A Penny For Your Thoughts

Once upon a time, a family named O’Shaughnessy owned a dairy farm in Bailey’s Crossroads. The farm was near the present-day interchange of Route 7 and Columbia Pike. There even was an O’Shaughnessy Drive that was vacated when the Babies R Us store was developed in the mid-1990s. O’Shaughnessy Drive is still listed on local maps, but it is simply a travel lane through the parking lot today.

Charlie O’Shaughnessy was a successful dairy farmer, whose wife, Mary, hailed from Herndon and some sources indicate she later became the treasurer of Fairfax County. Charlie sold his dairy farm and invested in real estate, eventually retiring to Fauquier County. Charlie and Mary had no children, but their estate was well-funded due to smart investments. They established the O’Shaughnessy-Hurst Memorial Foundation to make philanthropic gifts in the Northern Virginia area, and that is the reason for this week’s column. I want to thank the O’Shaughnessy-Hurst Memorial Foundation and its board of directors for selecting three Bailey’s Crossroads programs for funding from the foundation. It has been my pleasure to present checks to the following recipients:

Woodrow Wilson Library – This Fairfax County public library branch has an extraordinarily meaningful presence in the Culmore/Bailey’s community. Programs for at-risk children include an after-school Homework Help center, a summer literacy program for children, and special programs with guest authors, speakers, and entertainers. The contribution from the O’Shaughnessy-Hurst Foundation will expand the current programs to serve more children.

Morningstar – This Saturday morning program for girls is the inspiration of Carmen Fernandez, who began the program to help Latino pre-teen and teenage girls make healthy decisions in their lives. The program, affiliated with H.A.C.A.N. (Hispanics Against Child Abuse and Neglect), now attracts girls from a broader population, and Morningstar has recently partnered with the Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital to teach girls camping skills. Two winters ago, I had the great pleasure of teaching the Morningstar girls how to make a quilt during their Saturday morning programs. The girls learned to cut, iron, and sew fabric, how to put the squares together in a pleasing sequence, and how to stuff and finish the quilt. I thought they’d like to make doll quilts; they decided to make a queen-size quilt instead! We all had great fun!

Glasgow Middle School PTA – The Glasgow Middle School serves more than 1,000 sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students from the diverse Bailey’s Crossroads area. After school programs, both study and recreation-oriented, are needed desperately for these age groups, and the Glasgow PTA will be able to expand current programs with the donation from the O’Shaughnessy-Hurst Memorial Foundation.

Bailey’s Crossroads is a far different place than it was when Charlie O’Shaughnessy’s cows grazed here, and I doubt that he and his wife had any inkling of what their dairy farm would become. We have cars instead of cows now, and office buildings in place of dairy barns, but hundreds of Bailey’s Crossroads children will benefit because of the commitment of Charlie and Mary and the O’Shaughnessy-Hurst Memorial Foundation. May they live happily ever after.

Supervisor Penny Gross may be emailed at mason@fairfaxcounty.gov