or send an email to tom@bscl.org
It seems like a long way off, but you just watch!
Easter Egg Artistry
Hey Kids, it’s time for our 2nd annual Easter Egg Poster Contest! Get your makers and crayons ready. We need your bright, creative, and colorful posters to help us advertise our Easter Egg Hung.
The posters will be displayed around the Neighborhood to publicize the event; then they be collected and brought to the Community House for judging. The winner in each category will get a chocolate bunny!
All youth through age 18 are invited to participate. The age categories will be: birth – 3 years; 4 – 6 years; 7 – 9 years; 10-18 years. (For kids too young to write, the child can draw and parents may letter the necessary information.) Posters must have the following information: Barcroft Easter Egg Hunt, April 3, 1999, 10 a.m., Barcroft Community House, Admission $1 per child.
Submit your posters to Anna Peterson at 819 S. Wakefield by March 26. Call for more information at 521-8756.
Magnifico!
How much spaghetti can 140 Barcrofters eat? Not quite all of it, but we tried. The Spaghetti Dinner raised $350 for the Community House. Many thanks and a pat on the stomach for Tom Palance and all the other volunteers (including Elaine and Ron Squeri with Peg Lefebvre, who served as the rapid response team) for orchestrating the event and for all that great food. We also enjoyed the sweet Italian music performed by Michael Nazaretz on accordion and Julie Gorka on piano. The two youngest participants at the dinner were Steven Huddleston, age six weeks and Maria Schneider, age four weeks. See Kathy’s column to learn more about them and their families.
Gershwin Lives!
...through his timeless music. New York night club singer Melody Breyer-Grell and jazz pianist
Burnett Thompson will enthrall us with songs by Gershwin, Rogers and Hart, Kern, and others on
Friday, February 26, 7:30 at the Woman's Club of Arlington. A reception will follow the program. Admission is $6 adults and $4 kids. Guaranteed child-friendly, so bring your whole family! For more information, call Julie Gorka at 979-0339 for details.
Publisher Needed
Jane Duffy deserves a break. She has served as the publisher of the Barcroft News for several years, and she is now seeking someone to replace her (as if she can be replaced!) The publisher’s main jobs are to pick up the News from the printer, to affix address labels to each copy, and to distribute the News to the various delivery volunteers. A quick turnaround on these jobs is essential for the timely delivery of the News as, ahem, sometimes the Editors run a day or two late (sorry, Jane, and thanks for your patience). It takes a couple hours, once a month, to do the job. Your reward? Serving your community, and a place of honor on the prestigious News masthead.
Barcroft Exchange
Perhaps it was the sound of the robin singing or the first warm breeze that tells us that
spring, and spring cleaning, will soon be here. Do you have some goods or services you would
like to sell or buy? Then why not list it here in the Barcroft Exchange.
Call Mark Rom at 486-2983 to list items, or send an email to
mark@bscl.org
Friday Playgroup
The Barcroft Friday Playgroup continues, well, playing, at Community House every Friday morning in February from 9:30 - 11:30 a.m. All parents and children welcome. Call Lisa Rom at 486-2983 for more information.
Barcroft School Orientation Meeting
The Barcroft School will hold an informational meeting for parents who would like to meet the Principal and find out more about the school. The meeting will be held Tuesday, February 2, beginning promptly at 12:30 and lasting until 2:00 p.m. at the school. If you cannot attend this meeting, please call the school at 228-5838 to make an appointment.
And remember: to register your child in an Arlington public school, you will need your child’s birth certificate, proof or Arlington residence, your child’s medical information (including immunization) and Social Security if available.
Learn CPR At Home
You can learn the life-saving skill of cardiopulmonary resuscitation by checking out the Rescue Me CPR video kit (with practice dummy!) from an Arlington County Library, beginning February 14.
Arlington County has a new program, unique in the United States, to assist consumers enrolled in Medicare managed care programs. The Ombudsman investigates consumer complaints and negotiates solutions for enrollees in problems related to hospital discharges, skilled nursing facilities, or home health care agencies. The program also sponsors monthly workshops to educate consumers about the latest Medicare news. The Ombudsman program is administered by the Arlington Agency on Aging and the United Seniors Health Cooperative and Legal Services of Northern Virginia. For more information, call 228-5030.
Concert Series?
New Barcroft neighbor Andy Carlson is interested in developing a concert series for the Community House. Andy is a professional musician who plays the tuba for the Navy Band, but you need neither be a professional nor a tubaist (tubateer?) to provide him ideas. Look for him at the Mardi Gras concert, maybe share a bowl of beans and rice with him, and perhaps next thing you or your friends will be on the concert bill.
Around the Neighborhood with Kathy Kerr
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Bill and Nancy Huddleston had plenty to be thankful for this year when their new baby, Steven James, was born just after Thanksgiving, on Sunday, Nov. 29. Steven's big sister, Rachel Ward, is a Kindergartner at Barcroft School in Ms. Childer's class. She loved having her 5th birthday last July at the Community House. She reports that there was plenty of room for all of her friends and that everyone enjoyed swinging at a piñata on the stage.
Bill and Nancy will be celebrating their first wedding anniversary on Valentine's Day this year. Nancy is a public relations manager for Network Solutions. Bill has been in the neighborhood since 1995 when he immediately became involved with the BSCL as fundraiser for the Community House Renovation Committee. The Huddlestons live over on 1st St. South.
Congratulations to Frank and Anna Schneider of 8th St. S whose new baby, Maria, was born on December 10, 1998. Maria's big sister, Christina was born three years ago during the blizzard of 1996. The
Schneiders have lived in Barcroft since 1995. Frank works for Broad Point Communications. Anna is not totally certain if she will be returning to Mitsubishi Motors.
From the Pages of the Past
In 1903, the Barcroft News reported that:
"Columbia Pike is in no better condition now to withstand these ravages
[winter thaws and spring rains] than it was last fall. From Palmer's hill [S. Taylor St.] to the
County Line it was impassable for loaded teams for several weeks in the early part of
the year and remained in that condition until the "natives" of Fairfax county came down
and repaired it so that they could get to the city with their milk and produce. The
most comforting reflection of the natives of this district is that the term of the present
road commissioner is soon to end, and it is to be hoped that his successor will secure
better results, so that in the future we will not have to call upon natives of other
counties to repair our roads at their expense."
And now we worry about too much speed!
Calendar
(Check our Calendar Page for late revisions!)
Special Events
- February 2, Tuesday ( Does a Shadow await the Groundhog?
- February 4, Thursday ( BSCL Meeting, “Dangerous Intersections,” 7:30 p.m. Barcroft Community House, 800 S. Buchanan St.
- February 16, Tuesday ( BCSL Mardi Gras Party, 8 p.m., Barcroft Community House.
- February 26, Friday ( Songs of Gershwin and More 7:30 p.m. Arlington Women’s Club.
Regular Events
- February 5, 12, 19, 26 ( Play Group, Barcroft Community House, 9:30 – 11:30 a.m.
- February 2, 9, 16, 23 ( Hatha Yoga, Barcroft Community House, 6:30 p.m.
- February 3, 10, 17, 24 ( Hatha Yoga, Barcroft Community House, 7 p.m.
Want to Dance, Eat Birthday Cake, or Toast the Wedding Couple?
You can do these things, and more, on a budget,
at the Barcroft Community House
- Large space, small rental fee;
- Sparkling new kitchen & restroom
Call Tom at 979-8366
Special Low Rates for BSCL Members!
Membership Dues
September marked the beginning of a new membership year, and it is time to renew our Barcroft
School and Civic League memberships. Dues remain the same, still
$3 per adult ($6 per couple).
The BCSL offers events for our community throughout the year.
All work for these events is done by volunteer members. We encourage
you to become one of those people who help make things happen.
The membership form shows several areas where help is needed.
Some of the happenings have been around for a long time, while
others are new areas of interest. Hopefully there is one that
interests you.
Once again we ask for your continued support of the Barcroft Community
House Fund. Through your generosity, major portions of the restoration
have been completed. However, several significant tasks still
remain (e.g., roofing, flooring, the main hall, and landscaping
- which really needs to include a sprinkler system to survive).
Any contribution you can make will help to complete the total
effort and will, of course, be very much appreciated.
Please take a moment to fill out the membership form and mail
it to the Membership Secretary at her home address shown on the
form.
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Barcroft News Staff
Editors - Mark and Lisa Rom 486-2983
Publisher/Mailing - Jane Duffy 892-6015
Advertising Mgr. - We need your help!
Neighborhd News - Kathy Kerr, 892-6458
Contributions Ed. - More fun than flubber!
Deadlines: 1st (ads) or 10th (editorial material)
day of the month preceeding the issue month.
BSCL Officers for 1998-1999
President - David Michaelson, 553-3953
Vice President - Mark Wigfield, 979-0339
Recording Secy. - Maria Corey 486-2060
Treasurer - Gary Lefebvre, 521-0184
Corres. Secy. - Bill Huddleston 920-2011
Membership Secy. - Peg Lefebvre, 521-0184
Board Members - Scott Brinitzer, Jim Kerr, Tom Palance, Randy Swart
Community House
Facility Mgr. - Tom Palance 979-8366
Restoration - Jim Kerr, 892-6458
Fundraising - Bill Huddleston 920-2011
Landscaping - Scott Brinitzer, 892-0308
Crime Resistance - Need a Volunteer. Help keep us safe!
Neigh. Conserv. - David Michaelson, 553-3953
Signs Manager - Jack Turner
Traffic Committee - Elaine Squeri 920-7014
Parade - Andrew Hunter 979-8247
The paper version of the Barcroft News is printed on recycled paper with vegetable-based ink by the Stanley Adams
Printing Company. Web page put up by Randy Swart using recycled bits and bytes, and it is not absolutely identical to the paper one!
Barcroft School and Civic League
800 South Buchanan Street
Arlington, VA 22204
Neighborline: (24 hr. announcements) 521-1116
Email: info@bscl.org
Web: www.bscl.org
This page was last revised on: September 15, 2000.
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