By Dave Conway, April 2004, with special thanks to Frank and Mary Reed for the information used in this History of Westlawn. For related articles, see the History of Westlawn Elementary, the History of Thomas Jefferson Library, and the History of Bill Page Honda.
The Beginning
Heading west from Arlington along Route 50 in the late 1940s, one came across a crossroads known as Fort Buffalo, after a long abandoned Army fort. Now known as Seven Corners, this intersection was completely undeveloped. What we now call Sleepy Hollow was just a bunch of hills and trees. Further down the road on the left was an airport for small planes, which has since been developed into Loehmann's Plaza. Beyond that was undeveloped wilderness. Adventurous types who chose to ride out to Leesburg on Route 7 found that the road west of Tyson's Corner was a dirt road!
Between Fort Buffalo (Seven Corners) and the airport (Loehmann's Plaza) was Westcott Nursery. It was a large nursery that covered the Westlawn neighborhood as well as some land on the east side of Annandale Road. World War II had been over for several years, and many young families with young children were eager to leave government housing. Apartments generally were not available in the Northern Virginia area, but new neighborhoods of inexpensive homes were springing up. The Westcott Nursery was to become one of those neighborhoods.
Westlawn Is Built
By 1949 a developer had purchased Westcott Nursery and was beginning to develop the property. A model home had been built, and homebuyers were snapping up properties from Route 50 back to Barrett Road, the end of the first phase of development. The homes sold for $8,900 for two bedrooms and $9,900 for three bedrooms, which was a pretty good deal even in those days! By contrast, the homes in the neighboring Broyhill Park and Woodley areas were built a little later and cost $12,000 to $13,000.
The houses were constructed and first occupied in 1949 and early 1950. The developer used plants from the nursery to furbish the houses, including fir and elm trees. Almost every house had an elm tree in front until the Dutch Elm Disease wiped them out.
New Westlawn residents were fortunate that the developer installed sidewalks and wide streets that allowed two cars to pass even with cars parked on both sides. Residents kept busy encouraging new lawns, trying desperately to save the newly planted roses and fruit trees from the Japanese beetles, building porches and bookshelves, and otherwise turning new houses into homes. However, not everything was ideal for the new homeowners.
The Start of the Citizens Association
In 1950, residents of the new neighborhood called Westlawn were pleased to have new homes, but also were a bit annoyed. Certain conveniences they had expected as a matter of course were lacking. In time, even the most contented residents grew concerned that they had no streetlights, trash collection was sporadic, and great holes in the street remained unrepaired. Families were particularly concerned that nothing had been done about their school. Land had been set aside, plans approved, and funds for construction allocated, but Westlawn School was still nothing but dirt.
On May 10, 1951 Crowell and Betty Squire invited a number of people to their house to consider what could be done. Because the residents had been unsuccessful in their individual efforts, they decided to form an organization authorized to speak and act for all residents of Westlawn. Some of the group were selected to prepare a preliminary constitution for such an organization, while others sought a place in which to meet. After that, things moved quickly.
The first general meeting was held exactly one week later at the Boulevard Baptist Church. The residents adopted the name "Westlawn Citizens Association" and selected a committee to prepare a slate of candidates for executive offices.
Copies of a tentative constitution were delivered to every house in Westlawn. On May 31, 1951, a full representative organizational meeting was held at the church during which the provisions of the constitution were discussed and adopted.
The second general meeting was held on June 8, 1951, and executive officers were elected. Mr. C. Crowell Squire became our first President.
In the period of just one month, the residents of Westlawn rallied and formed an organization which, by unified group action, has secured many benefits over the years that make Westlawn a really nice community in which to live.
The Citizens Association Makes A Difference
When the Westlawn Citizens Association was formed in June 1951, the Westlawn School was planned to have nine rooms, and groundbreaking had still not begun. Largely as a result of information regarding numbers and ages of children in the area secured from a census taken by members of the Association during the summer of 1951, the school was enlarged to 16 rooms.
The Association was supposed to be inactive during the summer months. That first summer, however, it organized a Little League baseball team, collected over $1,800 for treating the residents' lawns to control Japanese beetles, increased the number of registered voters from less than a dozen to well over 100 (about 300 by April 1952), held the first annual picnic, bought a mimeograph machine (a crude predecessor to today's photocopiers), and started issuing the monthly WESTLAWN NEWS LETTER.
In November 1951 Cub Scout Pack No. 675 was organized with the Association as its sponsor. Boy Scouts, Brownies, and Girl Scouts have been organized since, all under the sponsorship of the Association. December brought Westlawn's first Christmas lighting and decoration contest.
Westlawn Cleans Up the Trash
In January 1952, 75% of the Westlawn homeowners backed the Citizens Association's petition for disapproval of an application for rezoning as "rural commercial" the area at the junction of Westcott, Barrett, and Annandale Roads. It was the largest number of people ever known to participate for or against such an application in Fairfax County.
The practices and charges of the "Friendly Trash Man" were a frequent topic of conversation. In March 1952, the Association endorsed the plan of an older association whereby the Board of Supervisors was requested to establish garbage and trash collection service in Sanitary District No. 1 and install and maintain streetlights. This did not have any effect on the immediate problem, but the unified actions of citizens associations in the northern, or urban, portion of the County resulted in the adoption of the plan. Streetlights finally were installed in Westlawn during the summer of 1953, and trash collection started early in 1954.
A portion of Westlawn school opened in September 1952, but there were no hot lunches for the students. The cafeteria did have a stove, refrigerator, steam table, dishwasher, and spud peeler, but that was it. There were no pots and pans in which to prepare the lunches and no plates, cups, silverware, glasses, or trays with which to serve them. The Association joined with the Parent-Teachers Association and neighboring associations in soliciting funds from the neighborhood to purchase the necessary implements.
The school playground also was a mess. Many residents earned calluses in leveling the ball field!
The Coming of the Fire House
The convenience of a nearby fire and rescue unit is a feature of the Westlawn community that we often take for granted. Back in the 1950's, though, the neighborhood had no such service close by. Through the Civic Association, residents discussed the need for a nearby fire station, and where best to locate it.
Members wanted a station right next to the neighborhood. Working with the County government, it was agreed to locate a bit further west at the top of the hill of off Route 50, in exchange for the Westlawn Civic Association providing all the funds to build the fire house. Anxious to protect their new homes against the ravages of fire, the community was willing to pay for a new firehouse in order to have one close by.
Years later, the Civic Association agreed to pay for an addition to the fire station. The addition was a meeting room with a fireplace, known as the Flame Room. Civic Association meetings were held there for many years. Unfortunately, the Association became dormant from the mid-70s to the late 80s. When it was revived, nobody at the fire station or the County government could remember any agreement for the Association to hold its meetings there. The room has since been changed to fit the needs of the Fire Department.
The Business District of Westlawn
When Westlawn was built in the early 1950s, the Westlawn Shopping Center was an empty field. Residents would burn their Christmas trees in the field on the 12th night of Christmas. The Exxon on Annandale Road and Route 50 was the only gas station in the area for many years. For groceries, residents would shop at the grocery store at what is now Merchant's Tire & Auto.
Westlawn expanded further south in the 1950s, and other neighborhoods sprang up to our south and west. Bill Page Sr. took advantage of the sudden increase in population around Westlawn and developed the Westlawn Shopping Center. He still owns the property that extends from the McDonald's to the service station just south of the Ski and Skate. The main property was built up in the 1950s, with McDonald's coming along in the 1960s.
The Westlawn Civic Association played an important role in connecting the shopping center to our community. When Westlawn was built, the Route 50 service road ended at Tripp's Run just west of what is now McDonald's. Frank Reed, the association's president, prevailed on our Virginia State Delegate to connect the service road to the new shopping center. Frank's efforts paid off. The State built the bridge to connect the road, and Westlawn residents could access the shopping center without having to get onto the busy Route 50.
Townhouses in Westlawn
In the early 1970s the owner of Westcott Nursery decided to turn the nursery into 75 townhomes. The land, however, was zoned for single family homes. Westlawn residents strongly opposed the construction of townhomes in the neighborhood. County inspectors also noted that the land was not stable enough for high density housing.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors held a meeting and voted against any change in zoning. The developers sued, and the court in Richmond rejected the suit. The builders relented and built single family homes around what is now Blue Heron Drive.
The developer originally did not want to connect Beechview Drive to the new neighborhood. And it took the threat of a lawsuit by the county to get the developer to take down the barrier separating the new neighborhood from S. Kenfig Drive.
The Fall and Rise of the Civic Association
By 1983, not much was happening with the Westlawn Civic Association, and interest in serving on the board had dropped to an all-time low. With no new people to serve as officers, the association became inactive. Neighborhood Watch continued, as it is an independent entity. However, even it was having difficulty recruiting new volunteers, especially in the absence of civic association meetings and door-to-door flyers.
Then Mason District Supervisor Tom Davis was not happy with the demise of the Westlawn Civic Association. His office relied on civic associations to keep him informed on what the community was concerned about. Also, the General Meetings allowed him face-to-face contact with the people he represented.
On September 24, 1988, Supervisor Davis held a Town Meeting at Westlawn School. (Speeding cars was a hot topic, especially the cut-through traffic on the Route 50 service road!) He asked residents to sign up to represent the Civic Association, and eight people did. Six days later, he called a meeting of the Westlawn Neighborhood Watch members for October 6th in the school cafeteria. The few people who showed up discussed what needed to be done to start the Westlawn Civic Association and why it was needed.
Everyone who attended the next working meeting in November 1988 became temporary officers until elections could be held at the first General Meeting on March 28, 1989. The residents who were instrumental in reconstituting the civic association and the position they were elected to at the March meeting included:
The residents at the March 1989 meeting voted to adopt the former Westlawn Civic Association by-laws, setting membership dues at $2 per family. Howard Vicory continued as the Coordinator for the Neighborhood Watch.
Westlawn Spreads Its Wings
When the Westlawn Civic Association was formally reconstituted in March 1989, one of its most important duties was to publish and distribute a newsletter. Judy Anderson was the first editor, and she published it every two months. Other editors included Lee Bright (1991 -1993), Elizabeth Crews (1993-1995), and Ray Weiss (1995-1997).
With little money in the bank, the association had little choice but to call on volunteers in the neighborhood to distribute the newsletter. The routes sometimes exceeded 100 homes per person!
The Westlawn Civic Association provided Fairfax County's Mason District Supervisor with useful feedback on several controversial issues in the mid-1990s. We discussed a request to allow a Putt-Putt golf course and recreation center to be built on the property that IHOP and CVS eventually occupied. We also discussed a request to allow McDonald's to build a drive-through. In both cases, discussions raised important points that led to a vote to oppose both rezoning proposals.
Through the mid-1990s, guest speakers at our General Meetings often included representatives from our county and state governments, as well as a few appearances by Congressman Tom Davis. Candidates for local and state elections often debated at Westlawn. The Police Department was also a frequent guest at our meetings.
Betty Holly served one year as president of the Westlawn Civic Association. Betty Drexler served as president from 1990-1993, followed by John Lecky (1993-1996) and Ray Weiss (1996-1997).
Since its rebirth in 1989, attendance at Westlawn Civic Association meetings has been rather low. The meetings with the greatest attendance generally have drawn about 30 people out of a community of over 2,000 adult residents.
Far more popular than General Meetings was Westlawn Day. Every Spring from 1993 to 1997, the Westlawn Civic Association sponsored Westlawn Day. Members could enjoy unlimited moonbounce and other kid rides; buy hot dogs, pizza, and sodas; shop at outdoor garage and craft sales; check out the latest police, fire, and rescue equipment; pick up brochures on various topics; and have a chance at winning door prizes.
Despite all the fun, the event was a money-losing operation, and participation and attendance dropped off after a few years. Following the 1997 event, the civic association had neither the financial or personnel resources to host another Westlawn Day.
Frozen Dairy Bar Returns--Again!
By Dave Conway, 21 April 2001
That's right! The 50 year-old Frozen Dairy Bar that used to be located in a freestanding building on Route 50 near Annandale Road (the site of the current IHOP) is back! The new location is a stone's throw away from the old one in Sleepy Hollow Center between IHOP and CVS.
Those of us who remember the smooth, creamy taste of the chocolate and vanilla ice cream also remember the long lines and high prices. When the original owners returned to Sleepy Hollow Center a few years ago, the long lines were replaced by unfriendly service, stark décor, and random closings.
The new owners have been customers of the Frozen Dairy Bar since their early childhood. If you stopped by over the last six months, you probably noticed that the servings were bigger, the prices cheaper, and the service friendly. Just recently, they redecorated by turning the counter to give customers more room and by adding some décor.
Unfortunately, the taste was not quite as creamy as it used to be many years ago. The original machines had been poorly maintained, and the former owners replaced them years ago with a more traditional ice cream making machine. If you stop by now, you will taste a difference. The current owners have purchased a new version of the old-fashioned custard machine that makes a smoother, creamier ice cream. It slowly drops into refrigerated buckets and must be scooped by hand-just like it used to be!
The new owners have a passion for the local community. They are partnering with Westlawn and other area elementary schools to provide certificates for free ice cream cones, which they call Sweet Treat Awards, to students for various accomplishments. They also pay to advertise in our newsletter, and give us a coupon to boot! The more we frequent them and other businesses that advertise in our newsletter, the more likely they are to stay and provide our community with useful services. Bon appetìt!
Westlawn Civic Association President Honored With “Lord Fairfax” Award
By Annette DeLucia Comé, September 2008
At Celebrate Fairfax! in June, Dave Conway, our own Westlawn Civic Association President, was honored as the 2008 “Lord Fairfax” from Mason District. Every year since 1984, the Fairfax County Supervisors each select a Lord and Lady Fairfax, individuals from their respective districts who have demonstrated outstanding volunteer service, heroism or special accomplishments, to receive the award. In selecting Dave, Supervisor Penny Gross praised his longstanding service to the Civic Association, calling him “a steadfast proponent of his neighborhood,” who for eleven years has been “ensuring effective communication” as President of the Westlawn Civic Association.
We all know Dave as editor of the Westlawn News and the Westlawn Civic Association website, and we depend on him to take the lead and focus discussions at quarterly meetings. But Dave also works diligently behind the scenes for our community; delivering newsletters, crunching numbers, planning community events, organizing cleanups, helping with neighborhood watch, and serving as our ambassador whenever he is needed. Two years ago, Dave served on the Fairfax County Sign Task Force and, for eight years, he and his wife, Kathy, have worked at numerous Adopt-A-Highway clean ups along Rt. 50. You may have even recognized Dave as the trombonist playing with the Falls Church Concert band at free summer concerts.
Second only to Dave’s sense of community dedication is his sense of humor! And that’s what makes Civic Association meetings fun as well as focused. So come join Dave at the next meeting on October 14th. Until then, congratulations Dave!