For my monthly “Wayback Machine” columns, for the remainder of the year I thought I would switch to writing about events solely from 1926, creating a “100 Years Ago This Month” theme, starting with June 1926. At that time, the biggest news items for Arlington included a new source of public water for the County, and a new bridge connecting Arlington to the District of Columbia: the Arlington Memorial Bridge. The June 25 edition of the Lyon Village Gazette noted that the upcoming construction of the bridge meant that  “…the Potomac River no longer divides either physically or economically.”  Regarding the water source, a news article stated that “…the fact that water for Arlington County is to be furnished within a year from the same reservoir as used by the District of Columbia shows that Federal officials consider Arlington to be part of Greater Washington.” 

 Water Issues: The need for public water in 1926 was the most pressing political matter in Arlington. The solution proposed in June was a novel one – to align with the District of Columbia, and “import” water from the Dalecarlia Reservoir (with pipes to cross the river at the Chain Bridge). The only way to pay for this was to borrow money, a concept that was disfavored in Virginia (Harry “Pay As You Go” Byrd was our governor at that time). But County leaders decided to put it to a vote by its citizens and scheduled a $750,000 bond referendum vote on June 15. As reported in the Washington Star, the citizens were tired of “near” water, and in a record voter turnout, the bond passed with more than 90% approval. Articles of the day uniformly praised this action, predicting a surge in housing developments. 

 The “Road to the Bridge”: Construction of the Arlington Memorial Bridge started in 1926. At the same time, a new transcontinental highway was planned to run through Arlington, to be named for Robert E. Lee. There was much disagreement in the County about the location of the new road. A new organization was created, called the “Straight-to-the-Bridge Association,” which advocated for the road to connect directly to the new bridge. The association lost that battle, as the new road, called Lee Boulevard, was located right down the middle of the County, and was diverted to the other existing bridges (Key Bridge and the Long Bridge). You would know this road by its current name of Arlington Boulevard (Route 50). The name change occurred due to confusion with the name of Lee Highway (Route 29, which has since been renamed Langston Boulevard). As for the road itself, the construction of Lee Boulevard was yet another factor in the development of the County from a rural area to a suburban destination. 

The Civil War Was Not Forgotten: One headline caught my attention: “20 Of Mosby’s Band Attend Encampment.” During the Civil War, Confederate Colonel Mosby made frequent raids in Northern Virginia (including Falls Church). His men, known as Mosby’s Rangers, had a reunion of twenty survivors in Arlington on June 5, 1926, hosted by the Clarendon Methodist Church, with many tributes and a speech given by Fletcher Kemp, the superintendent of schools. In national news, a Mississippi congressman requested removal of historic displays at Gettysburg and the Arlington National Cemetery. Extracts of a speech given by a Union veteran, Robert Ingersoll, in 1874, were on display, extolling the virtues of the Union army. The congressman somehow felt that the speech was “an insult to the memory of General Robert E. Lee.” This incident makes one think of today’s historic plaque removals. 

“Gambling” Arrests: One of the most unusual newspaper articles covered the arrests of four people who organized the Lyon Village Carnival. What was their crime? The carnival included games that were deemed illegal under the new state gambling law: ten-pin, ring-the-pin, dart, and hit-the-keg games. The civic association then held an “indignation meeting” at the Ballston Fire Department, and plans were made to appeal the arrests at the circuit court level. You will have to wait for my July history column to find out what happened to the four people who were arrested.