The Card, The City, and Days Gone By

Are you a card-carrying Columbian? I am.

No, we don’t have a CA membership. (We did buy a pool membership one summer but those have been discontinued.) But you can still have a Columbia Card if you live on assessed property and it’s rather useful during the summer.

Ask CA: What is the Columbia Card?

As far as pool season goes, Columbia Cardholders get discounted rates and four guest passes per family for the 2023 season, which can be used at any CA pool Monday through Thursday (excluding holidays). All Columbia Cardholders also get free admission to CA’s outdoor pools on the second Sunday of each month: June 11, July 9 and August 13.

I just learned that the Columbia Card is useful for other things as well. I’ll need to check that out. I was reminded that now is the time of year that I usually dig out my Columbia Card and put it in my wallet by a post from CA on Facebook.

Hey #ColumbiaCard holders🖐🏼. Mark your calendars! Second Sunday is around the corner, which means FREE entry into CA's outdoor pools. 😎

Let me know when you see it.

I am sorely tempted to say something pointed and unforgiving here. Maybe you will so I don’t have to.

Moving on, here’s a nostalgic post from the Village of Wilde Lake.

Who else remembers Columbia’s City Fair? Always a great time!

Alas, I do not remember the Columbia City Fair. It’s before my time. I have seen references to it over the years, largely when taking a swipe at the Columbia Festival of the Arts weekend at the Lakefront.

I liked it better when it was the City Fair.

Oof. There’s no pleasing some people.

It’s interesting to me that it was called a “city fair” when I have been told over and over again by some folks that Columbia was never meant to be a city. Hmm.

So, tell me about the City Fair. Where was it held? What was it like? Is it worth further research, possibly through the Columbia Maryland Archives? Do you remember the last year it was held?

Perhaps similar a taste of nostalgia is headed our way as CA celebrates Columbia’s 56th birthday on June 15 at the next Lakefront Live event.

PLUS: before the concert begins, we’ll be celebrating Columbia’s birthday at the lakefront! We invite you to join in the celebration — from 6pm until the concert begins, stop by the lakefront to enjoy free ice cream and party crafts. We’ll even be giving out birthday gifts (while supplies last). We can’t wait to see you there!

Purists will note that Columbia’s real birthday is June 21st and that Jim Rouse presided over actual cake (or cupcakes.) I’m fine with ice cream, given the time of year. But will they sing Happy Birthday?

Columbia's first birthday took place in 1968. Photo courtesy of Columbia Archives (courtesy of Columbia Archives / Baltimore Sun)

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...

Columbia Chance Connection

Last night, as my husband and I were about to sit down to dinner, our front door swung open and a cheery voice announced, “I’m ba—ack!” We weren’t expecting anyone. Clearly the only people who’d walk right in to our house would be one of our offspring. I had my reading glasses on so I wasn’t seeing too clearly. It seemed too tall for our youngest, but we knew our eldest was at work. I took off my glasses to see a friendly but confused face scanning our living room. When her gaze landed on us we all had a sudden realization. We didn’t know eachother. “Oh I’m so sorry! I’m in the wrong house! My daughter just moved in and she needed hooks for the kitchen so I ran out to get them.” She waved the package. “All these houses look the same and I don’t know the neighborhood yet. I thought this was my daughter’s house.” We were all getting a bit giggly. “That’s okay. For a quick second we thought you were our daughter,” said my husband. I told her our names and said she should defin...

Village Green/Town²

Search This Blog