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News

Increased Browsing Time at Express Libraries & Expanding Service

Library staff stand outside of Westover pointing at the front door, looking excited.

Express Library Service opening day at Westover; photo by Library Director Diane Kresh.

It's been exactly one month since Express Library Service opened at the Shirlington and Westover Branches!

Since then, more than 16,000 items have been checked out at our Express Libraries, and 60 percent of the items checked out have been children’s material.

We are excited by the opportunity this new service has given us to welcome Arlington readers back into the Library, and grateful for your support and patience over the past year.

As we continue to expand services and offerings to the community, we have some exciting updates to share.

Coming Soon

  • Starting Tuesday, April 13, in-person browsing at Express Library locations will increase to 30 minutes, for 30 people.
  • With warmer weather ahead, look for The Truck at more outdoor community events.
  • We’ll soon hold outdoor story times (limited capacity and safety measures will be in place).
  • Summer Reading starts June 1! Look for more info coming soon.
Program and outreach librarians hand out books, craft kits and info at AFAC.

The Library’s Partnership & Outreach team visited AFAC and other neighborhood organizations for National Library Week 2021.

Looking Ahead to FY2022

The Library will hire new staff this spring, in order to begin opening more locations this summer.

  • Community health metrics are not the driving factor in regard to opening additional locations and services. The County has been under a hiring freeze for more than one year. Libraries cannot open additional locations or services with current staffing levels.
  • The County Manager recently approved exceptions to this hiring freeze for Libraries with a goal to reopen additional locations as soon as possible in FY 2022, which begins on July 1, 2021.

COVID-19 Friendly Programs and Services for You

While we continue to bring in-person Library services back, our online events and socially-distanced programs and services are designed to serve your needs:

  • Holds Pickup — Get your books from Central Library.
  • Express Library Service — Browse the collection in person at our Shirlington and Westover branches.
  • Arlington Reads — Watch monthly, thought-provoking author talks.
  • Storytime Channel — Dive into our fun YouTube channel.
  • Digital Magazines — Subscribe to thousands of magazines online using Libby from OverDrive.

We look forward to seeing you online, and reconnecting with you at the Library!

We value your feedback. Tell us what you think about our Library services. We will read and consider all comments.

Library Services Feedback

April 9, 2021 by Web Editor

Filed Under: App, Homepage, Library Operations, News, Service Updates

Dr. Charles Drew: Taking a Stand

Graphic image of a megaphone

Join us for a new series of stories from the Center for Local History highlighting members of our community who made a difference in ways that helped shape our history and created positive change.

Their voices were not always loud, but what they said or did had a significant impact on our community.

Dr. Charles Drew

Dr. Charles Richard Drew (1904-1950) was a surgeon and a pioneer in the field of blood plasma preservation, storage, and transfusions.  His accomplishments as the creator of the modern-day blood bank came during a time when opportunities for minorities in the medical field were nearly non-existent and society at large was beset with racial division and prejudice.

Charles_Drew

Dr. Charles Drew

Born in Washington D.C., Drew arrived in Arlington County in 1920 when his parents relocated to what is now known as the Penrose neighborhood, although he continued to attend the District’s Dunbar High School. Awarded an athletic scholarship by Amherst University in Massachusetts, he graduated and subsequently gained employment at Morgan College in Baltimore, Maryland. From 1926–1928, he was a professor of chemistry and biology, served as football coach, and was the first athletic director at the historically Black institution.

Using the money he saved from his tenure at Morgan College, Drew studied medicine at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, finishing second in his class while earning his Doctor of Medicine and Master of Surgery degree in 1933. Following a brief time spent as a faculty instructor for pathology at Howard University and teaching surgery/assistant surgeon at Freedman's Hospital, in 1938 Drew undertook graduate and then postgraduate studies at Columbia University in New York City. This marked the genesis of Drew’s groundbreaking research, authoring his seminal dissertation "Banked Blood: A Study in Blood Preservation”, which his mentor Dr. John Scudder described as “a masterpiece” and “one of the most distinguished essays ever written, both in form and content.”

200-1062p

Home of Dr. Charles Drew in the now Penrose Neighborhood in Arlington County

In 1940, he became the first Black to earn a Doctor of Science degree in medicine before traveling to New York City, where he headed the World War II-era “Blood for Britain” program. “Blood for Britain” used Drew’s research in the field of blood plasma to enable the preservation, storage, transport, and distribution of donated blood from United States donors to British soldiers and civilians. The program also ushered in the use of “bloodmobiles”, a means by which refrigerated containers of stored blood were transported by trucks and vans to hospitals, clinics, and individuals in need.

In 1941, Drew became director of the American Red Cross Blood Bank but resigned from the position a year later, following a pronouncement by the armed forces that the donated blood of African-Americans would be stored separately from those of whites. This 1944 quote reflects Drew’s feelings:

"It is fundamentally wrong for any great nation to willfully discriminate against such a large group of its people…One can say quite truthfully that on the battlefields nobody is very interested in where the plasma comes from when they are hurt…It is unfortunate that such a worthwhile and scientific bit of work should have been hampered by such stupidity."

Drew then returned to Howard University and Freedmen’s Hospital where he taught and performed numerous surgeries.

BGBBCP_

Dr. Charles Drew

On April 1, 1950, during a visit to Tuskegee, Alabama where he attended the annual free clinic at the John A. Andrew Memorial Hospital, Drew was involved in a tragic automobile accident. The accident was a result of exhaustion and fatigue after spending the previous evening performing operations and surgeries.

The accident caused his three passengers only minor injuries, but Drew’s were severe and proved to be fatal. Drew passed away that same day, and his funeral was held on April 5, 1950, at the Nineteenth Street Baptist Church in Washington, D.C.

Do you have a question about this story, or a personal experience to share? 

Use this form to send a message to the Center for Local History.

Center For Local History - Blog Post Message Form

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  • Share Your Story

April 8, 2021 by web editor Leave a Comment

Filed Under: App, Center for Local History, Homepage, News, Taking a Stand / Speaking Out

Oral History: Bob & Edith’s Diner

Interview with Gregory Bolton

Diner 1

“Bob & Edith’s Diner with high rise apartment in background,” 2010. Photo by Emma Chaplin as part of the “Capturing Arlington” photo contest.

pink sound wave on a grey background

Oral histories are used to understand historical events, actors, and movements from the point of view of real people’s personal experiences.

Bob & Edith’s Diner has been an Arlington mainstay for more than 50 years. Established in 1969 by Bob and Edith Bolton, the original Bob & Edith’s got started when the couple took over the location of a “Gary’s Donut Dinette” for $800. The diner started with simple Southern dishes, such as country hams, scrapple, bologna, bacon, and country breakfasts.

The Boltons later added several locations in addition to the flagship diner on Columbia Pike, and in 1982, the diner expanded from a 10-stool counter to 5 stools and 7 booths. The interiors include many photos of the Bolton family, as well as Dallas Cowboys ephemera and a jukebox.

Bob & Ediths

“Color shot of Bob & Edith’s Diner,” 2010. Photo by Muna Abdulkader as part of the “Capturing Arlington” photo contest.

In this oral history interview, Bob and Edith’s son Gregory Bolton describes the history and operations of the diner and its expanding menu. Today, his son and daughter, Christopher and Tamara Bolton run Bob & Edith’s, continuing the family tradition.

Narrator: Gregory Bolton
Interviewer: Virginia Smith
Date: December 19, 2011

https://library.arlingtonva.us/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Bolton_Gregory_20111219.mp3
Hotel Guide 84

Bob & Edith’s Diner featured in the South Arlington section of a 1984 Arlington hotel and restaurant guide.

Hotel Restaurant Guide

Bob & Edith’s Diner featured in the South Arlington section of a 1988 Arlington hotel and restaurant guide.

Gregory Bolton: When I was growing up, there was no such thing as really a menu. What there was—above the, in front of the ten stools that were there, and above the grills, there were just signs, such as The Serviceman’s Special. We’d have an artist that would paint these signs up, roughly around sixteen inches, by maybe twenty inches. And it would, for example, would have a serviceman eating a chipped beef breakfast, that we would call it SOS, Serviceman’s Special. And each product was put across the front of the diner, and that’s how you would choose what you would like. There was no hand menu; it was across the board. And we’d replace them like once or twice a year.

Virginia Smith: And then when did you go to a menu, a printed menu?

GB: We probably went to a menu, I would say maybe about twenty-five years ago. The first ten or fifteen years it was pretty much all up in front of you; you picked it out, different ideas and different products. But the menu’s ten, fifteen times larger now than it was back then.

VS: Yeah. Did you get people coming down from the Pentagon?

GB: Yes ma’am. We had Pentagon, and the Navy Annex are very big customers. We had a lot of servicemen. I would say it’s seventy-five, eighty percent is government-related, whether it’s the County, state, Pentagon—

VS: Well, it’s affordable.

GB: —The military. They seem to be very pleased with the operation, and they keep coming back.

OG Bob

“The original Bob & Edith’s Diner,” 2010. Photo by Matthew Welborn as part of the “Capturing Arlington” photo contest.

Sources
https://www.bobandedithsdiner.com/About-Us

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.

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.

April 1, 2021 by web editor Leave a Comment

Filed Under: Center for Local History, Homepage, News, Oral History

William A. Rowe: Taking a Stand

Graphic image of a megaphone

Join us for a new series of stories from the Center for Local History highlighting members of our community who made a difference in ways that helped shape our history and created positive change.

Their voices were not always loud, but what they said or did had a significant impact on our community.

William A. Rowe

William Augustus Rowe (1834-1907) was a pivotal figure in the early development of the Green Valley/Nauck community. In the face of a post-Civil War world in which the Emancipation Proclamation was more legal decree than societal reality, Rowe persevered to achieve many firsts as a Black policeman, politician, elected official, district Supervisor and Chairman, and community leader.

William A. Rowe

William A. Rowe, possibly 1880's

Born into enslavement around 1834, Rowe eventually escaped and settled in the Freedman’s Village community. There, he trained and became a skilled blacksmith prior to becoming the first Black policeman in Arlington County. Rowe soon proved himself to be an able and effective politician, becoming the first Black elected to the Board of Supervisors. He served as Supervisor of the Jefferson District from 1871 to 1879 and as Arlington District Board Chairman from 1879 to 1883 after moving to Green Valley/Nauck, where he had previously purchased 5 acres of land from Sewell Corbett.

Upon Rowe’s departure from the Jefferson District, he earned this extraordinary resolution from the other two white supervisors:

“Resolved that the resignation of William A. Rowe as a member of this board having been made known, the faithful and efficient discharge of his duties during the past ten years, and the upright and honorable conduct that has marked his public service entitles him to the confidence, esteem, and gratitude of the people of this County.”

William A. Rowe’s tenure with the Board of Supervisors is as follows:

  • July 1, 1871-June 30, 1872, Jefferson Township, Board of Supervisors
  • July 1, 1872- June 30, 1873, Jefferson Township, Chairman, Board of Supervisors
  • July 1, 1873- June 30, 1874, Jefferson Township, “President” (Chairman), Board of Supervisors
  • July 1, 1874- April 2, 1879, Jefferson District, Chairman (moved from Jefferson to Arlington District)
  • July 1, 1879- June 30, 1883, Arlington District, Chairman

After his resignation as Chairman in 1883, he was appointed Superintendent of the Poor, a position he held through June of 1886.

Rowe continued to live in Green Valley/Nauck, where his son George served as a deacon at Lomax AME Zion Church, until his passing on December 5, 1907.

Do you have a question about this story, or a personal experience to share? 

Use this form to send a message to the Center for Local History.

Center For Local History - Blog Post Message Form

Do you have a question about this story, or a personal experience to share? Use this form to send a message to the Center for Local History.
  • Share Your Story

March 25, 2021 by web editor

Filed Under: Center for Local History, News, Taking a Stand / Speaking Out

More to Explore: Author Rebecca Traister

Did you catch our conversation with Arlington Reads featured author Rebecca Traister? You still have time!

The interview will be available until Thursday, April 15 on:

  • YouTube 
  • Facebook 
March 18 Rebecca Traister

During the conversation, Ms. Traister discusses her latest book “Good and Mad,” the story of female fury and its cultural significance, demonstrating its crucial role in women’s slow rise to political power in America, as well as the ways that anger is received when it comes from women as opposed to men. 

More to Explore

If you are interested in learning more about the women and historical moments featured in “Good and Mad,” we have curated a book list, which spotlights the works of Gloria Steinem, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Alicia Garza, and many more.

Good and Mad Book List

Take a deep dive into Traister's work with this YouTube playlist featuring speeches and conversations referenced throughout “Good and Mad.”

  1. Leymah Gbowee Discusses The Role of Women OnThe Front Lines of Peacebuilding   
  2. Myisha Cherry Anger is not a bad word TEDxUofIChicago
  3. Patrisse Cullors and Angela Davis TimesTalks
  4. Emma Gonzalez's powerful March for Our Lives speech in full
  5. Congresswoman Lee’s AUMF Speech on 9/14/01
  6. Shirley Chisholm Declares Presidential Bid, January 25, 1972
  7. 1970s USA Women's Liberation Rally with Gloria Steinem
  8. Michelle Obama on being called an "angry black woman"
  9. Audre Lorde on Radical Care and Political Warfare
  10. Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman” Performed by Kerry Washington

Learn more about upcoming Arlington Reads events and watch previous Arlington Reads conversations.

Arlington Reads

March 18, 2021 by web editor

Filed Under: App, Arlington Reads, Authors, Homepage, News

Roberta Flack’s Arlington Roots

Roberta Flack is known worldwide for her voice, songwriting and overall musical ability, for which she has won multiple Grammys. Flack has performed on stages across the world, and her roots are here in her hometown of Arlington.

Early Life

Flack was born near Asheville, North Carolina, in 1937, and moved to the Green Valley (formerly referred to as Nauck) neighborhood in Arlington when she was five years old. Musical from an early age, Flack began playing the organ and piano around age 9 and performed at local churches including Macedonia Baptist Church and Lomax AME Zion.

Roberta Flack 2

Roberta Flack photographed by Anthony Barboza, 1971. Image courtesy of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Flack grew up playing Chopin, Schumann, Bach, and Beethoven, and at 13, won a statewide contest by performing a Scarlatti sonata. One of her piano teachers was Lottie B. Bellamy, an Arlington resident and longtime organist at Macedonia Baptist Church. Flack’s mother, Irene Flack, was also a prominent community member, serving as the longtime chief baker at Wakefield High School and as an organist at Lomax AME Zion.

Flack attended Hoffman-Boston High School – then the only school available for African American children in Arlington – until age 15, when she was awarded a full music scholarship to Howard University. After graduating at 19, she went on to become a music teacher in Farmville, North Carolina, teaching about 1,300 students at all grade levels in the city’s segregated school system.

Senior Yearbook 1
Senior Yearbook 2

In Roberta Flack’s 1953 senior yearbook at Hoffman-Boston, she was listed as “most musical” in the class superlatives, and in the “Class Prophecy,” her classmates predicted she would play piano at Carnegie Hall. This prediction eventually came true when Flack performed there in 1971 (and again in 1981).

Starting Her Career

Flack's music career took off in D.C., where she also continued to work as a teacher at the Rabaut and Brown junior high schools in the D.C. public school system. She began performing in the evenings at locations such as the Tivoli Theater and Mr. Henry’s in the District. At the Tivoli, she also worked as a backing pianist for opera singers, and her spark as a solo performer came with a rendition of “Jingle Bell Rock” performed at the restaurant, where Flack said it was her "cue that people would listen to [her] as a singer.”

Mr. Henry’s became one of her regular venues, and the club’s owner, Henry Yaffe, even turned the apartment above the club into the “Roberta Flack Room” for her performances – adding in church pews and a Mason & Hamlin piano to create a more intimate energy than the more raucous main stage. She started off playing Sunday brunch sets for $20 a week, initially with a folk-inspired repertoire. However, as her fame and success as a performer quickly grew, she began to consider pursuing it full-time. Of this time in her life, she said:

"It took courage to leave my classroom job because I was a Black person who had grown up in Arlington, Virginia, through the ‘50s and ‘60s; now I’m teaching school in the late ‘60s and I decide I want to sing. These days, there’s lots of things that you can go for, but in those days you had to have a lot of heart and a strong desire to do that.”

Watercolor Portraits

Watercolor portraits of Roberta Flack, Harry Nilsson, Carole King, and Ian Anderson (starting clockwise from top right), circa 1973. Image courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery.

Legacy

In 1969, she recorded her first album, First Take, with Atlantic Records. Aptly recorded in only 10 hours, the song’s discography was informed by pieces she had developed at Mr. Henry’s. Flack continued to return to the venue as her career took off, using it as a home base during her other performances in the District.

One of her first big hits was from that first album when in 1973 Clint Eastwood featured her song “The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face” (a folk ballad Flack had taught to her students in school glee clubs) in the film “Play Misty for Me.” Flack collaborated with many artists over the course of her career, including Donny Hathaway, Peabo Bryson, and for her album Oasis, Flack collaborated with longtime friend Maya Angelou on four songs, including “And So It Goes.”

Flack has continued to make music well into the 21st century, and in 2020, was the recipient of the Grammy’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Roberta Flack

Roberta Flack photographed by Anthony Barboza, 1971. Image courtesy of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Human Kindness Day

Poster from “Roberta Flack Human Kindness Day” on April 22, 1972, in Washington, D.C., to celebrate Flack. Image by Lloyd McNeill & Lou Stovall, courtesy of Di and Lou Stovall from the “What's Going Around: Lou Stovall and the Community Poster, 1967–1976” exhibit at the Columbus Museum.

Learn More

“Cover Me: The Stories Behind the Greatest Cover Songs of All Time” features a section discussing the history of Roberta Flack’s cover of “Killing Me Softly,” and the subsequent Fugees rendition.

March 18, 2021 by web editor

Filed Under: 19th Amendment, Center for Local History, News, Throwback Thursday

Nguyen Ngoc Bich: Speaking Out

Graphic image of a megaphone

Join us for a new series of stories from the Center for Local History highlighting members of our community who made a difference in ways that helped shape our history and created positive change. 

Their voices were not always loud, but what they said or did had a significant impact on our community.

Nguyen Ngoc Bich

Nguyen Ngoc Bich (1937-2016) was a pivotal Arlingtonian in commercial and community affairs alike.  After his arrival in the U.S. in 1975, Bich became an educator in Arlington County, teaching adults at the Arlington Career Center as well as students at Key Elementary and Wakefield High School before teaching Vietnamese culture, literature, and civilization at George Mason University.

Little Saigon 1

Little Saigon, date unknown

Bich branched out into endeavors such as authoring and editing works of both non-fiction and poetry, translating books into Vietnamese and English, and becoming Director of the Vietnamese Service for Radio Free Asia. Bich also played a crucial role in the establishment of the restaurants and shops in Clarendon known as “Little Saigon”.

He advocated and urged his fellow Vietnamese residents to take advantage of inexpensive short-term real estate contracts made available by vacancies from businesses that left as a result of demolition for Metro construction.  It is estimated that at the height of Little Saigon’s heyday, it comprised as many as 70-80 establishments.

Little Saigon 2

Little Saigon, date unknown

Despite often facing resistance as a result of tensions from the Vietnam War, Bich became the Multicultural Coordinator for Arlington County from 1987-1991.  In his own words:

“I knew every single person, establishment in the area, and not just the Vietnamese…I knew the Hispanic… Cambodian… Ethiopian…the whole community, and that’s why they called me the deputy mayor of Arlington.”

Further Reading:

  • https://littlesaigonclarendon.com/the-history/
  • https://virginiahumanities.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Echoes-of-Little-Saigon.pdf

Do you have a question about this story, or a personal experience to share? 

Use this form to send a message to the Center for Local History.

Center For Local History - Blog Post Message Form

Do you have a question about this story, or a personal experience to share? Use this form to send a message to the Center for Local History.
  • Share Your Story

March 11, 2021 by web editor

Filed Under: Center for Local History, News, Taking a Stand / Speaking Out

Express Library Service Open at Shirlington and Westover

We look forward to welcoming you back for 15-minute browsing and holds pickup at the Shirlington and Westover Branches!

Hours:

  • Tuesday to Thursday: 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.
  • Friday and Saturday: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Express Libraries look very different — available services, visit length and capacity will be limited and safety protocols will apply.

Read the Express Library FAQs

Before You Visit

  • Review the FAQs and safety protocols on this page.
  • Pay fines of $15 or over on your Library account, as fine payment is not available at self-check.
  • For low-contact self-check, download the Arlington Public Library App and scan your digital library card at checkout.
  • Update your username for easier holds pickup.
  • Review your library account contact information, including your notification preferences.
  • If you haven't used your library card since before June 2020, update your PIN to a new password.
  • If you signed up for a card online and this will be your first visit to the library, bring ID and proof of address with you so staff can verify your account. You will not be able to use self-check until your account has been verified.
  • Check the online catalog for availability and location/call number of items you are interested in.

Holds

When you place items on hold you will now see the option to choose Shirlington or Westover as your holds pickup location. You can also change the pickup location of items currently on hold.

Holds at Express Libraries are self-service, shelved by username.

Usernames

Holds are shelved by username. Your username can be used to log into your account in place of your library card number. If you have never selected a username, the default username on your account is your name: FirstMiddle.Last or First.Last.

Reasons to update your username:

  • Patrons who have a common first name may wish to set a unique username to make self-service holds pickup easier.
  • Patrons who prefer to keep their names private may set a username.
  • Family members may choose similar usernames so their holds will be shelved close together.

Please note: Changes to usernames will not affect items currently ready for pickup.

March 10, 2021 by Web Editor

Filed Under: App, Library Operations, News, Service Updates

Examining Dr. Seuss

Libraries across the country, Arlington Public Library among them, are having conversations about how to balance the core library value of intellectual freedom with the harmful stereotypes depicted in many of what are regarded as children's classics.

Last week, Dr. Seuss Enterprises announced that it will cease publication and sales of six titles because they portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong: "And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street," "If I Ran the Zoo," "McElligot’s Pool," "On Beyond Zebra!," "Scrambled Eggs Super!" and "The Cat’s Quizzer."

Existing copies of these titles in the Arlington Public Library collection will remain in circulation until they are no longer usable. As they are now out of print, these titles will not be replaced when they leave the collection.

In light of this news, it’s worth taking a look at the books of our childhood with a critical eye. We no longer live in the world Seuss lived in when he created these works. If you want to share classics and older titles with young readers, consider taking the opportunity to have a conversation about the themes, characterization and the time period a book was published. Then balance these stories with other diverse titles.

Diversity in publishing, especially in youth literature, has been a topic of conversation and concern in the industry for a number of years. Arlington Public Library intentionally curates its collections to ensure diversity of themes, characters and authors, and systematically reviews the collection for gaps. We invite you to discover new titles and authors through our booklists, catalog and collections.

Browse Catalog

We value your feedback. Tell us what you think about our Library services. We will read and consider all comments.

Library Services Feedback

March 8, 2021 by Web Editor

Filed Under: App, Homepage, News

Oral History: Margaret Troxell

Margaret Troxell (1909-2002) was a pioneering local journalist who helped found the Northern Virginia Sun.

pink sound wave on a grey background

Oral histories are used to understand historical events, actors, and movements from the point of view of real people’s personal experiences.

Margaret Troxell moved to Arlington in 1932 after attending St. Joseph College in Maryland. She first worked for the Commonwealth Monitor, where her salary started off at $8 (half of which was used to pay for her rent as a boarder on Fillmore Street). She later took on part-time work at the Washington Post and the Washington Times, as well as a music studio manager and music instructor, teaching guitar and mandolin.

Margaret Troxell Desk

Margaret Troxell at her desk, date unknown.

To make ends meet, she also did news broadcasts for the first radio station in Arlington, WARL. In 1935, Troxell and a group of other local journalists founded the Sun, a weekly paper based in Arlington. There she worked as a journalist and editor and was known for never missing a County Board meeting in her 16 years as news editor.

Troxell and the other owners sold the Sun in 1951, and it is now known as the Northern Virginia Sun. Later in life, Troxell opened a public relations office and worked on numerous campaigns around the County. She lived in Colonial Village for over 40 years, and outside of journalism, was an active member of Arlington’s Business and Professional Women’s Club and the Virginia Conservation Commission.

In the following oral history interview, Margaret Troxell discusses what initially inspired her to become a journalist, and how she became interested in writing.

Press Pass 1
Press Pass 2

Margaret Troxell’s press pass, issued October 22, 1946

Narrator: Margaret Troxell
Interviewer: Ellen MacMahon
Date: 1984
Note: The audio for this interview is currently unavailable.

Ellen MacMahon: Can we talk, then, about your work - when you got started in journalism and what made you choose journalism.

Margaret Troxell: Well, when I was in school, in those days, professions for women were somewhat limited to teaching or nursing or something like that and, of course, I had started writing just as a child.  I have a vivid imagination, and I used to send articles and stories to papers and I would have them returned with a check when I was just 10, 12 years old - and, of course, they had no idea how old I was.  And this was very encouraging so when I reached the college level each summer in high school I worked on a newspaper.

EM: A local newspaper?

MT: Local newspapers.  Since we had this summer home in Emmetsburg, I worked on the Emmetsburg Chronicle, and that was a weekly - and I went in to see the editor, and he told me he couldn't pay me anything.  That was perfectly all right because at the time I didn't need any money.  But he taught me so much. And we had a regular barter system.  I used to go out and collect bills, and if people couldn't pay, I'd take a bushel of apples, a couple of chickens or a ham.  That was a lot of fun.  And then I worked on The Baltimore Sun one summer - different papers, Gettysburg Times and a little paper in Thurmont - and that was very interesting because I went there just to work on the paper, and the editor became very ill, and I ran the paper all summer.

EM: What an experience.

MT: That was quite an experience.  It gave me a lot of experience.  Then when I was ready to go to college, the family had a conference, and they decided that newspaper was not for their daughter, certainly not.  My father was very broadminded, and he said, "Sis, you stick to your guns, and I'm on your side." So it was finally agreed that I could take journalism if I also took education. So I am a graduate teacher.

News Clipping 1
News Clipping 2
News Clipping 3

A selection of clippings from some of Margaret Troxell’s human interest articles, from the Northern Virginia Sun (Dates from right to left: October 13, 1939; September 15, 1939; August 25, 1939)

This interview is available at the Center for History, and issues of the Sun and Northern Virginia Sun are available online through the CLH Community Archives and through Virginia Chronicle.

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.

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.

March 4, 2021 by web editor

Filed Under: Center for Local History, News, Oral History

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