A Half-Century, One Page and Photo at a Time

In the mid-1960’s, Clarence Kettler asked his brothers Milton and Charles to join him in creating a "new town" in the suburbs, a "planned community" based on a European model that would provide all the elements of the American Dream for its residents.

So began Montgomery Village, when the Kettlers bought up vast stretches of farmstead, then transformed the land into their novel brand of urban development by planting hundreds of trees, laying out interconnected neighborhoods and parceling out spots for schools, churches and amenities in pursuit of their motto, "Don’t simply build on the land—improve upon it."

And so, too, begins the book documenting that history nearly a half-century later: Montgomery Village (Images of America).

The 128-page work hit bookshelves Sept. 12. Unlike Bill Hurley’s prose history Montgomery Village: A New Town from 1993—a prose narrative written from his insider's perspective as a top Kettler employee—the fresh-off-the-press Montgomery Village tells most of its story through snapshots, archives and stowed-away collections—found memories that, added together, make up the history of Montgomery Village, one family at a time.

Behind all that painstaking work: A dozen volunteers who spent the better part of a year bringing the project to fruition.

Support and expertise came thanks to the Montgomery County Historical Society and the Gaithersburg Community Museum. Arcadia Publishing, Inc. agreed to include it as the latest entry in their Images of America series, which chronicles the origins of communities across the country.

The heavy lifting fell on the Montgomery Village Historical Book Committee: George Aubin, Gloria Bernero, Pam Bort, Carolyn Camacho, Barbara Fries, Edna Miller, Jennifer Moore, Melanie O’Brien, Marilyn O’Connell, Roslyn Price and Denise Sheehan, plus Montgomery Village Foundation communications guru Mike Conroy.

Besides culling together the more than 200 images, the mix of "pioneer" Village residents (Sheehan, O’Connell) and more recent arrivals (O’Brien, Miller) also penned the eight chapters, which look at noteworthy places and natural landmarks—even those residents who have gone on to make a name for themselves far beyond the Village's environs (for instance, Judah Friedlander of 30 Rock fame and Mark Bryan of Hootie and the Blowfish).

Roughly half of the photos came from the Kettlers’ promotional materials—especially their magazine Living in Montgomery Village Today—which gave insight into the founders’ thinking.

The rest came batch by batch: a photo album here, a cardboard box there, handed over by some of the Village’s long-time families. For O’Brien, who came to Montgomery Village in 2006, each donation opened a window into her husband’s origins—and the place she's now even more proud to call home.

"I knew next to nothing when we started this process," she said Monday night as she gathered with her co-authors to celebrate their accomplishment. "I learned so much."

Montgomery Village (Images of America) is available at the MVF office, or from major booksellers and online retailers like Amazon.com. It can also be bought directly from Arcadia at www.arcadiapublishing.com or by calling 888-313-2665.