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The following was contributed by a former employee of Marlow Heights Florist (‘71-’80):
“I was reading The Examiner Newspaper of Northern Virginia this afternoon, and there was an article about your site. Wow, there are so many memories I have about Marlow Heights. My mom opened Marlow Heights Florist in 1971 and she owned the shop until 1980. It was sold and then relocated to another shopping center after that. I was 10 years old when we opened Marlow Heights Florist on March 15, 1971. Our shop was on the little side street right around the corner from Woolworths. There was a beauty shop next to us where we used to buy grape soda from a vending machine in the back. Next to that was a yellow cab stand and a little sidewalk grassy area where I used to walk our dog, Thumper.
She was a regular feature in our flower shop and people used to come to visit the shop just to see the dog. My mother always had lovely window displays at our shop. At Christmas we had mechanized penguins, skating on a fake icy pond. The Woolworth's ladies used to stop to look in the window on their way to work. I knew them by their greenish blue uniform skirts, hanging under their wool coats.
There was a beauty school downstairs from our shop. In the spring, I remember the horrible smells that would come up the pipes when the school did "perm day" and all the beauty school students were learning how to perm hair. It really stunk up the place!
On our little side street there was a barber shop across from our store.
There was also a portrait studio, a pet shop, a Mademoselle Dress shop (which later became a hardware store), an H and R Block office (where I got my first job outside of the family business at the age of 16). There was also a beauty supply shop, an optometrist named Doctor Brilliant, and some offices upstairs.
I spent many afternoons at the Woolworths lunch counter eating hamburgers and ice cream and remember the ladies who worked there fondly. Next to Woolworths was a jewelry store called Karp's Jewelers. I think they are still there, except Mr. Karp is no longer the owner. Karp's was always a hangout for the local shopowners and the Marlow Heights police officers. I remember always seeing men in there discussing important things when I was walking our bank deposit up to the bank next to the hobby shop. Back then you could let a 10 year old child and a dog walk to the bank with the day's deposit without worrying.
There was a lovely gift shop up from Woolworths. It was owned by the nicest family. They also had a card/gift shop in Iverson Mall, which I worked at one summer when I was a teenager. Next to the gift shop was a children’s clothing shop called, The Bo Peep Shoppe. My mother used to take me shopping there all the time when I was little, before bell-bottom jeans and t-shirts became my uniform of choice. Next to the Bo Peep shop, was the Hot Shoppes Cafeteria. We ate there almost every day after work. I remember that I always ordered the Roast Beef and it was delicious. I miss that place the most. It was always our last stop for a meal before heading home for the night.
The hobby shop you mentioned, was owned by my stepfather. Many young men got their first jobs at his store and it was a terrific place to get HO scale trains, rockets, models, and all sorts of stuff. I even remember that he sold shoes and did engraving. He closed the hobby shop in the late 70's and opened a new shop in Springfield Mall (which closed in the 80's) and then one at Fair Oaks Mall in Chantilly. That shop was closed and he retired in the late 90's. He now golfs and lives outside of Fredricksburg, Virginia.
It's amusing that you mention the Scuderi's, the owners of Marlow Heights Shopping Center. The Scuderi brothers were our landlords at Marlow Heights Florist, and for the whole shopping center. As a young child, I remember my mom instructing me, "If the Scuderi's ever ask you how business is, you tell them that it is 'just so, so'. Don't ever say that business is good, or they'll raise the rent!" We delivered flowers to the Scuderi offices almost weekly and I was always afraid one of the Scuderi brothers would corner me and demand to know how business was. It's funny now, but I was terrified then.
I also remember Rector's Restaurant, which was owned by Anna Rector. It was down the street from Giant Food. Rectors had a dark bar at the back of the restaurant that I never ventured near. There was always a TV on back there and shadowy figures at the bar. They had the best carry out soups and salads,
and we frequently ate dinner there after work. One night, there was a fire in the offices over our flower shop. We were eating dinner at Rectors and I saw the fire engines screech to a halt in front of our store. My dog, Thumper was in the shop and I ran down to get her out. The firemen let me get her and I smuggled her up to Rectors where she sat next to me, under my coat in the restaruant booth. I fed her bits of roast beef from my deli sandwich until the uproar died down. There was always something going at Marlow Heights Shopping Center!
Of course, Steak in a Sack was always a favorite place to get a meal as well. They were always busy. They had the best pita sandwiches, back when nobody knew what a pita was. I think they called the bread Arabian bread or something like that. It was delicious. I remember the owner and his son's who worked that busy counter. The youngest son liked to play the drums and loved music. I've often wondered if he ever followed his dream to be a musician, or if he got absorbed into the family business.
Our flower shop served the entire Marlow Heights area, including the District and almost all of Southern Maryland. As a kid, I used to help deliver the flowers with our truck driver, Butch. I think I was in every funeral home, church and hospital in D.C. and Southern Maryland by the age of 13. It was an incredible experience. Our store was less than 1000 square feet but we did a brisk business. On one weekend in June in the mid-1970's we did flowers for 13 weddings, and at Christmas there were so many arrangements made up for delivery that there was only a path from the front door to the counter. We used every spare inch of that store. Back then there were many major flower holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentines Day, St. Patricks Day, Easter, Mother's Day and then the weddings in June. Someone was always sending flowers for a birth, a wedding, a funeral, or just to say they were sorry. I can't count how many men came through our door with a guilty, sheepish look on their face, looking for the perfect bouquet to express their sorrow over some wrong they had done. Over the years we took care of everyone who came through our door: grieving widows, fresh-faced brides, new fathers, and many others. My mother gave jobs to many aspiring floral designers as well.
In the summer, Marlow Heights put on the annual sidewalk sale. Our shop had a little flower cart that we wheeled up the street to the front of the beauty supply shop and I was put in charge of selling little trinkets and flowers. It was always stiffing hot outside, but fun to bargain and haggle for a few dollars with our customers.
At Christmas they used to always have Santa Claus in a trailer out in the parking lot in front of Woolworths. I remember the brown shag carpeting in the tiny cramped trailer and poor Santa sitting on his chair all day while lines of little kids streamed through.
I moved away from Maryland when I was in my 20's, after my mother and stepfather sold and closed their businesses. The bank had been robbed and a police officer had been shot, and my stepfather's dad was held up at gunpoint in the hobby shop. The shopping center was beginning to become dangerous and my folks didn't want to take any chances. There were better opportunities elsewhere so we all moved on.
All in all, we were only in the flower business in Marlow Heights for ten years, but I remember those days fondly. It was hard work and there were many hardships, but Marlow Heights will always hold a special place in my heart.”
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