The People of Columbia 61

The People of Columbia

SCRAPBOOK

Charles and Barbara Russell were among the first. And they were almost a stereotype of the family Columbia was intended to attract: young, first child on the way, little cash in the bank, and an interracial couple.

And yet, "we didn't know about the dream" of Columbia as something more than a place to live, explains Barbara Russell. “We were expecting. Charlie imminently,” and their one bedroom apartment in Baltimore was too small.

Barbara wasn't thrilled at the thought of leasing an apartment by herself somewhere in Baltimore and then arriving on move-in day with her black husband. So they drove out here one day, looked around Bryant Gardens, "and nobody told us we couldn't move there.”

“Just right from the very beginning. Barbara says, "there was a sense of community.'" And "it was exciting and fun and interesting... knowing the people in charge and in control-there was a certain attraction in that."

Charlie, the Russells' first child, was also Columbia's first baby. That may not count for much in the larger order of things• but. Barbara says, "I consider that an honor."

The Russells didn't expect to remain here for long when they moved in 10 years ago. But, like many other "pioneers,' they graduated from an apartment to a townhouse and finally to a home in Oakland Mills.

"Columbia continued to develop in a healthy and open way," Barbara comments. The family has stayed, not because this new city is the only place an interracial couple can live without harassment, but because, she explains, Columbia is "comfortable ... a happy place to live."

The Russells spent much of last summer in California. "Even though I was really enjoying every minute of it," Barbara says. "I missed my friends, I missed the Columbia Medical Plan. I missed" going to the supermarket and running into at least a few familiar faces.

This extended vacation reminded her-so much so that it was a surprise-"what a feeling of real roots" she has developed about Columbia.

She can't think of anything that would make her want to move away. "I hate the weather here," she laughs, and "I'm allergic to everything all summer," but "if we did leave. it would be a real wrenching experience."

What it all comes down to is that Barbara Russell is a Columbia pioneer who loves what she's found and isn't prepared to give it up.

Tom Graham