[RP TownTalk] History Passes

[Dwight Holmes]

Thanks, Ann, for the history notes. Always welcomed, and much appreciated!

On Sat, Jan 10, 2009 at 4:19 PM,  <johnferg27 at aol.com> wrote:
>
> As the day approaches when the present day church building is demolished on
> Route One, consider its history.  If you stand at the curb on Route One and
> look to the upper reaches of the building, you will see the keystone with a
> date of 1928 and the name Sonnenberg.
>
> This structure was built by the Sonnenberg family -- a German family who
> established a bakery on the site, operated by family members for years.  A
> daughter, Elsie, lived in the town on Madison Street (behind Chambers
> Funeral Home) until the 1990s.  MISS (she carefully corrected you if you
> used any other prefix) Sonnenberg was a very independent, interesting and
> feisty lady.  She was in her 90s when she moved to an assisted living
> residence.  The last time I was in touch with her, she was planning her
> 100th birthday and arranging for the champagne to be available and
> plentiful.  MISS Sonnenberg was born in 1901 and moved into the town in
> 1928.  The Riverdale Story provides a number of references to her memories
> of the convenience of using the streetcar that ran into the District and
> north towards Laurel.  She also remembered the dirt streets in the town that
> continued into the 1930s and beyond.
>
> Elsie Sonnenberg did not reach her 100th birthday, but died in her 99th year
> -- the memories she left tell of a little town on the outskirts of the
> Capital, content to stay little as long as it can.  It would be worth a trip
> up to Route One to see the building she occupied over time while it still
> stands -- so sad that all of that history has been and is being lost.
>
> I understand that the business association, under the direction of Audrey
> Bragg, has requested that the keystone be preserved and she will see that it
> is carefully archived.  Thanks for following up on this Audrey.