“ It’ s fair to say that Mary Ann was really the heart and soul of the movement toward preservation of land and historic properties in this area,” said philanthropist Knight Kiplinger, who has helped carry on the work of the Historic Medley District and other preservation organizations, including the newly formed Potomac Community Foundation( see page 17).“ Her daughter, Perry, then followed in her footsteps.”
As a member of the Montgomery County Historic Preservation Commission, Mary Ann helped write the county’ s master plan that continues to guide historic preservation to this day. For properties deemed historically significant by the commission, owners are often required to obtain a Historic Area Work Permit( HAWP) prior to any exterior renovations— which includes“ moving, demolishing, or altering the exterior of a building
Elizabeth“ Perry” Kapsch and portrait of her mother, Mary Ann Kephart
or structure, or environmental setting.” Proponents of the commission point to valuable tax breaks for historic preservation. Naysayers can be frustrated by the frequent delays in permitting and extra construction costs that the tax incentives don’ t always cover.“ Mother believed that historic homes and buildings and open spaces were what made this community, all of these surrounding communities, really special,” said Perry, while holding a copy of the 1976 publication titled“ Local Atlas & Index of Historic Sites in Montgomery County Maryland.” Both her mother and father supported Michael Dwyer, the noted county historian, on the firstof-its-kind directory of hundreds of homes and significant buildings.
“ Every time one of these remarkable old buildings gets torn down and a strip mall goes up, part of the community’ s soul is lost. Our family has always taken this issue very personally, but we also look at it professionally, with local guidelines that are based on the national standards from the Secretary of the Interior( see page 17).”
PUTTING HISTORY AND HEARTACHE TO WORK
Like Perry Kapsch, guided by her mother’ s spirit at Chiswell’ s Inheritance, Sandy Wright and David Therriault maintain their own ongoing conversation with their daughter, Sydney. A precocious artist known for her vast collection of friends, she died tragically at age 22 while vacationing in Florida in April of 2021. Every decision Sandy
Sandy Wright, Sydney Therriault and David Therriault and David have made since then has invoked Sydney’ s memory.
“ She was a very, very smart, white girl who was privileged, who didn’ t necessarily know or want that. She was a town girl at heart,” said David.“ This was her community and she was always there for the underdog or the bullied person. She liked all of the demographics of this area, the poor, the rich, the farmers, the Black families, the townhouse families.”
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