Preserving local black history
The little half-acre cemetery with 75 graves, in the shadow of a five-story office building with shiny turquoise windows, is barely visible to drivers whizzing by on Fairfax County’s six-lane Beulah Street. Cement tombstones with hand-lettered inscriptions have been worn down by time. On one, the name “Moses Harris” is barely legible. Another, bearing a cross, notes the passing of... READ MORE
Facing a painful part of the past
Almost 90 years after a man was hanged by a mob in Maryland, residents of Howard County have begun an effort to remember the victims of lynching in the area. “The legacy still influences us,” said Will Schwarz, president and founder of the Maryland Lynching Memorial Project (MLMP), which he established in 2018. The nonprofit is dedicated to remembering the victims of lynching and... READ MORE
Unique club’s place in history
Twenty-one years ago, a Vietnam veteran returned to his home of Baltimore to “give back” to his community. That was when Kaleb Tshamba, now 70, joined the Arch Social Club, first established in 1905. “Social clubs always build the community up,” said Tshamba, the club’s de facto historian, who is writing a book about its early history. For generations, the Arch Social Club,... READ MORE
Reinvigorating a historic cemetery
The dense, dark woods in Richmond’s East End are a jungly tangle of weeds, kudzu vines, English ivy, dead limbs and leaves. This untamed thicket is part of the city’s historic African American cemetery, Evergreen. Founded in 1891, when cemeteries were segregated by race, Evergreen was considered “equivalent” to Richmond’s Hollywood Cemetery in the west end, where U.S.... READ MORE
Never too old to rock and roll
On a recent autumn day in Alexandria, a group of singers belted out the 1966 Motown hit “You Keep Me Hanging On,” swaying to the rhythm, bobbing their heads, smiling and shouting loudly at the end of the song. Is this a reunion of the Supremes? Maybe a young tribute band mimicking these great singers? Well, no. In fact, you see a few canes, hearing aids and lots of white hair among... READ MORE
Beloved waitress writes fiction
Everyone in Baltimore, it seems, knows Peachy. Leonora “Peachy” DePietro Dixon has waited tables at Sabatino’s restaurant in Little Italy since 1974. (She received her childhood nickname for her peaches-and-cream complexion.) With a wide circle of friends from all over Baltimore and celebrity acquaintances, she is well known for her warm-heartedness. Among the famous people... READ MORE
Art is her dream encore career
Sometimes retirement offers the ability to finally pursue a lifelong dream. Karen Winston-Levin, 71, didn’t start what she considers to be her true career until she retired in 2012. Since then, the Marriottsville resident has been prolifically painting images of nature and people. “I probably have been painting all my life, even though I wasn’t holding a brush,” Winston-Levin... READ MORE
Volunteers power annual light show
On November 22, one million lights illuminated the night at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden thanks to 300 volunteers who have worked for the past year to make the Dominion Energy GardenFest of Lights happen. The annual event is a six-week holiday extravaganza of lights, botanical decorations, model trains, Santa sightings, music, crafts, dinners, a fire pit, s’mores, hot chocolate and... READ MORE
Historian makes history as Smithsonian secretary
A girlfriend convinced Lonnie G. Bunch III to jump out of an airplane when he was 17 years old. “I jump out, and I’m yelling, screaming, cursing,” Bunch — now the new head of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. — recalled in an interview with the Beacon. But he learned something important from the experience. “It taught me that I could do things that scare the... READ MORE
He brings orchids back from the brink
If your orchid looks sickly and droopy, swallow your pride. Extinguish your guilt. Don’t give up. There’s hope — and it’s found through Art Chadwick Jr., of Richmond’s Chadwick & Son Orchids. Orchids have a reputation for being finicky plants, even for experienced gardeners, but Chadwick believes otherwise. People just need to understand these beautiful plants and when they ... READ MORE
Cover Stories 2024
