Marlow Heights 60s and 70s

Recollections is a section of reader contributed memories from emails and the Guest Book. If you have particular memories of Marlow Heights and vicinity that you’d like published here, send me an email and I’ll add it.

I came across your website a few days ago by chance, sort of reminiscing about the old neighborhood when times were better. I was a Washington, D.C., resident and as a kid at Christmas time my aunt and uncle would drive us all out to the Marlow Heights Shopping Center to visit Santa Claus at his hut in front of Woolworths. This was in the early 1960's. I eventually moved from Washington, D.C., in November 1966 to the Marlow Madison Apartments. The apartments overlooked the Marlow Theater on Branch Avenue and from my parents balcony I could see basically the entire shopping center front. I recall it was around 1968 I would see the Marlow Heights Police car stop at the theater and the officer go inside. He was skinny and would adjust his gun belt and hat before going inside. We nicknamed him "Barney Fife". We would often see a theater usher in a red coat come out and turn his emergency lights on and dash back inside. "Barney" would run out and turn them off. I recalled the night looking out the window durning the MLK riots and seeing the police everywhere. The shopping center was empty. On good days I would often walk to school at Benjamin Stoddart. I had a neighbor who also went to Stoddart and his mother worked as a waitress at Steak-in-a-sack between the Hecht Company and Giant Food. An officer would be inside eating breakfast and I would stand outside waiting on my friend because his mom would give him lunch money. The window was down on a Marlow Heights Police car, which often sat on the sidewalk next to the restaurant and I would listen to the radio calls. Years passed and I graduated from Potomac High in 1974. I worked at Iverson Mall as a Security Guard employed under R.L.

McCracken and Associates. On game days I use to skip school and go to the game room over the Military Recruiting Center. The guards would ask us to leave during school days, and the Hot Shops was up the street. I would get a soda and walk home. I knew the Mall Captain's son, and when I graduated, the Captain gave me an application as a mall guard.

Now here is where the world really gets small. In early 1976, I submitted my application for the Marlow Heights Shopping Center Police. I was interviewed and hired by "Chief James Sturgess", your stepfather. People would call him "Jimmy". I read in your website he passed away. I'm sorry to hear about his passing. I remember him coming to work in the evenings and we had only two cars on patrol during the peak time of night. The two cars was an unmarked white Chevy and Plymouth with P.G. Sheriff's radio call numbers #997 and #998. Car #998 was the Chevrolet Impala driven by your dad. In the late evenings we would all take a break and meet under the Marlow Heights sign next to the Photo Mat store and have coffee and sodas. I worked there for about six-months but, then I took a job with W.M.A.T.A. in D.C. I worked it for about a year and even though it paid more money, I did not like it as much as Marlow Heights and being close to my home. I re-applied in early

1977 and was re-hired by Chief Ed Loudenslager. If you remember the department in the late seventies, you may have seen my personal car in the basement garage. I have some photos of it on the garage driveway ramp. It was a 1976 red Ford Gran Torino; Starsky and Hutch model. I also remember John Kennedy who was in your old news photograph. He use to be the K-9 officer. When I was there he was working with the maintenance department. I remember he had a limp. When I last worked there from early 1977 to September 1979 we only had four full-time officers and one part-time officer. There were 12-hour shifts back then. At Christmas time we would still escort Santa, and work part-time evenings walking the "Christmas foot patrol" moving cars out of the firelanes and keeping robberies down. In 1978 Santa arrived by Heilcopter and he was driven to the Hut. What a wonderful tradition to be a part of! Watching Santa arrive as a kid and as an adult being able to drive him for other kids. I remember the manager of the theater. Her husband drove a white unmarked 1972 Plymouth Fury and he was a Capitol Officer. I think his name was "Jack"? I would often stop by at the last show and stay until everyone left the area.

In September 1979, I left Marlow Heights and joined the Hyattsville Police Department. I retired in March 2005 with twenty five and a half years service. However, I immediately joined a seven member small town police department in Carroll County Maryland to stay active. I had moved from my apartment in December 1984 only to return and visit Marlow Heights once or twice a year. This included stopping to see Chief Loudenslager and having lunch at Steak-in-a-sack as I did many times as a single person who did not like my own cooking. I am married and my son works out of state with computers. I still keep in touch with another Marlow Heights Officer that I have known since 1977. On your website you had a picture of Bill Hull and Dennis Spears. I knew Bill Hull when he worked in Security, and at Giant Food as a Loss Prevention Agent. My cousin was friends with Dennis Spears at Potomac High. My cousin also graduated in 1976. I have so many fond memories of Marlow Heights and Iverson Mall. There are so many stories to tell. It is clear we know the same people. It is amazing how a neighborhood becomes a big part of a person's life. (Chuck Robinson)

We moved to Suitland in June of 1968 and lived in an apartment in Hickory Hill. My dad was in the Air Force and was working at Suitland Hall right across Silver Hill Parkway. We got transferred in June of 1971 to Alabama. I went to Suitland High for 10th, 11th and 12th grade and graduated in 1971. My brother went to Benjamin Stoddert for 7th, 8th and 9th grades. Back then you were either a block or a collegiate. Blocks wore the mack pants and banlon shirts and greased their hair back and wore chucks and the collegiates wore bell bottoms and button down shirts and long hair. We were collegiates and the first week of school I was told the blocks threw a collegiate out the second story window at Suitland High. I guess I was lucky, I had more blocks for friends than anything else. My brother wasn't so lucky because his hair was really long and he got picked on a lot but he held his own and gained their respect.

Before I got my license I rode a gold metallic 10 speed and my brother had a purple metal flake 5 speed with banana seat and a sissy bar. Cool, huh. We were 2 blocks from Iverson Mall and cruised the mall and ate at the Jr. Hot Shoppes. We also ate at the Red Barn on Silver Hill and on St. Barnabas Rd. We roamed from HIllcrest Heights to Pennsylvania Ave.

We were big drag racing fans and we went to Budd's Creek. There was plenty of street racing on 301 and Branch Ave any time of day and on SIlver Hill Parkway, even my dad did his share of street racing. We used to sit and watch on a wall in front of Hickory Hill apartments and it was like a car show and drag race all in one. I know there was some big money street racing going on late night and early morning off the beltway the exit before the Woodrow Wilson bridge. There was a McDonalds there where they would meet. Dynamotion was right in front of the apartments where we lived and we would hang out after school, during the summer, and we saw every muscle car you could imagine in that place. Finally got my license and I got a 67 Mustang and my dad bought a 1969 Z/28, silver with black stripes and I got to take it to school on Wednesdays. Me and my brother would be up before the sun cleaning it up. My brother helped because he wanted me to drop him off in front at Stoddert to show off the car. We spent all the money we made on cars, Penn Jersey and Speed Unlimited got most of it.

We would go to the bowling alley on Andrews AFB and bowl and look for girls. We were always riding around when I got a car. We used to play chicken while riding through Morningside and run along the dirt road on the hills of Suitland Parkway. Remember Burger Chef and Gino's and the all night horror movies at the 301 drive-in, listening to WPGC.

There are way too many things to write about those 3 years in Suitland, but at least they were all good. We still talk about all the places we lived while my dad was in the Air Force and Suitland was the best. (Greg Johnsen)

We lived on Dallas Drive (same street as the bowling alley, ice cream shop [DeMoreland’s] & 7-11) until 1969 then we moved across the little bridge to Hillcrest Hgts, to Kirby Drive off of 23rd parkway, I lived around the corner from the Glenn's - our street was loaded with kids, you might know my younger brother Eric, he went to Sandymount and Stoddert, then went to Crossland when we moved to Brandywine in 74.We used to hang out a lot at the Rec center behind Hecht Co during the summers. Then at Mall, when we got older. I hung out with Dawn H., you might have known her brother Joey, they lived on Keith St. across from the Brami's, down the street from the French's.

The Spider Web was a head shop at the top of 23rd at the little shopping center, there was a High's, I think an A&P, a barber shop, a drug store and a restaurant Giovanni's. Anyway the Web, I think it had black walls, had a parachute hanging from the ceiling, great posters on the walls, played loud rock (Jimi, Janis, Clapton ) sold really funky clothes, jeans, once they had a leather fringe vest that was red, white and blue with really long fringe that hung on the wall, they sold shoes, bongs, just about all drug paraphernalia, there was always a crowd hanging out there. I can't remember when it closed, I guess I was off to college.

You have a great site - in fact I saw a picture of Angie M. at your reunion, and so I forwarded to her sister Lynn who also lives in Alexandria and who I still see. Anyways keep up the good work - it was a real thrill thinking about those times, we really were lucky - we walked everywhere, hung out at everyone's house, when I think about it, our parents made us go outside - all you had to do was step out of the house and there was always something going on, football game in the street, a party somewhere, no one stayed in to watch TV, - it was all on the street !! (Cynthia B.)

Wow, this site brought up a lot of old memories! I grew up on Iverson Street, right across form the Hillcrest Hgts shopping center. We used to hang out at the Rexall drug store, Murphy's, High's, and of course the bakery! I can remember walking to Iverson Mall and later working at the Tie Establishment on the upper level. Great treat was going to the Hot Shoppes, Jr and getting a Royal Burger! We swam at the Quality Courts (Branch Ave) pool in the summer and probably drove the staff nuts! My brother, cousins and I used to get ice from the ice machine and throw it to each other from the stairwell. At Stoddert and Potomac I made so many good friends with Peppermint Pipers, Star Trek, and our no-study Study Hall! I could go on..... thanks for the memories... (Kathi M.)