The early to mid-20th century was an exceptional period of change and growth for Arlington, and the expansion of the Federal economy from New Deal programs and World War II was one of the largest catalysts.

Over little more than a decade during the 1930s, Arlington began to transform from a country town to a bustling suburb.

Walter De Groot provided our Center with one of the most comprehensive interviews about that time in Arlington’s history, totaling 180 transcribed pages. In this clip, Mr. De Groot remembers not only the technological and infrastructure changes that the war years brought to the area, but also the complicated social implications of war and expansion.

Narrator: Walter De Groot
Interviewer: Sara Collins
Interview Date: June 30, 2004

Transcript:
SC: Were most of the houses in that time, let’s say in the thirties, most of the houses in that neighborhood have outhouses?
WDG: We were probably, as I recall, one of the first houses that had indoor plumbing built into the house. Now that I’m thinking about it we were not on a sewer line, we were on a septic field. But I don’t ever recall any service of it while we were there. And I do not know when they had tied into the road but I’m going to assume it’s probably about the time of World War II because that’s about the time they paved Columbia Pike. That was done with German war prisoners. Columbia Pike, Arlington Boulevard, Lee Highway. All these east-west highways were being covered using war prisoners.
SC: Where did they stay? Where were they housed?
WDG: They came from Arlington Hall.
SC: That’s where they were incarcerated?
WDG: Well, they had some in camps around but I believe they were stationed, held, incarcerated at Arlington Hall area. They had a place over there. In fact, that takes to the story when I was stationed in Germany in ‘54.
We as kids, we used to take things from home like maybe cigarettes or candy or stuff like that and we’d go over to this prison camp. We kids called it the “Cracker Jack Box.” These prisoners in their off time didn’t have anything better to do and they would cut up tobacco cans and tin cans and they’d bend them and twist them and make them like something, like a horse or a bird or a carving. They would carve things. So we never knew if we threw and it was sort of like, “okay it’s your turn.” I’d go over to the fence and one of the prisoners would sort of meander over that way and let’s say I had gotten a few cigarettes. I would throw it over the fence and then he would show up and he’d throw something over the fence. We never knew what we were going to get. So that’s why it was called the “Cracker Jack Box.”
Now when I was in Germany I met a man who it turns out he had been incarcerated there
and he had a young wife. Many of the young German girls spoke English. Why I don’t know other than they got that much of an education as a second language. But I had mentioned to this fellow, I said something and he said, “My wife does not speak English but I do.” And then we got talking about how did you learn to speak such good English and he said, “I was a prisoner in America.”
And I said, “Oh, where?”
He said, “Oh, you wouldn’t know this place. It was a little town called Arlington.”
I said, “Oh my goodness. You came from the Cracker Jack Box.
He said, “You know the town.”
SC: Isn’t that amazing. What a story.

You can find Walter De Groot’s oral history interview in its entirety in the Center for Local History – VA 975.5295 A7243oh ser.3 no.193 – or read it online.

Photo: Boy Scouts Scrap Drive 1940’s; Source: Photographs of the Arlington Historical Society, PG 230-2326

The goal of the Arlington Voices project is to showcase the Center for Local History’s oral history collection in a publicly accessible and shareable way.

From June 2017 – May 2018, we will post one oral history clip and transcript each month, focusing on Arlington’s history, culture and identity.

What is the oral history collection?

Oral history is a popular method of research used for understanding historical events, actors, and movements from the point of view of people’s personal experiences.

The Arlington Public Library began collecting oral histories of long-time residents in the 1970s, and since then the scope of the collection has expanded to capture the diverse voices of Arlington’s community. In 2016, staff members and volunteers recorded many additional hours of interviews, building the collection to 575 catalogued oral histories.

To browse our list of narrators indexed by interview subject, check out our community archive. To read a full transcript of an interview, visit the Center for Local History located at Central Library.

Picture a Family Reunion…

Family members engage with distant relatives seen only once a year, sharing stories of childhood memories.

Now, imagine one of those stories leads to an astonishing and life-changing discovery: you’re descended from celebrated abolitionist Harriet Tubman.

The Ross family, from left to right: Denise Winfield; Dorothy Jackson; Tina Jackson-Moore; Stephanie Ross Curry; Maryann Ross-Settles; Lula Juanita Ross-Levesque; Audrey Dillard.

In 2011, the Ross family was bewildered when they uncovered just this at their family reunion.

Audrey Dillard (Ross), descended from Harriet Tubman, was in utter disbelief when she found her heritage paired with Tubman’s.

“I remember being at the family reunion and seeing all these binders with information about Harriet Tubman. So, I ask my cousin, “Why on earth is all that information here?” And she said, “You really don’t know do you.” And when I found out, I was in shock!”

Granderson “Grady” Ross

Tubman was born in Maryland circa 1822, so to find that a large majority of her relatives still called this area home was an exciting discovery for the Ross family. Through genealogical research and family recollections and conversations, it was uncovered that Dillard’s grandfather, Granderson “Grady” Ross, was in fact Harriet Tubman’s father, Ben Ross’s nephew. That meant that the Ross family of Northern Virginia and Maryland were in fact direct descendants of Harriet Tubman.

When the realization sank in, Dillard, and her extended family, including her mother, Juanita Ross-Levesque (Granderson Ross’ daughter), who is Tubman’s “second blood cousin on the paternal side,” and likely the closest living relative to Harriet Tubman today, decided that they wanted to follow in Harriet’s footsteps. Therefore, in June of 2011, Harriet’s modern-day relatives took the same journey along the underground railroad, that she so courageously traversed over 165 years ago.

Tubman was a “conductor” on the Underground Railroad for approximately nine years, and during that time she guided countless slaves to freedom. Tubman is revered as one of America’s most historically significant persons. She fought for human rights and freedoms for the duration of her life. Despite the risks and bounty for her capture, she continuously returned to the south via the Underground Railroad to assist with the freeing and relocation of slaves, and continued with her mission to serve and help others until her final days.

During their journey along the Underground Railroad, the Ross family physically and emotionally connected with Tubman and her plight. They fully comprehended the sheer will, strength, fearlessness, and determination that Tubman, and other travelers along the route, possessed. “It was truly a life changing journey,” stated Dillard.

As they continue to delve into their family history and uncover a deeper connection to Tubman, the Ross family hopes to find new relatives and “family members just like us,” who will continue to celebrate, share, and keep the legacy of Harriet Tubman alive and thriving.

To do your own genealogical research or to learn more about Arlington and Northern Virginia’s history, please visit the Center for Local History at Central Library. You can also contact us by email or by calling 703-228-5966.

When World War I began in mid-August of 1914, it divided the global superpowers into Central and Allied Powers.

But it was not until after the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915 – and incessant pleas from the Allied Powers – that the United States officially entered World War I on April 6, 1917. Then soldiers from all over the United Sates, including Arlington, signed up to “do their part for the War effort.”

Because of new innovations in weaponry and chemical warfare, this was unlike any previous war; more than nine million soldiers perished, and approximately twenty-one million were wounded between 1914-1918.

Many Americans never returned home, but one who did make it back to Arlington was Edward G. Fenwick.

Fenwick served as an ambulance driver during World War I, and his journey through wartime Europe can be relived through his numerous personal correspondences.

Fenwick’s World War I Ambulance

Fenwick’s letter home, page 1

With letters addressed to his loved ones, including his beloved “Momsie,” the contents reveal an intimate look at life behind-the-scenes during war, and a soldier’s internal struggle to maintain a sense of normalcy and familiarity amidst a chaotic war-torn backdrop.

These wartime correspondences, as well as other family records can be found in the Eastman-Fenwick Family Personal Paper Collection at the Center for Local History.  The Eastman-Fenwick Collection details the history of this well-known Arlington family over four generations.  The collection is comprised of wartime letters, (both Civil War and World War I) economic records of the family, 19^th century sermons, genealogical materials, and various postcards and correspondences.

When Kristin Young, an Arlington County employee, discovered that the Center for Local History was going to showcase letters and photographs from World War I, she graciously loaned us a photograph of her grandfather, William Leo Diedrich for our exhibition.

William Leo Diedrich

Kristin’s grandfather served in France in 1917 and his personal diary quoted that he was “shot and gassed in October 1918.”  He survived the war but Kristin says, “My grandfather didn’t talk much about his service.  Nor did my uncles who served in WWII.  I can say that I am proud of my family’s tradition of service.”  In fact, Kristin is retired from the Navy Reserves.  She stated, “I’d like to think that I continued that tradition and hopefully made him proud.”

View the Center for Local History’s complete online World War I exhibit.

We also invite you to visit the Center for Local History’s Research Room at Central Library to see our World War I mini-exhibition, and to get an up-close-and-personal glimpse into this bygone wartime era.

The Center for Local history is happy to accept archival donations—please contact us through our webpage to speak to a staff member about your collection. 

The Center for Local History is a community driven archive which collects documents, photographs, and other archival records detailing Arlington’s diversified neighborhoods, groups and clubs, and residents.