ARLINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY ANNUAL BANQUET: May 31 “Spies Next Door” at the Key Bridge Holiday Inn. 

The Arlington Historical Society (AHS) announced its annual membership banquet, to be held Friday, May 31, 2013 in the Shenandoah Room of the Holiday Inn (Rosslyn) at Key Bridge, 1900 N. Ft. Myer Drive.  The keynote speaker will be Dr. David Robarge, Chief Historian of the CIA, who will speak about “Spies Next Door,” recounting some of the more notorious espionage agents who have lived among us in Arlington in recent years.

The banquet will begin with a reception at 6:30 PM, followed by dinner at 7:15 PM.  Seating is limited, and reservations will be open to AHS members until May 7, when they will be opened to the general public.  RSVP cutoff date is May 24.  Ticket price is $45.00 for AHS members and $60.00 for non-members.  There is free parking in the hotel garage. Proceeds benefit the Arlington Historical Society.

Registration is available below, or by contacting John P. Richardson, 703-534-3577; johnjoyce2@verizon.net

• Colonial and post-Revolutionary Era dwellings
• Historic cemeteries
• Civil War Outpost
• Log Cabins
• Washington & Old Dominion Railroad
• Historic springs
• Inter-Urban Trolley Line
• Old Mill Sites
• George Washington Survey Marker
• Historic Library
• Ball Sellers House (Tour)
• D.C. Boundary Stone
• And More!

George Washington owned property throughout Virginia including land in present-day Arlington. He purchased 1200-acres in 1775 and after the Revolutionary War returned home and surveyed his property. Now home to subdivisions and soccer fields, a small portion has been preserved as parkland. On the walk, you’ll see the John Ball House—the oldest house in Arlington, visit the survey markers used by Washington in 1785, and  is the site of a mill built by George Washington Parke Custis, Washington’s step-grandson. The guided walking tour will be led by a local historian and member of the Arlington Historical Society.

What:  George Washington’s Forest History Walking Tour
When:  Saturday, May 4, 2013, 1:30 (RAIN or SHINE)
Where: Walking tour begins and ends at the Ball-Sellers House Museum at
5620 3rd Street, South in Glencarlyn
Who: Open to the public, all ages are welcome.
Fee: FREE of charge, registration not required.

In recognition of African American History Month, Arlington House, the Robert E. Lee Memorial, announces two special genealogy workshops. A children’s genealogy workshop entitled “What Did You Say, Grandma?” will be held from 10:30 am – 12:00 noon. This workshop will be a great opportunity for children and their grandparent to explore their family history. Children will be taught techniques for interviewing family members and documenting family history.

A second genealogy workshop entitled “Baby Steps to Your Family History” will be held from 2:00 pm – 4:30 pm. The focus of this workshop will be genealogy research for beginners and the special challenges African Americans face when researching their family history.

The workshops will be held at the Arlington County Central Library Auditorium at 1015 North Quincy Street in Arlington, Virginia, 22201. The workshop is free and open to the public. Free parking is available at the library.

For reservations please e-mail arlingtonhouseevents@nps.gov If you have questions call: 703-235-1530 x 227.

The End of “Separate but Equal” in Arlington
Sunday, February 24th at 3 PM at Mount Olivet Fellowship Hall
Co-sponsored by: Calloway and Mt. Olivet United Methodist Churches

Mrs. Miller was a math teacher at Stratford Junior High School (a building that now houses the H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program) in 1959 when that school became among the first in Virginia to be racially integrated under court order. Four black students began attending classes on Feb. 2 at the previously all-white school. Mrs. Miller will share her experiences of that historic time period.

Coffee and conversation with dessert following the program.

Mrs. Miller’s recently published book “The First Century and Not Ready for the Rocking Chair Yet” will be available for purchase and signing.

African American History Tours
Sundays, Wednesdays and Saturdays at 1:00 PM
Sponsored by: Arlington House, the Robert E. Lee Memorial

Park Rangers will provide a tour of the African American experience at Arlington House and in its historic slave quarters. Explore where the enslaved people of Arlington House worked, lived and persevered through their oppression. Learn about their bondage to one of Virginia’s first families, their lifestyles, and how they gained their freedom.

Faith & Freedom Sundays
Sundays, Wednesdays and Saturdays at 1:00 PM
Sponsored by: Arlington House, the Robert E. Lee Memorial

Local black churches will share the significance of their history in the greater Arlington area through discussion and music.  These churches have roots to Freedman’s Village, a settlement of freed people on the Arlington estate and what today is the Arlington National Cemetery.

• February 3rd - St. John’s Baptist Church
• February 10th – Mount Olivet Baptist Church
• February 17th – Macedonia Baptist Church

These activities are free to the public.  For more information, please email arlingtonhouseevents@nps.gov or call 703-235-1530

Join us for a presentation by Michael Lee Pope on how a rag-tag band of progressives overturned a political machine. Rare photographs from the early 20th century will be displayed.  A question-and-answer session will follow, and Michael Lee Pope will be signing books afterward.

The event is free to the public, but please RSVP here as space is limited.

Thursday, January 10th at 7pm

Location:
NRECA Conference Center
4301 Wilson Blvd
Room CC2
Arlington, Virginia 22203

Free Admission and Parking. Sponsored by the Aurora Hills Women’s Club. Baked goods, ready-to-go meals, great holiday gift items, raffle baskets, silent auction freshly decorated holiday wreaths (which can be pre-ordered from our web site) and more.  Lunch will be available.

To benefit the Arlington Food Assistance Center and the Arlington Historical Museum at the Hume School.  For more information visit ahwc1958.org or e mail us at women@ahwc1958.org

The Arlington Historical Society plays a critical role in our county in numerous ways. Most importantly, the citizens of Arlington look to us as the primary guardian of our county’s past. We are honored to fill this important role, but the financial demands of our operations and programs are substantial. This situation compels us now to ask our closest friends to make a special gift to our “Bell Ringer Campaign,” named after the many children who visit our museum and enjoy ringing the old Hume School bell as part of their visit. We also think the name is appropriate for the holiday season in which we make this appeal.

This year marks the Bicentennial of the War of 1812, the 165^th Anniversary of the District of Columbia Retrocession, and the continued Sesquicentennial of the Civil War (in which Arlington played a hugely pivotal role). As such, 2013 is an important year for the Arlington Historical Society. It also marks the 50^th Anniversary of the opening of the Arlington Historical Museum within the then-newly-renovated Hume School. We intend to mount exhibits and conduct public programs for these, and other historical events and themes. Our hope is that we can bring Arlington’s rich and varied history to life for everyone in the community, and for visitors from everywhere.

However you choose to make your gift this year, be assured that we appreciate your generosity, and that your gift will be put to good use. It will ensure that Arlington’s future continues to honor, respect, and remind all citizens of its past. Your donation will enable us to maintain two historic properties, the Hume School and Ball-Sellers House; provide the public with admission-free access to two museums, the Arlington Historical Museum and the Ball-Sellers House Museum; and present numerous free programs to the community.

Regards,

Ali Ganjian
President

Gifts to the annual Bell Ringer Campaign can be made online through our secure website, or by mail to PO Box 100402, Arlington, VA 22210-3402.

Bell Ringer Campaign Donation Levels

Bell Ringer – $50
Fellow – $125
Patron – $250
Benefactor – $500

The Arlington Historical Society is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization.