NEIGHBORHOOD'S NAME-CHANGE EFFORT BEARS FRUIT; RESIDENTS PULL TOGETHER TO MAKE UNOFFICIAL OFFICIAL: IT'S NOW WINDING ORCHARD

Over the years, what you called the community of 240 homes nestled between Randolph Road and Brookside Gardens in Wheaton depended upon whom you asked.

On the official Montgomery County map and to many real estate agents, it was Glenfield Manor. Until recently the sign on one entrance read Winding Waye Woods. But to residents, the neighborhood has been Winding Orchard for years, and they wanted to make it official. In the process they have come to know one another better, strengthened a community association, worked together on community beautification and, they believe, increased the values of their houses.

When Tom and Karen Beck and their two children moved into their house on Billman Lane three years ago, they knew they loved the neighborhood. But because they weren't sure what it was called, it was difficult to tell friends where they had moved. After asking other residents, they learned that the houses around them had been built by two different builders and that one section was called Winding Waye Woods and the other English Orchard.

To make it even more confusing, the neighborhood had had one community organization for years, called Winding Orchard. The Becks led a campaign to make that the neighborhood's formal name, a process that involved the community group getting together to decide that this was an issue worth pursuing and then communicating its desires to the county government.

"The name change has given us a cause and the new name makes us feel as if we belong to something," said Karen Beck, treasurer of the Winding Orchard Community Association. "I like saying, 'I live in Winding Orchard.' "

Her husband, Tom Beck, who is president of the association, said: "Having a name helps us do projects under the umbrella of a community. The name lets people know who we are when we do things."

Community names exist not just on signs, but also on official documents. Bill Barron, a planner with the Montgomery County Department of Parks and Planning, said the department goes by the names and boundaries given to it by community associations and keeps an updated list of these associations and the boundaries of the communities they represent.

On their lists, what was once Glenfield Manor has become Winding Orchard. As maps are updated, they will carry the new name. "When we're redoing a master plan, we use the boundaries and the name that the community association gives us," Barron said. Such a change is not unique, he said--there is often a difference between the original name a developer gives a subdivision and what it comes to be called.

"Making the name official adds to the sense of community we already had," said Wes Vernon, one of the neighborhood's original homeowners and a member of the community association board. "For years we would identify ourselves as Winding Orchard, and people outside of the immediate area would not know what we were talking about."

The name Winding Orchard suggested a logo--a tree--that the association now uses on the newsletter and association stationery. Along with the campaign to make the name official came a fundraiser to raise money for large iron letters that make up the "Winding Orchard" sign that is displayed on the curved brick wall at the community's entrance on Old Randolph Road.

In the process of meeting with county officials to adopt the name, association members learned of a county beautification program that gives grants to communities for plantings, so members applied for 600 bulbs. Last fall a group of homeowners planted the bulbs around the brick wall that displayed the new iron letters. The result: An entrance that inspires pride--and is awash in an explosion of color.

"I think when we work together to beautify the community, there's a snowball effect," said Andrea Gwynn, a resident for about five years and membership coordinator for the community association.

The houses in Winding Orchard were built in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and quite a few are still home to the original buyers.

Wes and Alida Vernon and their four children moved to the area in the late 1960s after many moves necessitated by Wes Vernon's broadcasting job. The family rented in the Kemp Mill area while looking for a house to buy. When they found the neighborhood nestled behind Randolph Road, they jumped at the chance to buy a house there--and have remained ever since. Today, as retirees with children grown, they welcome young families to the neighborhood.

"That's what makes this neighborhood so delightful," Wes Vernon said. "We have a good mix of young and old."

Young families say they like the mix, too. "Since I'm home with my children, and so are many of the original owners who are retired, I work with a lot of them on neighborhood projects," Gwynn said.

The houses come in several traditional styles: colonials, Dutch colonials, split levels and split foyers. Because all the houses were built large--most have four or five bedrooms--there have been few additions over the years. The most common additions are made outside, including decks, porches or a second garage. The Vernons, for example, added a porch and an enclosed deck this year.

Doreen Feldman, a real estate agent with Weichert Realtors in Bethesda, calls the community a hidden treasure.

"You drive by and you don't realize there's this lively community in there," she said. "It's a great neighborhood, always been well kept up."

"I like to say this is undiscovered territory," said Tom Murphy, a resident of the community for 27 years and a real estate agent with Pardoe Real Estate ERA. "I've sold homes in the neighborhood for 15 years. They are very nice houses. People don't have a reason to move."

Ten years ago five-bedroom houses were not a popular choice for buyers, Murphy said. "Then people would rather go further out and get four bedrooms and a two-car garage. But today, even if a couple have only two children, they want two home offices," and thus use all those bedrooms.

A special attraction of the community is its easy accessibility to bucolic beauty and urban amenities. The neighborhood is adjacent to Brookside Gardens, where many residents take morning walks, after-school rambles, and nature or gardening classes. In the winter, when Brookside Gardens decorates trees for its annual Christmas lighting extravaganza, the neighborhood gets a preview before the show officially opens. Neighbors rally to aid Brookside when needed, as they did last winter when they supported the center's plan to reduce the local deer population.

"With park on two of our four sides, we have some really nice things," Murphy said.

Gwynn said: "Brookside Gardens is a huge selling point. We go there every weekend in warm weather. My children love the butterfly shows and nature shows and the little hikes you can take."

Next to Brookside Gardens is Wheaton Regional Park, where neighborhood children have played over the years. Along with these outdoor amenities comes easy access to downtown Washington via the Glenmont Metro station.

"I bought my house in 1971 with a map of the Metro in my hand," recalls Murphy. "I was coming here to establish the Institute for Urban Studies at the University of Maryland so I was interested in urban transportation. I'm from New York so I knew what a subway could do. It was supposed to come in 1980, and it didn't get here until 1997. Now our stock is going up."

"I love the Metro," Vernon said. "Within a mile's walk or a two-minute drive if you 'pull the lazy,' we have access to the whole Washington area. For those of us who like the suburban life and the urban amenities but don't like the being-bogged-down-in-traffic in between, you can't beat it."

WHERE WE LIVE: Winding Orchard

BOUNDARIES: Randolph Road to the north, Heurich Road to the west, Glenallen Avenue to the south, Wheaton Regional Park to the east.

PROPERTY SALES: In the last 12 months, eight houses have sold at prices from $202,000 to $250,000, said Tom Murphy of Pardoe Real Estate ERA. Two houses are under contract; asking prices were $246,000 and $259,900.

SCHOOLS: Glenallen Elementary, E. Brooke Lee Middle and John F. Kennedy High schools

WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE: Brookside Gardens, Wheaton Regional Park, Glenmont Shopping Center, Glenmont Metro station, Kennedy High, Glenallen Elementary

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