Follow The Reader's Lead

I received two wonderful emails tonight from two readers of this blog. I have to say its a great feeling to get such a positive reaction from residents. I've always believed journalism to be a public service and with a blog as my platform, it can be.

As I gear up for a summer of interviews and investigation I'd like to know what readers are thinking. As you (the reader) drive or walk around Columbia, what do you wonder about? What would you like me to go out and cover? Think of yourself as part of the production process because in fact, you are!

Look at these Hunteresque tea shades. Imagine wearing them around town. These shades will show you stories waiting to be told. Pretend you're wearing them for a day and think about something post-worthy. Hold that thought . . . and tell me about it.

I scribble notes everyday on ideas for posts or people I'd like to interview, so if you know someone who'd make a good interview or something interesting that's happening in Columbia, drop me a line at thegonzojournalist@gmail.com If you'd like to tell me how I'm doing or how I can improve, same deal, send an email to my gmail.

Thank You, Come Again!

When you think of Columbia, what comes to mind? Great schools, tot-lots, the bike guy and restaurants. Its hard to drive more than five minutes without finding a restaurant and damn near impossible to miss a Chinese, Italian or Mexican restaurant. I'm not a big fan of burritos, combination plates and cheap margaritas. Most of the Italian restaurants are overpriced. And if you want good Chinese food, go to Shanghai or Hunan Manor.

Indian food is the shizzle and I prefer House of India. Of course right behind the house is Ackbar, comparable but not the same. HowChow has reported about the possibility of India Delight joining the mosh pit of mango lassis and palak paneers. One more knock off won't hurt right? That's what Atlanta Bread Company general manager Keith Walthers told us in so many words on opening day. A year later, the doors closed for good.

Assuming that India Delight opens shop like HowChow reports it might, my guess is the restaurant would fill the vacant space held by ABC or California Tortilla. Will it survive with House of India and Ackbar dug in less than a mile away?

Stop In The Name Of The Law!

Did you know its against the law to ride a bicycle through the Oakland Mills village center? I didn't know and I didn't give much attention to the black man sitting on the planter yelling at me to get off my bike. At first I thought what's his malfunction?

Last Friday, I was biking back from an interview with Linda Morris at the lakefront. I ride across the pedestrian bridge and took a detour through the village center to take a few pictures. On my way out, pedaling casually, the man stopped me and said I had to get off my bike and walk it or he'd call the police. "OK man, you do that, have a nice one," I replied coolly. Just to be sure, I read the list of rules on the corner of the block of stores on my way out.

Lo and behold, the use of rollerskates, scooters, skateboards and bicycles is prohibited. What a stupid rule I thought. While we're on the subject, Oakland Mills is as much a village center as Al Roker is a fortune teller. Sure it has the makings of a village center with a grocery store and a string of shops. But behind that, aside from the ice rink, there's nothing. It sucks.

As I pedaled out of the village center by Bangkok Gardens, I remembered the pale blue trailer near the bus stop that houses Howard County Police, oops. As I turned the corner, down the sidewalk, I glanced back in time long enough to see a cruiser rounding the corner. What a waste of resources.

Cy Paumier

Go to any of the village centers and look around . . . what do you see? Most likely shops and concrete and bricks. Who worked on planning and designing those village centers? Cy Paumier did.

Paumier grew up in Canton, Ohio. He says growing up in Canton was somewhat similar to Columbia in the sense that the town had a concept of a village center and a black population close to 20 percent. Paumier received his bachelors in Ohio in landscape architecture. From there he went to Harvard for his masters in urban design.

By the time he was working on Nun's Island in Montreal, he heard about Jim Rouse and Columbia through the press. He moved into Bryant Woods in 1969 and went to work for the Rouse Company as land planner.

"The people that moved here in the early years were obviously pioneers in the sense that they knew they might be living next to an African American family or somebody else, some other nationality. So you didn't move here unless you were prepared to be a part of an integrated experience with people of all backgrounds. And I think that made for a rather exciting community. "

In 1972, with the economy in recession, Paumier left the Rouse Company and joined Land Research/Design International with several friends and former Rouse Company employees. LRD worked on The Woodlands among other projects. In 1976, LRD rewrote Columbia's zoning ordinance, mandating that no more than four town houses could be built in a row.

While on the topic of housing, Paumier comments that of all the townhouse developments in Columbia, his favorite happens to be the one where Elizabeth Bobo lives, in Harper's Choice.

So what hasn't worked in Columbia and what has? In Paumier's opinion, cul-de-sacs.

"Maybe the one thing that didn't work as well was the Cul-De-Sac which at the time everybody thought was God's gift to the city planners. But it turns out its probably safer to live on a Cul-De-Sac but it also doesn't help to encourage a sense of community because you don't get any linkage.”

Symphony Woods, he says was never fully realized because there was no real plan in mind for the open space area, no paths, no amenities, nothing but Merriweather Post Pavilion to draw people in and nothing after to keep them.

"No one's ever really cared enough about it to do a plan, CA hasn't been encouraged, nobody in the community has been saying we ought to create a great park there. So along comes General Growth [Properties], General Growth's got a couple hundred acres that they've got to develop right? They've got all the land in the world to develop, why don't they just focus on what they own. I mean they don't have to start taking CA's land . . . its crazy!”

Paumier agrees that 10 percent of the trees in Symphony Woods are dead and need to be removed. Sunlight, he says, is the key to a great park. With all of the trees, dead or alive, there isn't enough light getting through to make Symphony Woods a functioning park. Part of his plan is to remove the dead trees and install paths and a central water feature. He wants to see the woods become a children's park.

On the brighter side, Paumier says the education system has worked, the diversity has worked and the village center's he helped design still work.

"I think the neighborhood village concept is the single most important concept and to the extent that all but maybe one or two of the village centers are working.”

Three Sides to Symphony Woods

This weekend, Ive been shooting a video package about Symphony Woods. I've walked around the various open spaces in Columbia, getting reaction shots from residents. I've interviewed Greg Hamm, Cy Paumier and Barbara Russell. Residents I've talked to seem to take one of three sides on the issue.

Some residents think General Growth Properties knows what's best for the woods and should revitalize the property. During my interview with Hamm, he stressed that the ZRA-113 plan was designed and influenced by GGP, and that the plan should not be seen entirely as GGP's.

Some residents think Symphony Woods should be left the way it is, the way Jim Rouse intended. Yes a third of the trees in the forest are dead. Yes few people actually use the park space. No, don't remove a single stump. Green space is a luxury in Columbia, and should be left undeveloped.

Finally, some residents believe Symphony Woods should be revitalized but not by General Growth Properties, claiming that the basis for GGP's plan is essentially to pull the company back from the brink of bankruptcy by acquiring the land and immediately selling it off to the highest bidder. These residents think the plan created by Cy Paumier should be enacted instead.

As a journalist, I believe in the subjective objectivity of each story, that its important to view the story from all sides. As a young resident with a vested interest in the future of my city, I'm not convinced GGP has the right idea or the right motives. I remember reading that two of Rouse's goals for Columbia were to respect the land and make money, obviously. I believe respecting the land is paramount. The market economy functions on the same rules as the natural ecology, adapt or die. I don't want to see any more development in Symphony Woods. I believe the woods should be revitalized, but not at the cost of residential and commercial units.

What do you think? Does it really matter that few people use the woods, that there aren't any paths running through the space? Do you care that the trees are dead and would you want them removed anyways? Are you sitting on the fence? Would you like to let it be? Or would you like to see what Symphony Woods can become?

Parking Available At Arbitron

If you're looking for a parking spot near the park and ride in Owen Brown, you might try Arbitron. The Baltimore Sun reported Wednesday that the media research firm, now headquartered in Columbia is cutting jobs by 10 percent.

In a phone interview, company spokesman Thom Mocarsky said Arbitron is cutting 110 jobs, 80 of which are in the Baltimore area.

"It's the economy," Mocarsky said. "It's the changing marketplace. It's the need to re-evaluate and refocus the company." [Baltimore Sun]

787 of Arbitron's full-time employees, along with 269 part-time employees work in Columbia, 71 percent and 51 percent of employee totals respectively. According to the Securities & Exchange Commission, the jobs cuts are expected to save Arbitron $10 million in 2010. Arbitron will incur $8 million to $9 million in pre-tax expenses before the end of the first quarter, mostly related to benefits and severance packages pertaining to layoffs.

Patty Rouse: Memories of Columbia & Jim

Patty Rouse sits in a small windowless office, her shelves are stocked with binders and files, her desk is piled high with papers.

"I've never had a paid job, I've always been a volunteer. I'm a volunteer here, I'm not on the payroll here," she says as she surveys the room of her Enterprise office. The pale blue walls are littered with plaques and pictures.

Her office will become the archives she says, once she gets all the files organized. At 83, she comes to work and work she does. Everywhere I look are stacks of files, even the chairs are occupied by files. "I'm trying to get this office organized to the point that they can understand whats in what pile and I've got a list of what's in the different drawers."

"Jim retired from the Rouse Company but he wasn't finished working. And he wanted to do something else and he had been inspired by what a group in Washington was doing with low income housing. He really got organizing in 79 and we got started in 80."

The goal of the new company was "to see that all low income people in the United States get the opportunity, you don't give them the housing you give them the opportunity to get the housing and to see that all low income people in the United States, not worldwide but in the United States get the opportunity to get into affordable housing."

I was surprised to learn that Enterprise takes up the majority of the American City building with the exception of the ground floor.

Rouse was born and raised in Norfolk, Va. There she met Jim in 1973, a year later they were married. They used to play tennis together in those years and Rouse comments that Jim did all of the cooking, she did the dishes. She spent her free time potting but she never made dishes, she says she was never that good.

35 years later, Rouse has had a parkway named after her and her husband. She likes the convenience and closeness of Columbia. She jokes that her old while station wagon only has about 70,000 miles on it because everything is close by. People often ask her why she never moved home after Jim died. She smiles and says that Columbia is her home and that's why she's stayed.

Columbia's Underboss: Bill Finley

"Actually James W. Rouse and Morton Hoppenfeld got most of the public credit for the efforts. And that never bothered me. I knew and that Rouse said many times in public, "without Bill Finley, there would be no Columbia." During the high-speed pre-opening period 1965-1967, I had my fingers on over 100 projects in Columbia. I was good at that."

Finley was a World War II bomber pilot at age 20, completing 35 missions over German airspace. By June of 1951, Finley had created a degree in city planning and was the first person in the western United States to receive a BA and MCP for it at the University of California Berkeley. He was then recruited to be the first director of planning for the town of Richmond, CA.

Five years later, Finley had planned a new town in West Virginia and taught two semesters at Penn State. At 32, Finley was picked to head the National Capital Planning Commission where he would work with Morton Hoppenfeld and Robert Tennenbaum. Finley is perhaps best known for his work on Columbia as the manager of the Rouse Company planning workgroup.

Here is the best of my interview with Bill Finley:

Q: In retrospect, how does Columbia compare to any job prior or since?

A: "Working with Jim Rouse, Morton Hoppenfeld and Robert Tennenbaum and dozens of other creative people and having the support and funds to plan and build the beginnings of Columbia has been the professional highlight of my life. Rouse's idealism coupled with Morton Hoppenfeld's design creativity allowed us to put ideas into reality. I felt that the only planning worthwhile was that which ended up being built to serve people?

Q: Are there any memorable (specific) planning meetings you can recall and what made them memorable?

A: "Only the first night when every guest felt obligated to pour cold water on the idea of trying to plan for the 'perfect' city. I reacted strongly to their negativism and Jim went home depressed. Thereafter, everyone got the idea that we were serious in trying to get their positive input, with some exceptions."

Q: How did Foster City, CA influence the planning of Columbia?

A: "We learned from Foster City, CA that letting a new town become a municipality could result in the first few settlers overturning the long-range plan. It was a very important reason for keeping Columbia unincorporated and subject to county-wide rule. We guessed rightly that in a few years, our citizens would all but control the county. It was a gamble that paid off."

Q: Describe the impact of the republican controlled county government or Howard Research & Development's plan and the development process?

A: "The three man county commission were all very conservative. They had never even heard of a new town. They were not world travelers. The county attorney had to walk a fine line between his bosses and our development machine and the fact that we had paid cash for 13,000 +/- acres and weren't going away. Eventually, he was cooperative, I know that the county board members would have voted 2-1 to turn us down. It was a close call!"

Q: What were some of the most memorable concerns/pet peeves by the local neighborhood/homeowners associations?

A: "I actually didn't do much in dealing with the existing subdivision folks. We did have to answer the key questions about 'negros' and higher taxes. After that they were worried about property values and that no apartments would be built near them."

Angela Dorn: A younger perspective

Angela Dorn has lived near Jeffer's Hill Elementary for 17 years. When she was young, she says, Friday nights were spent at the ice skating rink or the roller rink. The rest of the weekend, Angela would hang out with her friends at the mall or around the neighborhood.

Dorn points out that while growing up in a diverse town like Columbia she had white friends and she had black friends, in fact she had a diverse mix of friends. She has noticed in the past that kids that came to Columbia from another town would usually only congregate with people of their race.

When asked about the most memorable places in Town, Dorn thinks for a bit . . . the lake front, Merriweather Post Pavilion, Dobbin Center, Sewells Orchard . . . and Allview. Dorn says these places hold meaning to her. Growing up in Owen Brown, I remember the good times I've had in Allview, the sick concerts at Merriweather, and of course skateboarding behind WalMart.

"I spent a lot of my time in those neighborhoods," says Dorn. I think of Dobbin Center. I could walk there from my house and my friends and I would always walk the paths to get to it."

Dorn, who lives near Jeffer's Hill has seen the has seen the new Baptist Church being erected near Locust Park. This was her response:

"I did not even really know there were a lot of religious centers being built. I knew about interfaith centers, but not those. I do not pay much attention to trivial things like that. If Columbia built itself with "Diversity" in mind, then there should be no reason for religious buildings of all types to be unacceptable."

Dorn thinks Columbia has expanded. The closer and closer Columbia gets to becoming an actual city, the more nervous she becomes. I've heard plans of high rises and things like that being built. I also heard a rumor about taking out Lakefront to do this. I think that would be a big mistake.

“I think there just needs to be more things for younger people to do! If you're not going out to eat, to the mall, or the movies, you are not left with a lot of options. An arcade or teen center with games and things would be fun and a great, cheap way for teens to spend their time.”

Schools & Churches

St. John Baptist Church has started construction on a sanctuary and fellowship hall on a 10 acre plot near Locust Park. Construction of religious buildings in Columbia has been a rare sight in our town's 42 year history. Now this site has become an eyesore entrenched between Owen Brown and Long Reach.

On September 20, 2007, Howard County school board officials finalized a deal to exchange 10 acres of land off Tamar Drive and Route 175 in Columbia for a 41 acre plot near the intersection of Marriotsville road and Route 40 in Ellicott City.

The Howard County school board has become more aggressive over the last few years in acquiring acres for future school sites. In the transaction with St. John Baptist Church, the school board acquired the 41 acre plot owned by the church for $2.7 million. Roughly $1.7 million was spent acquiring the land, the other million went directly to the church.

Church leaders have said that the new site is more convenient for their congregants than renting space at their old location, off Route 108. Convenience does not justify building this church in my opinion. I grew up attending services at interfaith centers until high school.

Religion no longer has a place in my life, but I'm still an ardent supporter of communal congregation sites in Columbia. Of course there are worship sites outside of interfaith centers in Columbia, parcels of land that never sold to the Rouse Company but this site is an outrage to everything Columbia stands for.

Are our children's educations really worth a Baptist Church in Columbia? This is how it starts. I've heard from other residents that the Methodists plan to build an extension to the Wilde Lake interfaith center. If the Baptists get theirs, every denomination will want theirs too, starting a sort of turf war. This building is unacceptable and needs to be torn down!

Ryan Ballengee Now

At 25, Ryan Ballengee isn't much older than I but what he lacks in years he makes up for with his blog footprint. About a year ago, Ballengee started Columbia Now to start a conversation about the issues that face Columbia. Ballengee got his start in the blogosphere two years ago with Waggle Room, a golf based blog.

Ballengee says he thinks the purpose of his blog is to share his interest in local politics.
"I encourage people to share an opposing view," says Ballengee. "My feeling is that the conversation can be nothing but good for the community, so long as it is rooted in facts and is honest."

Columbia Now's readers come from all over Howard county, says Ballengee. He says the content speaks for itself and though the feedback is usually positive, his readers may not always agree with what he thinks.

"More or less, I talk most political or policy issues on Columbia Now because my undergrad degree is in business and my Masters is in public policy. So, in a sense, what I cover is really reflective of some of my personal interests."

So who is Ballengee following on the blogopshere?

"I try to read bloggers from all over the County. I read HoCo Freemarket, Columbia Talk, Tales of Two Cities, Jessie X, and read HoCoBlogs for blogs that I may not normally see. I really enjoy the food and restaurant blogs because they give me good tips on where to eat."

When writing his blog posts, Ballengee says he gets his information from the Howard County website, the Baltimore Sun or papers on Explore Howard. He also gets information from other blogs.

Ballengee closes out the interview with his top five tips for bloggers:

1. Have a passion for both your subject area and writing.
2. Be responsive to your audience.
3. Don't let your audience dictate how you communicate with them.
4. Be a credible source and back up opinions with facts.
5. Blogging is fun. If you aren't having fun, stop blogging and come back to it.

Bill Santos on Blogging

Bill Santos, 42, is the engineering manager of the national archives and a Columbia native. He moved away from the people tree for college and replanted in Wilde Lake in 2000, with his wife.
Santos keeps his ear to the ground and his finger on the pulse of Columbia issues.

In the fall of 2006, Santos started Columbia Compass.

"As stated in the [Columbia] Compass tag line, the blog is intended to navigate the social, political and cultural world of Columbia, Maryland. Admittedly, the blog has been more about politics than the social and cultural aspects of Columbia. That has been more of an evolution than a conscious decision."

Santos says he hopes his blog will reach out to both natives and ex-patriots of Columbia.

"For those that live locally, I hope to provide perspective on the goings-on in the community. For those living farther away, I hope to provide a connection back to Columbia."

Santos doesn't tailor his content. Sometimes he hears a quote from a local official or reads one in the paper and gets a 'spider sense' feeling to write about it in his blog. Other times he reads something that evokes nostalgia, passion or joy and writes about that instead.

"With respect to information, I do a lot of research. I would say about half is web-based. The other half is reading books (I have a crazy collection), attending meetings and talking with people."

Santos follows Tales of Two Cities, a hyper-local blog similar to Columbia Compass. The difference he says, is that the author Wordbones writes from a business perspective. He also follows Dinosaur Mom, 53 Beers on Tap, Columbia 2.0 and Hometown Columbia.

"All of them are very good bloggers," he says. "The Howard County Maryland Blog and Hedgehog Report are also well done."

Santos offers some advice to new bloggers and his top 5 tips.

"My advice to beginning bloggers is to find something you are passionate about and keep it narrow. If you like what you're writing about you are more likely to stick with it."

1. You will never have enough time to write everything you want to write.
   
2. Be honest.
3. People who post anonymously are wonderful people, except when they are posting anonymously.
4. Give credit often.
5. Attend the Blogtail happy hours.

Michael Oberman

"It was getting late so Janis says why not go back to my hotel room and we'll do the interview there. So I went back and shared a bottle of whiskey with Janis and I actually had the opportunity to sleep with Janis. And my journalistic ethics combined with the fact that I didn't find her very attractive, kept me from making the point.”

Michael Oberman, 61, followed his girlfriend Marijane to Columbia eight years ago. He prefers Washington D.C. because of the subways, nightlife and the Ethiopian food, all of which are non-existent in Columbia.

Oberman runs Michael Oberman Consulting LLC and teaches nature photography at Slayton House. At 15, he started as a copy-boy for The Washington Star. By 19, he was a music critic and wrote the column "Music Makers"; interviewing artists like Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and David Bowie.

“I also did concert reviews. My column had something at the end of it every week called Notes & Half Notes, which was my album pick of the week which led me to be on the mailing list of every record company and every record album mailed to me for free, so that was a big perk.”

When his brother left journalism for Mercury Records, he left for Warner Bros. Records and went on to manage artists such as Claude Jones. Oberman got his start in nature photography by shooting album covers.

“If somebody puts in the tag of great blue heron, the first photos that are going to pop up are going to be mine. I've got more great blue heron photos than maybe anyone in the world. In 2007, one of my photos was named one of the top 16 nature photos of the year by The Nature Conservancy and was in Parade magazine.”

Oberman says if you want to be a nature photographer, be patient.

"When people wander, nothings happening, that's when the eagle flies over that they miss.”

Oberman frowns on the invasion of Columbia by big box retailers and the shape of the public transit system. He says the lake front is underdeveloped and can be improved dramatically.

Like many residents, Oberman is polarized over the new 30 year master plan and doesn't think Columbia has kept up with the times by maximizing the drawing power of Town Center.

"We need more affordable housing for young married couples, young singles etc. But then you also needs jobs for them here where they're not commuting and there isn't a great deal of work to be had in Columbia.”

Emily Lincoln's Vision

Emily Lincoln says that in the early days, some realtors sold homes selectively based on race and put sold signs on homes until they could sell to a diverse buyer in a sort of forced integration.

“I'm sure that the house we bought was one of those houses because it was already up and it was appeared sold but the sales person said oh it just fell through and I think I could get you this house.”

Lincoln has been an associate broker with Remax for 40 years. She first heard about Columbia in October of 1969, while working for a Missouri senator. Her husband spent his lunch hours searching for a house.

Like many early residents, the Lincolns moved to Columbia for the affordable housing. In November, they bought one for $18 thousand and moved in the day after Thanksgiving.

“People come here now largely for the schools, although I think a lot of minority people come here for the acceptance for the welcome that they have and the feel. I always notice mixed couples white man and black woman or the reverse would be very comfortable here.”

Bring Back The Vision

Lincoln is a staunch supporter of General Growth Properties and their plan to revitalize downtown Columbia. That's why she started Bring Back The Vision, a volunteer organization that educates the public about the new 30 year master plan.

“I think what we need is exactly what GGP is offering, which is a downtown that's walkable, where you can go from Symphony Woods to the mall to the lake front if you're willing to do that much walking. Where you can go and shop and sit outside and have coffee and wine with friends and that's what we miss and that's what we don't have and that's what we're not going to have unless people get behind GGP and it's effort. Stop seeing it as the greedy developer.”

Lincoln has a message for prospective residents. Participate and look ahead to all that Columbia can be. There can be so many wonderful cultural opportunities she says.

Who is the Columbia bike guy?

You've seen him pedaling across Columbia. Who is the Columbia bike guy?

Athar Habib rides his bicycle across Cradlerock way, Broken Land parkway, even route 29. Athar is visible between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., seen pedaling towards your car, or waving to you. I've seen Athar at The East Columbia Branch Library, Target off route 175, Giant Food in Owen Brown and across from Howard Community College, on Turnabout lane.

Look at the top left glass panel, zoom in and you can see me taking Athar's picture on a rather cold Thursday morning. A ghosting of my bike can be seen near the center of image.

Thanks For Mentioning . . .
I took this photo of Athar March 20, 2008; published the article May 14, 2008 and revised it so you can read it February 17, 2009.
Thanks for Mentioning

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Essays Academic Work jack cole the columbia bike gu

I was taking MCOM-409 Literary Journalism at Towson University. I interviewed Athar and people who know him, transcribing exactly what people said and how they said it.

A Google search of Athar Habib sends you to my site. I've revised and improved the article's clarity and content. -phrases inside hypens- represent my voice. ~Italicized phrases are thoughts~ and Facebook posts are written as seen.

John Boyle & communal mailboxes

As an Owen Brown resident, I'm interested in what goes on. I don't have the time or desire to walk Elkhorn when it's dry and 45 F outside. It'd be cool if Patuxent Publishing Company delivered an Owen Brown weekly straight to my communal mailbox?

John Boyle has a communal mailbox too but with the Internet he delivers to a niche audience with Owen Brown News, a hyper-local blog. Boyle has a voice in his writing and tells you what's going on, straight up.

“My blog is about the Village of Owen Brown. The activities within the village, local issues that may affect village residents, calls to action or volunteer opportunities that neighbors can help with, etc. I blog because there's a fair amount of information out there that folks are interested in, but (because we're all busy) aren't likely to find on their own. I just pull the information together so that IF folks are interested, they can see what's going on.”

Boyle acts like a virtual village peg-board. He says it's not original reporting but he interprets the need to know from the noise, clean and free.

“Right now, I'm primarily pulling information from other sources (blogs, newspaper and government websites) and getting info that's passed along information from the Owen Brown Village Board. I also have some neighbors who are catching on to the fact that this is a good way to get the word out about activities that they're involved with that affect Owen Brown residents.”

Boyle and I both use Hoco blogs like a virtual communal mailbox. Ask Novello or Newburn about the Analytics but like the concrete and metal boxes, the neighbors don't get their mail at the same time.

Boyle links to other community activists and blogs with pertinent interests and keeps tabs on his friends. Not literally.

“I'd say that Wordbones (A Tale of Two Cities) is the blogger that I follow the closest. I always find his posts worth reading.”

Boyle's advice; find a point of view, let the focus of your content evolve and pace yourself.

Kathy Brodkin

Memories of the First Resident

“We had the first FHA mortgage in Columbia and they built a little square concrete step outside our back door as a gift for being the first mortgage and the first FHA mortgage in Columbia.”

Kathy Brodkin, 90, was the first homeowner in Columbia. Her husband Peter, who worked for The Baltimore Sun at the time had heard about the new town. The first time Brodkin came to Columbia, bulldozers were dredging Wilde Lake, eight months later in 1968, she moved with her husband Peter into 10713 Faulkner Ridge Circle from Baltimore City.

Brodkin grew up in rural Connecticut with an RFD postal number and a four digit phone number. If she missed the bus to school, she faced a three mile trek.

Brodkin had no concept of racial segregation until she went to an all white high school in Water Town, CT. She recalls the family housekeeper, a black woman, whom she respected like her mother and firing her babysitter in Baltimore because of a racist remark.

“We had found this really great babysitter for our kids and she was with us for a while. Then one day my daughter said something about a nigger and I was like where did you hear that?"

Before the Brodkins moved to Columbia, they never had diverse neighbors like Herbert and Marion Simmons who live near her to this day. She recalls frequent visits with her neighbors, like Ruteena Blake, the local president of the NAACP

“In 1968 to have a neighbor living across the street that was a black family, that was awesome, we were so excited when we found out were were going to get black neighbors!”

She also remembers the first Christmas in Columbia. Mr. B was Santa she says and all of the shops served alcohol to the adults while the kids received candy canes from Santa.

Of course the neighborhood had it's share of excitement from time to time, like the exhibitionist who went door to door exposing himself, or the Peyton Place neighbors.

“The people next door to me, the wife was out sneaking down the street in the back yards behind our fences and meeting the husband of somebody down the street. They were having an affair. And it was so shocking that they actually had to move, they were so embarrassed to be in the neighborhood.”

Brodkin says one year, after the fireworks at the lake front, she and her children picked up pieces of paper and bottles to clean up the area. That was the year Columbia lost its innocence when one of her children showed her a condom among the trash.

Sam Berkowitz

On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. In the following days, riots ensued all over the country. Sam Berkowitz, a clinical psychologist, recalls the ripple effects in Crofton, Maryland.

"You could only get into Crofton through I think there were two gates on Route 3, two entrances. And there was a committee that went down, from what I heard, didn't see it, but this vigilante group went down with shotguns to protect the town itself.”

In 1972, Governor George Wallace spoke at Merriweather Post Pavilion and won 70 to 80 percent of the vote in Crofton. Berkowitz saw this as the handwriting on the wall.

In 1973, Berkowitz moved to Wilde Lake with his family where he met Ron Klein, a psychologist who was on the planning committee. Klein started the Family Life Center in Wilde Lake, a non-profit providing mental health services to residents where Berkowitz worked as an adjunct. Berkowitz says he served on low level committees with Barbara Russell.

“As far as I know, I knew of only one black family in Crofton, in fact they had a screening committee that my understanding was to not include minority groups coming into Crofton, so this was very very different.”

Berkowitz says he moved in next to a black family and learned that the first child born in Columbia had interracial parents. Our neighbors were friendly, he says, adding that they would often visit with their children.

Columbia, he says, has lost its small town feel and that along with the over-commercialization disappoints him. He says Columbia could do without the cookie-cutter housing lots as well.

“What they did get right was the quality of the schools and the racial mix I think has been very successful. I think the quality of the schools have lived up to the high expectations."

36 years later, Berkowitz has no regrets about moving to Columbia. He says the city is just want he and his wife wanted for their children.

Introduction

To many residents, Columbia is a town without a past. Before the Rouse Company developed the area, it was a patchwork of farms with pockets of real estate. Then in 1967, James Rouse unveiled his vision of what a town should be.

"Visions describe what best should be, could be - if and when mankind has the will to make them real." -James Rouse

This January, I had a vision of what could become an important conversation about Columbia through the voices of its residents. I decided to write this blog to capture those voices, and to create a conversation about the people who live in Columbia, all 97,000 of them.

I attended planning meetings for the new downtown, read through articles in Columbia Archives and spoke with residents. On February 1st, I began tracking down original residents with a copy of the 1969 phone book I obtained from the archives. Every resident with an e-mail address received a copy of this letter:
___________________________________________________________________
Hello Resident,

My name is Jack Cole. We spoke earlier on the phone. First off, thank you for taking my call. As you can imagine, I really only have about thirty seconds to get my point across before people usually end hang up.

I'm a graduating senior of journalism at Towson University and a resident of Owen Brown. This semester, I'm taking an independent study in the form of journalism through blogging. I'm in the process of creating a comprehensive review of Columbia, in all of its facets. Currently, I'm trying to get to know Columbia's first residents: who they are, where they came from, what they were expecting and whether or not their expectations were met.

I would like to set up a date and time when you would be available for an interview. The only days I am not available are Tuesdays and Thursdays, and I can be reached through e-mail at this address: jcole9@towson.edu.

Thank you for your time and interest,
_________________________________________________________________________________________________