by

May 2, 1971

An ill-considered proposal of a young city planning director was the spark which ignited a fire of organized concern for communal well-being that has glowed with increasing effect in the little Virginia City of Falls Church since 1965.

The proposal and the action taken by concerned citizens of Falls Church are described in a mimeographed invitation broadcast throughout the community. The invitation was to attend a public tour of the "grounds and garden of historic Lawton House, 203 Lawton St., Falls Church," which "will be open to the public,

Saturday, April 24, and Sunday, April 25, 10 A.M. to 5 P.M., through the courtesy of Mr. and Mrs. Ernest S. Shepard, and Mrs. Edith Pike Clements" (now deceased).

The reason for the broadcast and the action which the aroused citizens proposed followed the formal invitation:

Such was the spark which lighted the fire of organized concern that, burning ever more strongly, led to the formation of the Falls Church Village Preservation and Improvement Society.

Fuel to the growing flame of civic concern was found in a petition which was circulated by ardent citizens and presented to the Falls Church City Council on April 26. What happened then, and soon thereafter, in consequence, is described in "A Report on the Preservation of the Lawton House" mailed on June 1 to some 400 Falls Church citizens:

This message was signed "Provisional Committee, Falls Church Preservation
Society, the members of which were Mel H. Bolster, Mrs. Leath P. Bracken,
Mr. and Mrs. Edgar D. Brooke, Mrs. Meres G. Brown, Miss Helen McGregor,
Mrs. Charles G. Manly, Mrs. Ernest S. Shepard, Elwood Street, Miss Elizabeth
M. Styles, and Mrs. J. Roger Wollenberg.

You will observe that while "the immediate threat to the Lawton House"
was felt to "end satisfactorily", many immediate and potential concerns were
illumined by the flames of ignited civic obligation. So it was that a
Provisional Committee for a Falls Church Preservation Society came into being.

The provisional name of the Society was derived from an early Falls Church
Village Preservation Society, organized in 1885, when the present city was
indeed a village – but possessed then, too, of concerned citizens. It
endured for a generation or more, then vanished, to endure only in memories
passed on by living voice from surviving forebears of members of the
Provisional Committee.

The question of name for the new organization brought about much discussion. "Falls Church" was an obvious element. "Village" had a nostalgic sound, indicating its inheritance of purpose from the 1885 Society, and suggested the organization's intent to preserve the amenities of single- family residential architecture. "Preservation" was not only redolent of the name of the earlier organization, but also suggested the importance of maintaining what charm and residential and historical values the modern City could present. however, maintenance was not enough; it suggests possible erosion and fighting of a losing battle. "Improvement" represented a forward look, and a challenge to efforts at enhancement of all desired qualities. So, Falls Church Village Preservation and Improvement Society became the official name of the infant organization.

Its purposes, concurrently adopted, were inherent in its name:

1. To preserve the historic and predominantly single-family residential character of the City of Falls Church.
2. To preserve the historic structures and landmarks of Falls Church.
3. To promote community appreciation of this historic significance and to encourage construction and renovation of residences and commercial buildings in architectural harmony with this background, in order to give Falls Church a unique and distinctive style.
4. To encourage the planned and continuous beautification of the community in its public, residential, commercial and industrial areas through appropriate planting, preservation and maintenance of trees, shrubbery and flowers.
5. To promote the development of aesthetic values and cultural activities which will contribute to making Falls Church an interesting, unique, and stimulating community in which to live.
6. To work with governmental bodies and community groups to encourage them in measures conducive to the fulfillment of the above purposes.

In view of the broad appeal envisioned for the FCVPIS, membership was made simple and easy, open to any resident of Falls Church upon payment of annual dues of $1. Hope for more adequate financing was indicated in the provision that persons who paid $5 or more were to be known as Contributing Members; and there have been many over the years. Hope was expressed that both husbands and wives would join, for double fiscal benefit; and this, too, has been general membership practice.

Thus named and proposed, the Provisional Committee somewhat enlarged and welded into a working group, spent the early summer of 1965 rotating from home to home of the members and laying plans for action. These plans were revealed on August 27 in a letter of the President, to "Fellow Residents of Falls Church" who had signed that April petition which "urged the preservation of historic Lawton House."

The letter recited what practically everyone knew by August that the City Council had reexamined the proposed extension of Park Place through the Lawton house property and dropped the proposal. The letter continued, in part:

There are many people in Falls Church who are unwilling to surrender to so-called "inevitable" forces that have been tragically triumphant in obliterating individual towns and small cities all across the country. We know we can preserve the village values of Falls Church and establish some realistic, lasting ground rules for our future growth and development.

We have organized ourselves as the Falls Church Village Preservation and Improvement Society. Our first act was to inform the Planning Commission of our existence and our goals. We intend to be alert to all proposals that would affect the nature and environment of Falls Church and to support effectively those we believe to be in the best interest of a community primarily made up of single-family homes. Effort to further enrich land speculators or to alter the face of the city in ways we believe are steps backward, we will oppose vigorously - and early enough to make our views influential.

Thank you again for lending your support to protecting Lawton House.

If you believe that a more permanent organization can perform a useful function for you and countless others who share a desire to keep Falls Church different, join us now! We invite you to be a charter member!

The enlarged committee included Mr. and Mrs. Mel H. Bolster, Mrs. Leath P. Bracken, Mr. and Mrs. Edgar D. Brooke, Mrs. Meres G. Brown, General and Mrs. William A. Carter, Mrs. Dorothy S. Garner, Miss Helen McGregor, Mrs. Charles G. Manly, Mrs. Edward B. Rowan, Mrs. Paul Schlager, Mrs. Ernest S. Shepard, Mrs. Calvin W. Smith, Jr., Mr. and Mrs. Malcolm E. Smith, Mr. Elwood Street, Miss Elizabeth M. Styles, Mr. and Mrs. Fonda C. Williams, and Mrs. J. Roger Wollenberg.

Response to the invitation to join the infant organization was prompt and generous. Thus nurtured, it has steadily grown in membership, in influence and in effectiveness, through the five and one-half ensuing years. The main services and developments of these years we shall now describe.

In the interest of economy of wordage, we shall not reiterate, from one year to another, activities and practices early established and continuously followed. Thus, the Provisional Committee (and later Board of Directors) has met an average of at least once a month, and more frequently when necessary, in evenings at homes of members.

Husbands and wives are voting units; either or both may attend and participate.

Members of the Society are welcome to attend these meetings; and are, indeed, urged to do so.

City officers and paid employees on occasion have met with the Board, to present their points of view on City problems, procedures and plans, to answer questions and consider proposals.

Members of the Board have regularly attended meetings of City Council, Planning Commission and related official bodies and reported their observations to the subsequent Board meetings.

A public meeting has been held each autumn with appropriate subjects and speakers. Fall and Spring newsletters have kept the Society's members in touch with activities and community problems.

Annual Awards Ceremonies, for excellence in architectural, structural and environmental design have been held each spring, except the current one. That exception was to "take a breather" in organizational activity. In- stead of the usual ceremony, the handsome Fifth Anniversary booklet, cover- ing in pictures and text, the awards of the previous five years, has been published.

The Annual Attic Treasures Sale, instituted in May 1968, has been a useful source of funds and public relations.

With this background of common procedures, let us consider significant events and action by the new officially established organization.

Official Year 1965 - 1966

As a running start on relations with the City Council, the President on August 30, 1965, presented to the Council a carefully prepared statement which described the goals and objectives of FCVPIS.

In the early summer, the Society was included among a number of community organizations which received from the Planning Commission "A Plan for the Central Business District" as of June 1965, with request for comment. The Society's "provisional Executive Committee" worked vigorously on the proposed plan. On October 18 it presented to the Commission an analytic statement. It approved the plan in general, but opposed the proposal for increasing the present height limit of 75 feet or seven stories to 110 feet or 10 stories in the central business district, as a move toward destroying the character of our City. Several members of the Society, as well as other citizens, spoke on behalf of our statement.

The expressed opposition of the VPIS to increase the allowable height of buildings had no visible effect on the Planning Commission. Its staff prepared a proposed amendment to the Building Code, which would allow increase of the height limit in the central business district from seven stories or 75 feet to 10 stories or 110 feet. the proposal was to be given public hear- ing by the Planning Commission on February 21. The Provisional Executive Committee organized a circulation of a petition in opposition to the change. By that time, President Bolster had resigned, because of academic pressures, and Elwood Street, Vice-President, became acting president. On March 3 he reported for the Committee to the persons who had signed the petition:

More than 600 signatures - yours among them - were appended to our petition presented to the Planning Commission at the public hearing on…Thursday, February 17. This was one of the largest petitions ever presented in Falls Church, and revealed vividly the community's position on this critical issue. Fifteen persons spoke forcibly against the proposal. The Council Chamber was filled to overflowing.

As the Chairman of the Planning Commission remarked at the close of the hearing, "Well, I guess that scheme is a dead duck." It was, but later, as you will read, another lively duck, of the same breed, came fluttering into the Council Chamber. However, for the time being: On Monday, February 21, the Planning Commission voted unanimously to delete from the plan for the central business district the proposal to increase the height limit for buildings from seven stories or 75 feet to 10 stories or 110 feet.

The Provisional Executive Committee now turned to preparation of the First Annual Award Ceremony for architectural and related excellence. The City Council accepted Committee's invitation to co-sponsor the ceremony. Mrs. John Conner, wife of the Secretary of Commerce, was the guest speaker and personal representative of Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson. The ceremony was co-sponsored by the City Council and was presented on May 22 before a standing-room-only crowd in the Council Chamber. The ceremony was preceded by the First Annual Meeting of the Falls Church Village Preservation and Improvement Society. It achieved permanence by adoption of bylaws, and by a report of the Treasurer, which showed 237 members and a treasury balance of $181.16. Acting President Street was elected President for the statutory two-year term.

Official Year 1966 - 1967

The official year, 1966-67, was early marked by a matter of great concern which eventually involved much time and effort by the Society. At the first Fall meeting of the Society, on November 18, the President reported:

Currently there is pending before us in Falls Church a decision of large proportions - one of the most far-reaching of any in recent years. I refer to the petition now going into the courts, initiated by neighboring citizens in the Fairfax County area adjacent to Route 66 who desire to be annexed into this city… We are confident that at an early date Falls Church citizens will be supplied with the information necessary for intelligent opinion- forming. It will be necessary to weigh the advantages of bringing our two city schools, George Mason and Mt. Daniel (now in Fairfax County) into the city with increased control over traffic problems, against the more intangible but significant aspect of a change from the predominant one-family residential nature of Falls Church into one that would be balanced or even dominated by apartment dwellers, some of whom would be residing in high rise apartments of 15 to 20 stories.

A full year of activity gave the president opportunity to stress in his annual report, among many activities and interests, these special concerns:

With the addition of a full 12 months of working together as a Board and as Committees, of earnestly studying the community problems related to our purposes, of engaging in active programs, we are now more than ever confident that the Falls Church Village Preservation and Improvement Society has a useful, indeed, an important function to perform in our community.

We continue to ask for serious consideration of the charming and historic Lawton House and garden for possible future usefulness as open space and a cultural center in the area east of Washington Street.

Another of our native concerns is the ghastly appearance of the vacant southeast corner of Broad and Washington Streets. We intend in the immediate future to initiate cooperative activity by the owner of that property, the City Council and Administration, and civic-minded groups in order to transform this eyesore into a little area of relative beauty and convenience.

We follow closely and with great concern the measures, now underway, for annexation of Fairfax County territory at the west end of Falls Church. The issues are complex and place a heavy burden of decision upon our City Council.

We are fully in tune with our time as we demonstrate our determination to stimulate the growth of our city in terms of quality; from what it is today to what it may become: a model small city… well run, beautify, and faithful to the comment to itself as a predominantly single-family residential community…the best possible place in which to live, to work, and to do business. In this day of tumult, uncertainty and commercialization, this is a rule of far- reaching significance.

Official Year 1967 - 1968

The Society's third year, 1967-68, proved to be even more eventful than had been anticipated by its year-old (officially) officers and directors.

Already, in March, the Board had learned with great concern that residents of the triangular area in Fairfax County on the west end of Falls Church, bounded by our present City limit, Leesburg Turnpike and the proposed Route 66, had presented an annexation petition to our City Council. The single-family residences in the area appeared _________ with those in the adjacent portion of Falls Church; and the area included also two Falls Church public schools - Mt. Daniel Elementary and George Mason Junior-Senior. However, investigation quickly revealed that the area also included the 50-acre tract owned by the Hooper-Marriott Corporation which had been zoned by the Fairfax County authorities for high-rise apartments. They would be 15 stories high and house 3,000 tenants. Obviously, this project would weaken and eventually destroy the present pattern of residential zoning in Falls Church; would change the predominantly single-family residential character of Falls Church; and would have other undesirable results. Consequently, our Legal Committee made a painstaking study of the legal questions involved; and the Board presented to the City Council urgent recommendation that if the Annexation Court rules in favor of annexation, the Council should take all possible measures to make sure that the Falls Church single- family residential zoning would prevail throughout the annexed area.

At the June 1 meeting of our Board of Directors, a petition, embodying these and related points, was approved for circulation among our citizens under the direction of a special committee, and for presentation to the City Council at its June 26 meeting. That presentation was made on schedule, with 817 signatures; one of the largest number on any petition ever presented to our Council.

Activity on behalf of the petition's implementation continued through succeeding months, with unremitting attention by your Board and its committees. Approved activities have included a "petition for intervention" signed by a considerable number of concerned citizens; employment of an able attorney, as our "intervenor," at a fee financed by special contributions; various necessary legal steps by our intervenor and committee members in relation to the Annexation Court of three judges and its four-day session in April. That session did not complete the Court's hearing of witnesses then, and will resume its hearings in the Fairfax County Court House on Thursday, May 30. Three of our Board members are scheduled to appear as witnesses. The Court intends to complete its hearings and deliberations over the Memorial Day weekend.

We will forestall the 1968-69 report by stating that the Annexation Court voted against the proposed annexation; and that the Appeals Court sustained that action in December 1970. So maters in 1971 are as they were; and no word has been received as to what Hooper-Marriott proposes to do with its 50-acre Fairfax County tract, zoned for high rise.

Three specific projects in the central business district required considerable attention in 1967-68. One project ended in success; one in failure; and the third was partial success and partial failure.

The successful project concerned the small American Bank building on the south side of W. Broad Street in the central business district. The original architectural plan for the bank called for cinderblock construction. When the Board, through President Street, advised the bank officials that cinderblock construction would not be compatible with the citizens' hopes for the Central Business District (CBD), the bank had the plans redrawn for brick construction. The successful result is an attractive little building that is a welcome addition to our City.

The unsuccessful project began when the Board sponsored an August 15 meeting of key citizens, including City officials, for the purpose of discussing ways of minimizing the scenic horror of the southeast corner of East Broad and South Washington Streets. There a blank wall and a narrow, ungraded, rubbish-strewn lot down-graded the opinion of Falls Church in the eyes and minds of all beholders, resident and transient. The property was owned by the non-resident Cloverdale Corporation. At the August 15 meeting, elaborate plans were made for grading, planting, wall decoration, etc. All of this hinged upon legal agreement between the City government and Cloverdale. Before the plans could be consummated, however, Cloverdale sold the property to another, uninterested corporation owner, and the Committee's plan lapsed. It is not dead, but still dormant in 1971, and awaits resuscitation at a more favorable moment.

The partially successful project which promised to be a devastating bomb in the heart of the business district, but fizzled out eventually, came to the startled attention of the Board in early December, when news came

that at the December 4 meeting of the City Council, the First Virginia Bankshares Corporation, which owns the Falls Church Bank as well as other financial institutions, presented an application for approval of the erection of a 10-story office and bank building on the site of the present Falls Church Bank, in the heart of the Central Business District, on the southwest corner of West Broad and South Washington Streets, directly across from the lamentable Cloverdale Corner. The building would exceed by three stories the seven-story limit set in the present central business district ordinance, adopted two years ago.

Lest the Board appear to implicate the Society's membership in action which not all members might approve, an independent Citizens Committee for a Low Skyline established itself; enlisted 300 members in a vigorous campaign in a three-week period by mail to all listed voters in opposition to the change in height limit.

Suddenly, the storm passed. On May 13 the First Virginia Bankshares Corporation representatives appeared before the City Council, withdrew the plans for a 10-story building, and presented new plans for a six-story building, one story less than the old CBD limit.

To carry us on a little tour into the next pages of the calendar, we may state that the site-plan was approved by the City Planning Commission on October 7, 1968. Then the Virginia State legislature passed a law prohibiting any bank located in any Virginia city from establishing branch offices more than five miles from the borders of that city. Because of this law, the growing bank withdrew its approved site plan April 17, 1969, on the ground that another site in Fairfax County would be more suitable to the many-faceted, ultimately named, First Virginia Bank.

At the Society's annual meeting in May 1968, Owen T. Jones was elected to be the second two-year president of FCVPIS. The day before that annual meeting was signalized by the institution of an annual "Attic Treasures Sale' on the grounds of the historic Lawton House as a device, highly successful, for building up the publications fund of the Society and to acquaint the community with the charms and potentialities of that property.

Official Year 1968 - 1969

The year 1968-69 of the Village Preservation and Improvement Society was marked by diversified and lively activity by the Society and its Board of Directors. At the annual meeting, May 17, 1969, President Jones was happily able to report about the previous year:

The most noteworthy event was the citation the Society received last November from the National Capital Area Federation of Garden Clubs. Presented to us at their annual meeting held at the National Arboretum, the citation was for the Society's devotion to the improvement of community life and the example it set for others. We are proud to share with city officials and the citizens of this community this tribute to all efforts that are being made to make Falls Church a unique and attractive place in which to live.

Other highlights of he year were the expansion in the Society's membership - we are now nearly 350; a remarkably successful Attic Treasures Sale, still fresh in our memory, that replenished our coffers; the City Council's passage of a sign ordinance that we had sponsored; our various responses to the Planning Commission's exercise on "What Kind of a City Do We Want?", an initial round table exchange of views between our Board and that of the Chamber of Commerce; the well attended Falls meeting of the Society; and the work of this year's Award Jury.

It is gratifying to note the continued determination of the City to preserve its primarily single family residential character. Single family detached units still account for almost two-thirds of all housing in Falls Church. To date, zoning policies have worked against any significant change in this relationship. At the moment, the principal threat on the horizon appears to be an undue expansion of town house zoning. If confined to suitable locations and kept to reasonable proportions, this expansion could be an appropriate part of the community's balanced growth.

Official Year 1969 - 1970

Problems and opportunities that lie before the Society and the City were stressed by President Jones in his valedictory address on May 3, 1970:

The last 12 months have been marked by two noteworthy events that bear on the work of the Falls Church Village Preservation and Improvement Society.

The first was the election of a new City Council last June. It brought us new faces on the Council and new viewpoints toward many of the city problems.

The preservation of the City's detached single-family residential character can no longer be taken for granted. The Metropolitan Washing- ton Council of Governments has estimated that the population of Falls Church may reach 46,000 by the year 2000 if we share the expected growth of the Metropolitan Area. Other estimates, including those of the Falls Church Department of Planning, are considerably below that figure. Almost any figure within the range of estimates available is likely to generate pressures for town houses, apartment and single-family houses…. There presently appear to be two dangers on the horizon. One is the expansion of town houses. If confined to suitable locations and kept to reasonable proportions, this type of development has an an appropriate place in the community's growth. The other danger lies in the possible further development of the south side of Park Avenue in a manner that might adversely affect the single family residential areas on the north side of the street.

We are losing ground in preserving the City's historical heritage. Within the recent past we have seen the old Lynch and Lunsburg Houses fall before the bulldozer. The City Council's objectives for 1970 are not encouraging on this problem…The Society, nevertheless, has set up a new Lawton House Committee to take a fresh look at what might be done to save this structure. It is hoped that this group can find a formula that will also provide a way for preserving, if need be, other landmarks listed in the timely Architectural Inventory released this past year by the City's Historical Commission.

The Membership Committee has continued to do a noteworthy job; not only in increasing our membership which is now over 440, a 25 per- cent increase over that of last year; but in broadening membership participation in the Society's activities, in promoting such projects as the Attic Treasures Sale, and in otherwise providing dynamism to our group. Another Community Development Committee on the development problems of the City. The Board is currently studying this report.

At the turn of the year the Society associated itself with a broad-based coalition group known as the Emergency Committee Against the Proposed Charter Changes. A number of these changes in the charter had been proposed by the City Council and if effected would have denied to the citizens certain property rights guaranteed by our City Charter.

Official Year 1970 - 1971

(The following segment of this history of the Falls Church Village Preservation and Improvement Society constitutes the President's 1970-71 Annual Report. It was written by Acting President Richard F. Fralick.)

During the 1970-1971 program year, the Society has been actively attempting to combat two new threats to the single-family residential areas - the City's new Planned Unit Development (PUD) ordinance adopted without adequate safeguards; and a proposed sports arena just outside the City.

Planned Unit Development Ordinance

Planned Unit Development - or PUD - was originally proposed by City Council as a means to bring growth to the central business district. As written, the ordinance would permit the developer to assemble a parcel of land a small as one acre; plan a group of diversified structures in appropriate relationship to the space available; and with appropriate city approval, erect structures of various heights, sizes and uses. While the Board believed the ordinance has some merit, the PUD ordinance would not limit such development exclusively to the central business district, but would permit its use in various areas of the city - even in residential areas. Indeed, two of the principal development sites specifically threatened were residential areas - Tyler Gardens and the Shockey Tract.

In cooperation with various neighborhood groups, the Board worked to stop this threat. As the ordinance moved through the legislation process, the Board found that all the various versions continued to include residential areas. At its November 5 meeting, the Board voted to oppose categorically the Council- sponsored PUD ordinance, as well as the various revised versions being discussed by the Planning Commission, on the ground that the PUD concept was being too broadly employed, constituted a danger to residential areas, and was, therefore, not suitable for the City of Falls Church in its proposed form.

But in mid-November, the Planning Commission and City Council passed the ordinance anyway against all efforts by the Society and other concerned groups.

To focus even more citizen attention on this new zoning threat, the Society's fall meeting last November was devoted to a "community forum" on the central business district. The forum idea was based on the VPIS "Study of Various Development Possibilities for the Falls Church Central Business District" written by the Community Development Committee and published by the Society last spring.

Three Board members discussed the principal segments of the Study; first, an analysis of conditions hindering CBC development; second, a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of Falls Church as a business location; and finally, an outline of various development alternatives still possible in the city. A panel of experts then answered questions. The meeting was highly successful in terms of attendance and audience participation.

Continuing citizen opposition to the Planned Unit Development ordinance was instrumental in getting Council to remove - at least for the present - the proposed high Land Use Intensity ratings from the Tyler Gardens and Shockey tracts. Whether these parcels will continue to have immunity from this potential threat or not is a matter of conjecture. Nevertheless, other residential area are still threatened by the ordinance, and continued monitoring will be required.

Recently, the first proposal to implement the ordinance has been received by the Council and Planning Commission. It was submitted by John Hechinger for his less-than-two-acre parcel on Washington Street in the Central business district - the site of the former Hechinger's home improvement center which was destroyed by fire a few years ago. The proposal calls for a mixture of residential and commercial uses, and development could include one or two structures with maximum structure height of 17 stories.

The Board will continue to observe the proceedings on the Hechinger proposal, but will probably wait until a concrete site plan is submitted before taking any stand pro or con on this matter.

The Sports Arena

Another issue of major importance during the past year was the proposal by the Northern Virginia Recreation and Cultural Authority to build a sports arena at the intersection of Interstate 66 and Leesburg Pike in Fairfax County next to the George Mason High School.

The Board vigorously opposed this sites for such a sports complex because of the proximity to the school and the problems it would cause the city, without any resulting revenues to offset municipal expenditures.

Fortunately, VPIS was not the only citizens organization opposing the Authority's action. The Fairfax County Federation of Citizens Associations was also overwhelmingly opposed not only to the site selected by the Authority. but also to its potential cost to the residents of Northern Virginia. The Federation charged that the money could be used in more productive way. For the first time, the VPIS Board joined with the Federation on this issue.

Because of the Federation's opposition, not only did the Authority decide to select another site, but Fairfax County refused to give the Authority any more operating funds, which effectively short-circuited the Authority's momentum. While other funds were found to keep the Authority operating, a bill was introduced in the State Legislature this spring to repeal the enabling legislation which established the Authority. Although the bill failed to pass in the special session, it will certainly be introduced again at the next session.

President Perry Resigns

In March, the Society lost a president for the second time in its short history. In a letter to the Board, Robert R. Perry reported that he had been asked to serve as campaign manager for the "coalition" candidates for City Council. He said that in his opinion, the president of our non-political Society should not also serve in a political leadership capacity. For this reason, he said, he felt it necessary for him to submit his resignation. The Board regretfully accepted Mr. Perry's decision and expressed its gratitude for a job well done during his 10 months in office.

The Board then elected Vice-president Richard F. Fralick to serve as President until the next fall membership meeting on Sunday, May 2nd.

Annual Awards Booklet

Since the meeting in March, two additional projects initiated under Mr. Perry's leadership have culminated in two positive contributions to the City.

The first is a booklet which describes the Society's five Annual Awards for Excellence in Design. This booklet tells the story of the awards in pictures and text. The Board hopes this publication will have widespread distribution throughout the country as an example of what a citizens' organization in a small community can do to improve the appearance of its commercial and residential areas. We hope it will inspire developers in our own city to maintain a high quality of visual design in the years ahead, and will inform businessmen who seek new business locations that Falls Church is the kind of community of which they want to be a part.

Tree Planting Program

The second project is an effort to add more beautiful trees to our city. Within the past month, the Board has authorized the use of Society funds to purchase two magnificent trees for this purpose.

In this connection on Sunday, April 10, a flowering cherry tree was planted in the courtyard of George Mason High School in memory of Jennifer Jones who was killed in an accident last year. Jenny was the daughter of former VPIS President Owen Jones and Mrs. Jones.

Then Saturday, May 1, a rare purple beech tree was planted on the St. James Roman Catholic Church property on North Oak Street in memory of David Francis Strickler, who was killed in Vietnam. David was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Paul E. Strickler, members of the Society. The Board hopes to continue this tree-planting program in years to come.

A Look Ahead

Much has been accomplished by the Falls Church Village Preservation and Improvement Society in its first six years of activity. However, "the past is only prologue" to the challenges and responsibilities which lie ahead. The initial "fire of civic zeal" now seems more important than ever. Our Society must be prepared to go forward vigorously in continuing pursuit of our central goal to preserve the quality of living in our traditionally single-family- detached residential area.