Interviewer: Heather Witt
Date: 3/31/20
Tell us a bit about yourself.
Ms. Selby is 86 years old and has lived in Poolesville for 72 years. There were 6 children in her family, 3 boys and 3 girls. Her father was born and raised in a house on Cattail Road above the Davis family home. He worked construction for Mr. Collings in Shady Grove. Her mother did “day work” for the Johnson family in Garret Park.
Could you tell us what types of activities you enjoyed while growing up in the Ag Reserve?
Ms. Selby loved playing sports, she was on the school Volleyball, Field Hockey, and Basketball teams. She remembers playing against Damascus and runs into people she played against from time to time. It is a small world, she said. Her mother did not allow her to “hang out with friends” when she was young, but she was allowed to attend the teen dances/clubs in Boyds. She won best decorated socks at one of the sock hops.
She remembers shopping at the two stores located across from the old town hall in Poolesville. One was owned by the Williams family and the other one was owned by the Selby family. The Williams family was older, their daughter owned the Pooles Store on River Road. The Selby family was younger, they knew a lot of families with younger kids. They eventually moved out of this location and into the location that is Anytime Fitness today. Shopping in Frederick was also popular, especially going to Sears.
Could you talk about the various jobs you’ve enjoyed over the years?
After a few years at PHS, Ms. Selby transferred to Gaithersburg High School to enroll in their Cosmetology program. Upon graduation, jobs in cosmetology were hard to find. Her friends learned to type and found jobs at IBM and NIH. She worked at the Cleaners in the Super Giant in Rockville for 3 months, then got a job at a printing company. She stayed at the printing company for 23 years where she learned shorthand and typing skills. The company moved to Glendale during the time that she was off work due to back surgery.
Her next job was as a bus attendant for MCPS. She needed a job at this time that would allow her to be at home when her kids were home. Her first marriage had failed, she was a single mother and a flexible schedule was very important to her. She worked very hard for 9 years, always asking if there was additional work needed inside the schools. Her dream was to eventually get a job inside a school and she decided to interview with Wheaton High School. She was offered a job in Safety and Security and was given the position of Student Monitor for In-School Suspension. She loved this job. She was great at connecting with the students, paying attention, listening to them, supporting them, showing how much she cared and offering her special style of advice. The Principal was amazed and commented on how much the students loved her. She was able to convince one individual boy to get off the streets and come back to school. She was so proud the day that he graduated, that she bought the yearbook to remember.
Do you remember any contentious issues from growing up in the Ag Reserve?
The most contentious issue of her time was the desegregation of public schools. She remembers being escorted by the police to Poolesville High School for the first year when she was 15 years old. During segregation, she had attended Eduard U. Taylor Elementary School in the White Grounds Community of Boyds. She has fond memories of this school and being taught by Miss Giles. They were transported to school via bus. In the beginning, the bus would not come into their neighborhood. They had to walk from their home on Cattail Road to what is now known as the “Beauty Spot” on Jerusalem Rd. When she started at Poolesville High School it was 1960 and she was in 7th grade. The school at that time was split into two sides, the small side was for the younger grades and the big side was for the upperclassman. She remembers experiencing a few prejudiced families at this time. Although she felt that after the first year when everyone saw that the African American students were there to stay and weren’t going anywhere, people began to accept the changes and “calm down a bit.” Her older brother had a different experience, he attended George Washington Carver High School during segregation and was later transferred to Richard Montgomery High School after desegregation, where in her opinion the prejudice was not as bad. She comments that today her and her classmates are “one big happy family,” they see each other at reunions and have a good time together. “People change, they come around after time,” she said.
What’s the biggest change you’ve seen in the Ag Reserve over the last 40+ years?
Ms. Selby feels that the biggest change in this area has been the many loving people who have moved here over the years. She has witnessed peopled helping each other and making a difference. Especially those individuals involved with WUMCO. She has met so many nice people who volunteer to drive her home from her Metro Access drop offs in Poolesville following dialysis treatments twice a week. She never thought in a million years that she would be in a position where she was unable to drive. Cathy from WUMCO was able to help when Metro Access refused to go into her neighborhood on Jerusalem Church Road stating that the closest location that they would drop her off was the Memorial United Methodist Church in Poolesville.
She has truly enjoyed her life in Poolesville. She was able to find love later in life with a childhood friend. They dated for 5 years, then were married for 16 years. They were the best years of her life.
What do you think the Ag Reserve will look like in 2080 (it’s 100th anniversary)?
Ms. Selby believes the Ag Reserve will be built up like Washington D.C. in 2080. The fields will be gone and in their place we will see more houses, bigger houses.
