Now, as the katydids revel in their season and viney plants have their way with the remnants of gardens, the Colonial Retreat neighborhood column that week in 1908 Ellicott City Times seems appropriate:

"Katydids and Katydonts of Bugdom are making strenuous efforts to impress upon us the fact that Autumn is here and our prize pumpkin has returned to grow longer or bigger. Our Giant Chilean squash with which we had intended to eclipse Mr. Radcliffe's mammoth corn show pumpkin has turned out to be only an ordinary squash owing doubtless to the seedsman's error. Now its up to someone else to let us hear from their champion pumpkin. We have carved our biggest watermelon. Weight 60 pounds, circumference 48 inches, girth 42 inches and ripe to the rind. Two others on the same vine weighing 45 and 35 pounds.

'Johnny everything on this place is Dutch, even the bull and the hog and I don't want any of your Yankee stock to flirt around them. Please keep off the grass.' A kindly notice overheard by our reporter.

Among those who made pleasant call at Colonial Retreat lately were James R. Martlow, Thos. Mahoney, C. W. Carr, Walter Moore, W.A. Iglehart, W.H. Greenleaf, John R. Coar.

We believe tobacco could be profitably grown in this vicinity with proper fertilization and selection of soil and variety."

(I take exception to the writer's insistence that "Autumn is here." Autumn is great, it's the season beyond it I object to, so I vote for squeezing September summer out of each day before we're subdued by that subtle autumnal equinox.)

50 Years Ago - That's a 'gas'

Gas mains were the central topic of the September 3, 1958 Times issue. Under a large map of the Ellicott City area picturing the proposed gas mains was the caption:

"Additional Gas Mains: The heavy lines show the routes to be taken by mains for natural gas in the area immediately to the west of Ellicott City. Builders and developers are being advised that it will be possible to install gas in new homes for cooking, refrigeration, automatic water heating, house heating, air conditioning, laundry drying and incineration."

The article announced: "4,000 Homes Due In Area by 1965.

The Baltimore Gas and Electric Company recently announced plans to make natural gas available in the Baltimore National Pike (Route 40), St. Johns Lane area of Howard County.

The company plans to extend its gas lines from an existing source on Columbia Pike north on St. Johns Lane to the development of Brinkleigh and on Route 40 from Rogers Avenue at Centennial Lane.

This new extension necessitates the laying of almost seven miles of gas main and will cost over $200,000. ... .

The company decided on the project after making a survey of builders and developers in the area. According to this survey over 4,000 homes will be built in the area by 1965. Developments such as Brinkleigh, Crestleigh, Dunloggin, Fonthill Manor, Linwood Gardens, Mac Alpine, St. Johns Village and Valley Mede are under construction at the present time and many others are in the planning stage.

After these are completed there will still be considerable acreage suitable for development. The rolling countryside of the area provides many home sites ideally situated for suburban living. Most of the area is not more than 30 minutes from downtown Baltimore."

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