Silver Spring Historical Society

Read the full text of "Annals of Silver Spring" at https://archive.org/stream/annalsofsilversp00b/annalsofsilversp00b_djvu.txt

Today is the 161st anniversary of a "Strawberry Party" attended by members of the Union Army's XVII Corps under the command of Maj. Gen. Francis P. Blair II. The party was held at "Falkland", the home of General Blair's older brother, Montgomery Blair.

Falkland had been torched by Confederate sympathizers in July of the previous year, so either the house had been fully reconstructed or was almost completed.

So, if you are at the Giant grocery store today at the Blair Park Shopping Center and catch of whiff of strawberries in the parking lot (where Falkland stood), you are catching a spectral whiff!

Here is another item from the Silver Spring Historical Society Collection.

The state of Maryland started requiring the registration of automobiles in 1904 but it wasn't until 1910 that vehicles had to display state-issued plates. Front and rear license plates were required from 1910 to 1943, 1948 to 1951, and 1956 on. The only years that a single rear plate was required was 1944 to 1947 and 1952 to 1955.

It is assumed that this plate was manufactured between 1952 and 1955 as a novelty item to be placed on the front of a vehicle. Perhaps a variety of front plates were sold as fundraisers by fraternal organizations, high schools, or simply given away by auto dealers and the like.

Certainly there must be other versions of Silver Spring automobile plates out there, perhaps ones featuring the names of car dealerships or other local businesses. If you own one, please post it here.

Thank you!