[RP TownTalk] History Passes

[ABragg7393 at aol.com]

Thank you Ann for sharing your information regarding the Sonnenberg Family  
of Riverdale.  Pat Prangley called me and told me that under his direction,  
the keystone has been moved safely to the public works building for storage  
until we can decide where it will be located permanently in our town.  I  want to 
thank Pat for his help and dedication.   I also want to thank  Joe Caputo for 
his diligence in keeping the stone intact at removal.   It is my hope that 
the business association, the town and the preservation  committee can partner 
in a project to find a permanent home for the keystone  within the town.  
Perhaps in one of the many parks within our town.   Any ideas would be welcomed.  
Our Business Association January meeting will  be held on Jan. 14th at 5:30 
p.m. at Riverdale Park Town offices.  Please  feel free to join us and discuss 
plans for the keystone.  Thanks.
Saving history, one stone at a time!  Audrey Bragg
 
In a message dated 1/10/2009 4:20:01 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
johnferg27 at aol.com writes:

 
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.
 
                                                                            
Ann  Ferguson








 
____________________________________
 New year...new news. Be the first to know what is making _headlines_ 
(http://news.aol.com/?ncid=emlcntusnews00000002) .


_______________________________________________
TownTalk  mailing list
To post to the list, send mail to  TownTalk at riverdale-park.org
TownTalk-request at riverdale-park.org is for  automated subscription processing 
 only
http://riverdale-park.org/mailman/listinfo/towntalk

For more  information about Riverdale Park, visit  
http://www.riverdaleparkmd.info


**************A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. See yours in just 2 easy 
steps! 
(http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100000075x1215855013x1201028747/aol?redir=http://www.freecreditreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=668072%26hmpgID=62%26bcd=De
cemailfooterNO62)
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://riverdale-park.org/pipermail/towntalk/attachments/20090111/646ae6e1/attachment-0002.html>