By Morgan Fecto

Come summer 2017, local bistro and raw oyster bar Republic will give more to Takoma Park than its Duck Confit Cubano. More specifically, the restaurant will give its whole kids menu to the community.

“Two dollars of every kid’s menu item will go to the Lunch and Learn program,” said Republic’s Co-owner and Executive Chef Danny Wells. “The goal is to help provide as many as 55 laptops to the program by the end of this year.”

Now kid’s menu dishes, including parmesan kale cakes and house-made chicken nuggets, will feed more than one child. Wells said Republic will continue collecting donations for the Lunch and Learn program until the end of this year.

“I recommended this to Danny for a number of reasons,” Mayor Kate Stewart said. “One of my goals as mayor is to make sure that we have an inclusive community — that residents across Takoma Park have a sense of the whole city. There’s a need for Lunch and Learn in our community, and connecting residents who frequent Danny’s restaurant and making them aware of that need is important.”

The Lunch and Learn program is a six-week summer program sponsored by the City and Montgomery County. The program feeds student who receive free and reduced price lunches during the school year and aims to shrink the achievement gap with reading courses, math courses, and life-skill boosters, such as swimming lessons.

“When I was first elected, Essex House became a part of my ward,” said Ward 5 Councilmember Jarrett Smith. “I had a meeting with residents to find out what they needed and parents said over and over, ‘We need something for our kids to do over the summer.’ That’s how Lunch and Learn was born.”

MCPS provides the food for the program, residents run the day-to-day activities, and local organizations can contribute. MANUP, Adventist Community Services of Greater Washington, and Pepco have sponsored Lunch and Learn in previous years.

Wells and Black Restaurant Group Owner Jeff Black found that the program’s values aligned with Republic’s too. “It was Jeff’s suggestion that we pick a local children’s-based charity. It just fit because Republic is so intertwined and such a neighborhood restaurant,” Wells said. At the same time Wells and Black were considering options for children’s charities, Mayor Stewart suggested that Wells and Republic fundraise for Lunch and Learn. “It was kind of serendipitous,” Wells said.

With its fourth summer in view, Lunch and Learn has already registered 40 students from just one local apartment complex for the 2016 program. However, contributions from the community will be important for the program to grow, Smith said.

“It was always a goal for me for the private sector to invest in Lunch and Learn because you can’t sustain these programs without public dollars,” Smith said. “I think it’s fantastic that Republic is going to be such a major donor.”

Supporting Lunch and Learn was a no-brainer for Wells, who went to Piney Branch Elementary School and Takoma Park Middle School and realized he wanted to be a chef while washing dishes at Savory (now Capital City Cheesecake) as a 16-year-old.

“After that I knew that I wanted to open a restaurant in Takoma Park,” Well said. Wells hopes to share his food with local students at a fundraising event in the coming months.

This article appeared in the June 2016 edition of the Takoma Park Newsletter. The Takoma Park Newsletter is available for download here.

By Bob Guldin

On primary election day April 26, the voters of Takoma Park did a very good job of picking winners. In other words, we voted mostly for the same candidates that our neighbors voted for in the rest of Maryland and Maryland’s 8th Congressional District – despite the city’s lingering reputation for being full of wild-eyed radicals.

That was especially true for the Democratic primary — and Takoma Park voted overwhelmingly Democratic. Here’s how big that margin is. In the Democratic presidential primary, 4,022 people voted. In the Republican presidential primary, 167 people voted. That means 96 percent of the ballots cast for U.S. president in Takoma Park were on the Democratic side.

In our area, three Democratic primary races got the lion’s share of the attention – and of the advertising and funds and lawn signs and volunteers. Those were the presidential race (Hillary Clinton vs. Bernie Sanders), the race to fill Barbara Mikulski’s U.S. Senate seat (Chris Van Hollen vs. Donna Edwards and others), and the contest to fill the House of Representatives 8th Congressional District seat currently held by Van Hollen. The three heavy hitters in that race were Jamie Raskin, David Trone and Kathleen Matthews.

In the Democratic presidential race, Takoma Park voters were almost a mirror image of voters statewide. In the city, we counted 2,525 votes for Hillary (63%) and 1,449 for Bernie (36%). That compares to 63% statewide for Hillary and 34% for Bernie.

In the Democratic Senate primary, Takoma Park gave 74% of our votes to Van Hollen vs. 24% for Edwards. Statewide, the totals were Van Hollen 53% and Edwards 39%. That big Takoma Park majority is not surprising since Van Hollen has great name recognition here, having represented Takoma Park in Congress for 13 years.

But the Democratic House race was one in which Takoma Park most strongly showed its “favorite son” colors. State Senator Jamie Raskin, a resident of the city and a well-known political figure, received 2,729 votes (69% of the total). Businessman David Trone got 415 votes in Takoma Park (10%), and Kathleen Matthews got 321 votes (8%). Will Jawando came in fourth, with 282 votes (7%).

How did those numbers compare with the totals for the entire 8th Congressional District? There, the percentages were Raskin 34% (just half the percentage he got in his home town, but still in the lead), Trone 27%, Matthews 24% and Jawando 5%.

It was widely reported that the House primary in District 8 was the most expensive ever in the United States due in large part to massive advertising and direct mail campaigns by David Trone, who funded his own campaign.

GOP Results

Republican voters also went to the polls for the presidential, Senate and House races. In Takoma Park, the presidential tally was 63 votes (38%) for John Kasich, 57 (34%) for Donald Trump and 36 (22%) for Senator Ted Cruz. Statewide the numbers were 54% for Trump, Kasich 23%, and Cruz 19%.

In the U.S. Senate race, GOP voters had a choice of 14 candidates. Takoma Park Republicans cast 32 votes (23%) for Kathy Szeliga and 20 votes (14%) for Chris Chaffee. At the state level, Szeliga also racked up the most votes with 36%, which means she will face off against Chris Van Hollen in November.

For the District 8 congressional contest, the city’s Republican voters gave 51 votes (38%) to Dan Cox, 23 to Jeffrey Jones (17%), and 19 to Shelly Skolnick (14%). In this race too, Takoma Park voters were aligned with the rest of District 8, where Cox won with 44% of the votes cast.

All the figures quoted here are from the Montgomery County and Maryland Board of Elections websites, and are not officially certified. To check out the state results, which extend back to the 1980s, go to www.elections.state.md.us/elections/2016/results/primary/index.html.

We should also acknowledge that all the numbers cited above as Takoma Park totals are technically approximations for the City because Takoma Park contains four voting precincts (numbered 13-04, 13-06, 13-21 and 13-68), and all the votes are tallied by precinct. And one of those precincts contains a small sliver of Silver Spring, too, so these numbers are not 100 percent Takoma Parkian. Nonetheless, they provide an excellent point of comparison for how our City voted compared to the rest of the state and nation.

This article appeared in the June 2016 edition of the Takoma Park Newsletter. The Takoma Park Newsletter is available for download here.

There’s been a lot of buzz about parking in Takoma Park lately because of new businesses moving in, changes to the management and pricing of parking lots in Old Takoma, and lots of new construction just across the border in D.C. While Takoma Park is a walkable and increasingly bike-friendly city with ample bus routes connecting to Metro, driving is still a necessary part of everyday life for most residents. As a result, parking is an everpresent concern, and the City is investigating how it is managed, enforced and paid for.

Currently, the City engages in four aspects of parking:

1. Managing the Residential Parking Permit (RPP) program consisting of 900+ permits in eight active RPP zones. First initiated in 1976, each RPP zone is established by a citizen-led petition process and approved by the City Council. Designed to suit the needs of the community, petitioners request the geographical boundaries and the days and times when permit parking is in effect
2. Maintaining metered parking in the Old Takoma commercial district and near Montgomery College
3. Enforcing parking (i.e. issuing tickets) on city streets with a focus on parking meters and RPP zones
4. Commenting on parking waiver requests from new businesses or developments that can’t meet the required number of parking spaces specified in the Montgomery County Zoning Ordinance

In 2014 the City started making changes to parking management and enforcement. A parking pay station was installed at the public lot at Takoma Junction, adding to the 105 parking meters on city streets. A second officer was hired to ensure more consistent parking enforcement around town. A city-wide parking management study was initiated in 2015, with the goal of exploring ways on-street parking in Takoma Park can be better managed in the service of economic development, environmental sustainability, fiscal responsibility and community livability. The study kicked off with online surveys of residents and business owners in fall 2015, garnering nearly 300 responses from residents, visitors and business operators.

With new restaurants and other businesses contributing to a more vibrant Old Takoma commercial district, one aspect the study specifically explores is the pressure point where residential and commercial areas meet in Takoma Park. The study is also exploring ways to make the City’s parking programs more convenient to use and efficient to manage. One result is a contract executed in spring 2016 with ParkMobile, and drivers will soon be able to pay for City parking meters by phone using a credit card.

On the evening of June 15, a consultant team from Sabra, Wang & Associates will present to the City Council a set of findings and recommendations contributing to the study. City Council meetings are open to the public and residents are encouraged to attend. Visit the Parking Management Study project page on the City website to see the results of the survey, learn more about the project, submit comments and stay tuned for updates leading up to the June 15 presentation: takomaparkmd.gov/initiatives/project-directory/ parking-study.

This article appeared in the June 2016 edition of the Takoma Park Newsletter. The Takoma Park Newsletter is available for download here.

By Gina Mathias

The competition was very tight for the $2,000 Neighborhood Energy Challenge prize. The results were so close that a tie was declared! The winning teams will work closely with staff to use their prizes for neighborhood sustainability projects, such as developing new community gardens, installing rain barrels, or helping neighbors in need.

The Neighborhood Energy Challenge was a yearlong competition among eighteen teams representing all Takoma Park neighborhoods. Individual households participated by taking actions to save energy at home, such as getting energy audits, increasing insulation levels and sealing air leaks. Points were awarded to homes that achieved Green Home Certifications. The three levels of Green Home Certification – light, medium, and dark green – corresponded to increased measures taken to save energy.

Residents who achieved Green Home Certification receive a metal yard sign and stake with a permanent sticker corresponding their level of achievement. Homes achieving the Dark Green Certification have the option to receive a locally made, sustainably harvested wood plaque. To pick up your sign, please come to the Public Works office Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.

During the competition, the City of Takoma Park offered help to homeowners by providing free energy coaching, audit reviews, second opinions and rebates for energy efficiency home improvements. The City will continue to offer rebates and energy coaching assistance through next year.

Your efforts to save energy at home are helping the City compete against 50 other communities for the $5 million Georgetown University Energy Prize. The $5 million prize will be awarded to the community with the greatest reductions in residential and municipal energy use, using replicable and innovative programs. Takoma Park’s Neighborhood Energy Challenge was a huge success in helping the City’s effort.

Outstanding challenge participants

The Neighborhood Energy Challenge would not have been possible without all of the enthusiastic support and hard work by the team captains, volunteers, and residents who opened up their homes for meetings, posted on their neighborhood listservs, and recruited participants. While there were too many wonderful advocates to count, four residents stood out.

Outstanding Team Captain, Lori Hill: Lori held many meetings during the challenge, encouraging neighborhoods to attend, helping with certification applications and answering questions. Lori tirelessly promoted the competition.

Outstanding Supporter, Cindy Dyballa: Cindy championed the neighborhood energy challenge from before its launch, encouraging staff and council. She helped organize her neighborhood, which turned into a true powerhouse of a team. She also helped connect many of the impressive environmentalists and community activists that live in Takoma Park to the challenge.

Outstanding Example, Kate Stewart: As a City Council member and now Mayor, Kate’s excitement helped staff gain the support needed to bring the competition to life. Kate invited TV cameras into her home to film her energy audit, which CityTV broadcast, enabling residents to learn more about the value of energy audits, find out about the challenge, and see ways to make energy improvements to their homes.

Ward Prize – Ward 2, Tim Male, City Council Member: Tim was a vocal supporter of the Neighborhood Energy Challenge. He quickly signed up and had an energy audit and got into the competitive spirit. Tim is a champion for environmental action in Takoma Park, and it is no surprise that with his leadership and encouragement, Ward 2 had the most certifications of any Ward in the City.

What’s next?

The Green Home Certification program is an evergreen program. Anyone who would like to get Green Home Certified for Energy Efficiency may do so, even though the challenge has ended. Residents can also continue working towards and earn their Dark Green Certification. Future Green Home Certification themes may include backyard habitat and lawn care, zero waste and more. The next Green Home Certification category will be announced in early 2017. To apply for a Green Home Certification visit takomaparkmd.gov/government/sustainability.

If you were on one of the winning teams and have an idea for how your team should use the prize money, contact your team leader or the sustainability manager at ginam@takomaparkmd.gov.

This article appeared in the June 2016 edition of the Takoma Park Newsletter. The Takoma Park Newsletter is available for download here.

The City Council recently passed a new ordinance to address the issue of vacant properties. The purpose of the ordinance is to discourage the neglect of unsafe vacant properties in Takoma Park. The new ordinance requires that vacant properties that have been empty for over 30 days must be registered with the City and pay a $200 registration fee unless they are furnished and have operating utilities.

All vacant properties must be secured, and the exterior of the building and the grounds must be maintained. The owner, agent or property maintenance company is required to post contact information inclusive of a name and a 24-hour phone number. If the property has code violations, the City may issue a notice to correct the violations and may also issue a citation for a Class A violation and impose penalties against the owner, agent or other responsible party.

There are exceptions, such as if a property has building permits and is under construction or renovation. If owners or agents are actively attempting to sell or rent a property, they are exempt for six months or more.

The ordinance officially goes into effect July 1, 2016. If you wish to read the ordinance in more detail, it can be found on the City’s website by searching “vacant property registry” in the site’s search field. To register a property, or if you have further questions, please call 301-891-7119.

This article appeared in the June 2016 edition of the Takoma Park Newsletter. The Takoma Park Newsletter is available for download here.

The City Council has approved the appointment of a Community Consultation Process Advisory Committee to help facilitate community input and feedback at critical stages of the Takoma Junction development project. Neighborhood Development Company, the firm selected for the Takoma Junction redevelopment project, has proposed the establishment of the committee to assist in the development of a process for community participation appropriate for Takoma Park.

The committee’s efforts will focus on creating, in conjunction with NDC, the process needed to guide community participation on important aspects of the development project effectively. The committee will not be responsible for making substantive decisions or providing specific recommendations to the Council about the design, layout or use of the planned development.

The City Council is seeking to appoint not more than seven residents with representation from each Ward to serve on the proposed committee. Members would serve for a few months, developing a process to ensure community engagement. Members should be skilled in outreach and social media, knowledgeable about local resources, and familiar with the best means of reaching residents throughout the community. The work of the committee will be finished when the community consultation period in the development process is completed.

The committee would:

• Clarify with NDC the aspects of the project’s program and design for which community input is important for the project outcome
• Identify the best means for community members to engage in the development process
• Determine the details of meetings needed to ensure sufficient opportunity for community input, such as number and frequency of meetings, locations, times, format;
• Assist with promotion and outreach regarding meetings;
• Provide opportunities for online community feedback for community members who are unable to attend meetings

To apply for appointment, complete and submit an application: https://takomapark. seamlessdocs.com/f/bccapplication.

This article appeared in the June 2016 edition of the Takoma Park Newsletter. The Takoma Park Newsletter is available for download here.

On the morning of Saturday, April 16, two Takoma Park Middle School students rang the doorbells at many Takoma Park homes. The students at the door were part of six fire safety teams going throughout the City asking if they could assist residents with fire safety checks and information. Each team had two TPMS students, two TP firefighters and two adults.

Trained by the Red Cross, and working with the TP Fire Department, the TPMS students greeted residents, told them about the fire safety project, provided information and asked residents questions:

• When did you last check your smoke alarm?
• Do you have an agreed upon meeting place if you all get separated?
• How old is your smoke alarm? (Maximum operation is 10 years.)
• How many smoke alarms do you have? (There should be one on each floor and near the sleeping areas.)

Led by the students, these teams provided information about fire emergency preparation and dealing with power outages and distributed house plan cards so residents could mark their exits. If residents’ smoke alarms were too old or not working, TP fire department team members installed new ones at no cost. Moreover, if there were deaf people in the house, the Red Cross was immediately alerted, and a firefighter returned and installed an alarm designed for the deaf. This is the first time the Red Cross has conducted the fire safety project with middle school students. Bravo, TPMS.

Eighth graders Helen Do and Sophia Weng, two of TPMS students who participated in the project, are members of Difference Makers (www. difference-makers.org), a Takoma Park Middle School organization students started in 2009. Since then, the Difference Makers have grown from 40 to about 160 members, incorporated as a nonprofit organization, and sponsored and participated in many volunteer activities. The group’s sponsor is science teacher Bryan Goehring.

For the fire safety program, Helen Do had contacted the Red Cross. Information was then emailed to all Difference Makers at TPMS with a registration form. Training by the Red Cross was held at the TP Firehouse. Teams were assigned to different streets with the materials and checklists. And off they went throughout Takoma Park.

This article appeared in the June 2016 edition of the Takoma Park Newsletter. The Takoma Park Newsletter is available for download here.

By Apryl Motley

On May 20, Bike to Work Day, thousands of people will commute to work on their bicycles. For some this will be a special occasion, but for others, biking to— and for—work is part of their everyday routine. The Takoma Park area is home base for some of these avid cyclists, who have incorporated biking into their jobs.

At Play

“In my late high school and college years, I fully engaged in car ownership,” says SatJiwan Khalsa (Coach SJ), owner of Moving Forward Tennis. “It wasn’t all that bad, but little did I know of the significant negative impacts on the environment.”

Coach SJ, who serves on the City Council’s Committee on the Environment, has commuted by bike for the past 20 years. He can be seen riding around the City with his tennis gear in a bike trailer as travels to teach private tennis lessons or classes for the Takoma Park Recreation Department.

“First, I appreciate the positive environmental impact of biking,” he says. “Second, the ease and relative quickness of travel in a semi-urban area is a plus. And with the right equipment, you can carry things that wouldn’t fit easily into a car.”

And last, but certainly not least, Coach SJ values “the automatic health and exercise benefits” of commuting by bike. He has made “business and living choices that make it easy to walk or bike in [his] work and daily life.”

“It was natural to teach tennis or do green building consulting locally,” he says. “Fortunately, nice weather for outdoor tennis and nice weather for biking go hand in hand.”

On Patrol

For Takoma Park Police Sergeant Jerome Erwin, biking while patrolling goes hand in hand with building positive relationships in the community. “People like to see us mountain bike patrolling,” Erwin says. “The positive comments like, ‘Thank you, great to see you out here,’ motivate me to ride.”

“I was certified about 10 years ago by Retired Cpl. Fred Roush, who was the original coordinator of our police mountain bike program,” he continues.

Initially Erwin had no interest in participating in the mountain bike program.

However, his sister-in-law, who is also an officer in Takoma Park, was registered for the department’s bike training class and asked him to join it as well.

“I had a great time,” he recalls. “The positive comments from the citizens in combination with the surprised look on the faces of guys involved in criminal activity when we arrive on scene made me realize that the mountain bike is a great crime deterrent and enforcement tool.”

“It’s a great crime enforcement tool because suspects typically watch for the marked patrol vehicle,” he continues. “Plus, citizens feel more comfortable approaching a bike officer.”

We’ve come a long way with the bike lanes, bike traffic signs and the Capital Bikeshare program

“We’ve come a long way with the bike lanes, bike traffic signs and the Capital Bikeshare program,” says Erwin when asked if Takoma Park is bike friendly. “Washington, DC is probably leading the region with its bike lanes in and around the downtown areas.”

Near Nature

While he would welcome more designated bike lanes, Wayne Savage, owner of Mid-Atlantic Litter Cleanup Service, describes Takoma Park as “a good community for biking.” Savage has always biked for both recreation and transportation.

He still owns his first bike, a Raleigh racer with drop handle bars, purchased while he was a student at the University of Missouri, Columbia. “I actually grew up in rural area in Missouri without a lot of pavement, so I didn’t get my first bike until I was in college,” Savage recalls. “I still have it in my basement, and I rode it in my one and only triathlon.”

Since getting that first bike, he can’t imagine being “cocooned in a car.” Savage says of biking, “It’s great exercise and an exhilarating way to stay connected to your environment. I enjoy the sights and sounds you experience riding on a bike.”

And it makes his job easier, and his customers happy. “I can ride directly to sites of litter accumulation and get right to work,” Savage explains. “It makes it very convenient for me.”

“A large of part of it is also about keeping my business overhead low,” he continues. “With no overhead for a truck, my rates are very reasonable, and my clients appreciate that.”

In Gear

Customers at Takoma Bicycle have come to appreciate the shop’s newest mechanic, Corinne Ducey. She began working there part-time almost a year ago and lives nearby.

Ducey describes herself as a “beginner, who’s learning a lot and asking lots of questions.” What attracted her to the job? “I was drawn to it because there aren’t many women in the field,” Ducey says. “I like to be a role model for younger girls in places where there aren’t many women. And it’s important to know how to fix my own bike.”

While she was a student at Smith College, Ducey’s bike was her primary mode of transportation, and she had the unique opportunity to work at The Bike Kitchen, a repair shop in the basement of her dorm staffed by female mechanics. “I learned very basic stuff there,” she recalls.

Basic or not, Ducey added that experience to an already rich tradition of biking in her family, starting with learning to ride her first bike in her aunt’s driveway at six years old and continuing with her mother becoming a mountain bike racer ten years ago. Today Ducey rides an entry level hybrid bike, which serves as her secondary mode of transportation.

However, she has been known to bike 12 miles round trip to and from her full-time job in Washington, DC. “I love navigating on a bike,” she says, “and leaving my car at home so that I’m not using gas and saving money. I get happy when I get on my bike.”

This article appeared in the May 2016 edition of the Takoma Park Newsletter. The Takoma Park Newsletter is available for download here.

By Apryl Motley

It’s time to celebrate. This year the Takoma Park Horticultural Club (THC) commemorates its 100th Anniversary and 10 decades of educating local gardeners while furthering its public gardening mission. Activities are planned throughout the year. The club hosted a hospitality suite at the Historic Takoma House and Garden Show. On May 18 at the City Council meeting, the City is presenting a proclamation to the club recognizing its centennial. In July look for club members marching in the City’s annual Fourth of July parade to represent 100 years of gardening. And during the club’s anniversary year, members are reflecting on their best experiences with the club and the reasons behind its longevity.

Diane Svenonius, current editor of the club’s monthly newsletter and a past president, first joined the club in 2010 after attending one of the public programs the club hosts throughout the year featuring notable speakers. “One of my favorites was Sam Droege, who is a vehement enthusiast of native bees and startled everyone by saying that Takoma Park should cut down some of its trees to make meadow habitats that these pollinators prefer,” Svenonius recalls.

She’s also a fan of the club’s open garden series held on Friday afternoons in June and enjoys the club’s annual plant exchanges. “I’m not a terrific gardener, and most of what’s in my garden comes from the plant exchanges,” Svenonius says.

The club’s annual plant exchanges are members-only events, but that shouldn’t deter anyone. Dues remain a very reasonable $12 per year. When the club was first started at the Takoma, DC branch of the District of Columbia Library in March 1916, dues were .10 per meeting. According to Svenonius, who serves on the THC history team, club members grew tired of making change, and dues became $1 per year with increases to $2 and eventually $8 at different points in the club’s history.

Perhaps, it’s this financial accessibility and openness to gardeners at all levels that has kept the club going. “There are so many people in different stages of gardening,” Svenonius says, “and we have a little of everything. We try for that variety.”

“People want to learn more about gardening,” she continues. “It’s that combination of learning more about plants and gardening in a social setting that draws people to the club.”

This was certainly the case for Nancy Newton, a 23-year resident of Takoma Park, when she joined THC 10 years ago. “Above all else, I really enjoy learning from other members,” Newton says. “I am an amateur, but we have members who are master gardeners or have certificates in landscaping. I have learned from everyone.”

Newton notes that the club’s listserv, which is open to both members and nonmembers, is a great learning tool. “People share photographs and ask questions about problem plants,” she explains. With the possibility of input from the 500+ people on the list, participants are likely to get a variety of answers to their queries.

Interestingly, according to Newton, who also serves on the THC history team, from the 1920s to the 1960s, the club had up to 500 members at a time, and some were couples. “The level of activity was much higher with seven garden shows a year in addition to monthly meetings and a massive cooperative buying effort for plants and seeds,” she notes. “It’s quite striking to see how big and active the club was at this time.”

Based on newsletters, reports, and other materials made available with the help of Diane Kohn and Historic Takoma Inc., the club’s first cooperative buying effort took place shortly after its founding when the Department of Agriculture refused a duplicate shipment of bulbs. A charter member of THC, who was also the Department of Agriculture official in charge of bulb growing, offered the club’s officers the opportunity to purchase the bulbs, which were then resold to members.

Thus the first bulb sale was born. According to Newton’s article in THC’s March newsletter, “Many of the narcissuses, jonquils, and other bulbs seen growing in the gardens of older (and sometimes newer) homes in Takoma, DC and Takoma Park today are likely to be the babies of bulbs from THC.” This year’s bulb sale will take place on Oct. 2 at the Takoma Street Festival.

“With our bulb sale, I see our bulbs everywhere,” says Kathy Jentz, chair of the 100th Anniversary Committee and a past vice president and president of the club, “particularly the ones we donated in parks.”

Jentz joined the club fifteen years ago as a “beginning to intermediate” gardener. “The first meeting I attended was a pruning workshop,” she recalls. “It was a demo and talk about different tools and techniques with which I was totally unfamiliar at the time.”

For her one of the joys of being a THC member is “feeling like you know everyone and that what you’re giving to it is worthwhile.” As such, Jentz was surprised to learn that the first members were all men, and until the 1970s, membership was invitation only; you had to be invited to attend a meeting by a member. Certainly, this has changed. In fact, Jentz attributes the club’s longevity to “the people and the small hometown feel.”

City Gardener Mike Welsh, a THC member since the 1980s, can attest to the contributions the club has made to its hometown. “THC has participated in plantings of City gardens and contributed funds towards plant purchases as well as THC members donating plants from their own gardens,” he says.

And the best is yet to come. Welsh is working with THC to create a new park on city property at the northwest corner of Piney Branch Road and Philadelphia Avenue to reflect the 100-year relationship of the club to the City of Takoma Park. It will be called Centennial Park and funded through donations from its members and grants from local organizations to procure plants.

Planting is expected to start in the fall.

A master gardener, Welsh describes the club as a “lifeline for beginning gardeners.” He says, “Many people come to Takoma Park as new homeowners with yards, and the club welcomes new gardeners.”

“Most people who start gardening turn initially to national books, which will only take you so far,” he continues. “The knowledge you get from a regional club is everything.”

Perhaps, the club’s tagline says it best, “a hardy perennial since 1916.” For more information about the club’s anniversary activities, membership, and making donations, visit www.takomahort.org.

This article appeared in the May 2016 edition of the Takoma Park Newsletter. The Takoma Park Newsletter is available for download here.