New Year, New Horizons: Barbara Kellner Bids Columbia Farewell

Visitors to the Columbia lakefront recently might have caught a glimpse of this historic moment.

(Photo used with permission*)

This photo shows Barbara Kellner, retired director of the Columbia Archives, paying a farewell visit to the statue of Jim Rouse at Lake Kittamaqundi. Kellner added this caption when she posted the photo on Facebook:

Thank you Jim. You changed my life. I will be forever grateful for the circumstances that brought me to Columbia and to my immersion in its history.

The new year will find Ms. Kellner making her home in Williamsburg, Virginia, to be closer to her grandchildren. She has new adventures on the horizon. Since her retirement from the Archives, Kellner has enjoyed travel and documented much of it in beautiful photographs, most especially of nature. But I suspect that visits with her family have been the best retirement pastime of all.

I have a confession to make. While most people think of Rouse as the face of Columbia, for me it has always been Barbara Kellner. I came here long after Columbia’s formative years. Without her leadership in preserving our history, and her enthusiasm and dedication in sharing it, I never would have felt the connection I have about how this place came to be.

When Kellner retired from the Archives, I wrote about her as Columbia’s Best Ambassador. Janene Holzberg of the Baltimore Sun wrote Over quarter century, Columbia archivist made her own mark in history. From the latter, this quote from the late Robert Tennenbaum caught my eye:

It’s not a stodgy, academic facility, but a place that combines the old and the new and lets people know they’re living in a special place. Barb made a major difference by creating it virtually out of nothing.

Rather like the creation of Columbia itself.

I’d like to continue to honor the idea of combining the old and the new as Columbia moves forward, maintaining Kellner's belief that we are living in a special place.

I wish her much happiness in her new home, and offer sincere gratitude for all she has given the old one.

*I hope someone has the foresight to submit this photo to the Columbia Archives.

Comments

Teacher Gifts

Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents. When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday. Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018. 2018 . But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest. In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...

F ³: Who Belongs at the Library?

One of these things is not like the others One of these things doesn't belong Can you tell which thing is not like the other By the time we finish our song?* Did you guess which thing is not like the others? Did you guess which thing doesn't belong? If you guessed this thing is not like the others Then you're absolutely right. Our library promotes equity. Our library promotes literacy for adults who have come here from many places. Our library promotes accessibility to materials and opportunities. Our library is hosting multiple Harry Potter themed events? Tell me this isn’t so. J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter book series, has and continues to use the profits from those books to advocate for laws that diminish the rights of trans people. She has and continues to use her fame to influence public opinion to view and treat trans people negatively. In short, Ms. Rowling is using the Harry Potter book series to make transgender people around the world less safe....

Village Green/Town²

Search This Blog