Early Arden Settlers
Here, you will read about stories that have been shared by early Arden settling families. Some of these stories came from historic community publications, and others came from personal interviews with some of the original families and/or their decedents. If you have a story and old photos/documents to share, please contact us at Board@ArdenCommunityAssociation.com.
STORIES SHARED
"The House That Love Built" (Bryant Family)
Told by: LuAnn Davis
In 1952, responding to an ad seen in the Baltimore American Sunday newspaper on May 4, 1952, the Bryant family living in Baltimore, purchased lot #940 in Sunrise Beach (now known as 1115 Oakview Drive in Section 5).
Construction on the Bryant family home began in 1956. Mr. Lew Bryant rented the bulldozer from Mr. Brown of Brown's B60 ranch on Sunrise Beach Rd. The Bryant lot in Section 5 was on what was originally known as Oak Circle, now Oakview Drive. There was no road to the lot. The Bryant’s had to, as they'd say, "blaze a trail". A shed was built in the back yard while the house was under construction so that tools could be stored on site.
House in progress...Mr. Bryant bought a trailer load of blocks each week from Maisel Brothers Block in Glen Burnie. The family would come down from Baltimore every weekend so they could work on the house. The house was constructed of block up to the roofline.
The Bryant’s moved into their home still under construction as soon as it was outfitted with plumbing and electricity. While living in the unfinished home, construction continued one room at a time until completed.
Enjoying Beach 5 in the 50s. How fun!
Today, daughter LuAnn Davis resides in the family home with her husband.
From the Arden on the Severn NewsBuoy, Sept 1960:
Taking a break from work on the house is Lou Bryant, alternate section delegate from Section 5. Lou has been a resident of Arden for a year now and between working on his house, which he is building himself, and working with the Civic Association, Lou keeps himself quite busy. In working on the house, however, he is ably assisted by his wife and two children: Jim age 12, and LuAnn age 7. Lou, whose real name is Richard, came to Arden from Baltimore where he still works. Lou put his spare time to good use as a volunteer fireman. While involved in some volunteer fire fighting, he met his wife, Ann, then a member of the Ladies Auxiliary of Baltimore Fire Department. Among things that Lou would like to see in Arden are paved roads in Section 5. In this wish, and his desire to see the school bus for junior high school and high school children come in to Section 5 to pick up its charges, Lou is joined by the rest of the residents of Section 5. P.S. For those who attended Arden Day, Lou was the man who you couldn't beat at the "Beat the Dealer Game."