Hope on the Horizon

The past couple weeks have been discouraging. I hadn't heard back from Ms. Clarity. Fred Fiske was kind enough to reply to my letter, but he only recalls broadcasting from the home show, not any details. Mid-Century Mike's contact did not come through.

I'd been close to giving up this mission. Then, Virginia Clarity replied to my e-mail! We are tentatively scheduled to meet September 30. At that time, perhaps, all will be revealed.

Cultivating a Friendship

I'm trying to set up a coffee with Ms. Virginia Clarity. I suspect she may have some interesting things to say about what life was like back when the Customliner touched ground. In an e-mail, she says she doesn't recall much celebration for the house's arrival. In fact, she believes a town councilman at the time referred to the housing development as "Herndon's first slum." Hmm.

I've also mailed off a letter to Fred Fiske at WAMU radio.

Interesting information to follow soon. I hope.

RIP Customliner

This afternoon, I sent an e-mail to Carol Bruce, president of the Herndon Historical Society. She in turn forwarded it to the society vice president, aptly named Virginia Clarity.

Ms. Clarity, who has been a resident of Herndon Woods since 1955, reported that the Customliner is no longer standing. It has been replaced by a large, white house.

After all this effort, I feel I should drive by and scatter flowers on the house's front lawn. What a sad way to end the saga.

Now I can turn my attention to conducting a post mortem. Who made the decision to demolish the Customliner and why? Did it bring excitement to the little town of Herndon when it first arrived? How long did it survive in Herndon Woods?

This will be like investigating the death of a friend.