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Lots of recent talk about Lexington Park’s past and future. The pending sale of what used to be the heart of Lexington Park has many folks energized and lighting up social media with petitions about “saving” that part of town. There was even a public hearing on the matter this past Tuesday night.
However, it all sounds like a done deal to me. The current property owner wants to sell and has a valid offer from the Royal Farms to make that happen. So what’s the problem?
Quite simple – people don’t like change. Of course I side with my friend Linda about having to relocate after all these years. Linda has worked hard and done well to keep that part of Lexingto Park still vibrant and deserves a lot of credit and recognition for all her efforts.
However, she is one of several tenants in that area who have leases and little legal standing to fall back on. It would be like me wanting to sell Buzzy’s and my tenants above and behind the Store opposing it because they may have to move. It doesn’t work that way. Note that no one said much about the Charlotte Hall sale of the Wentworth property to Royal Farms awhile back. That’s because the Wentworths owned the property and wanted to sell it.
But one thing all this chatter did do, was make me think of the excellent Slackwater series “The Instant City” on the origins of Lexington Park.
In Spring of 2009 Slackwater, under Julie King’s direction, did an entire series of interviews and stories on the origins of Lexington Park (click here.) One of those stories even features Linda’s Cafe and the Knights of the Round Table who had breakfast there each morning (click here.) (Note – thanks to Lois Williams I also have a copy of an older breakfast club that used to meet at Pete’s Galley every morning. I’ll pass that along some time.)
Just yesterday Gordon Aldridge was in Buzzy’s Country Store telling stories about the many bars in Lexington Park back in the day. I thought it ironic to then read this quote from his Dad Lewie Sr. in the Slackwater article:
My music-loving buddy Mike Whitson made me a mixed tape with lots of great tunes on it. I couldn’t help but smile and turn it up when I heard this Moby Grape tune. I’ve played it a couple times previously, but it seems the right tune for today’s post about Changes as “I try to sympathize with their problems….”
Great lyrics:
