Gregg Prillaman RESIDENT ARTICLE

March 21, 2022 at 11:55 am

Some Interesting History About Canterbury Woods
Written by Gregg Prillaman 8415 Queen Elizabeth Blvd., Jan. 21, 2022

My wife, Cindy, and I were at an open house here in Canterbury Woods a few months ago and struck up a conversation with two newer residents about the history of the neighborhood going back to colonial days and the Civil War and then when the houses were built in the 1960s. Susan DiMaina was also in the conversation and asked if I would write a piece to share with the rest of the community – particularly those folks who are recent arrivals. Susan is pretty persuasive, so I agreed.

By way of history, Cindy and I moved into our house at 8415 Queen Elizabeth Blvd. (at the corner of QE and Wakefield Chapel Road) in August of 1979 and, except for a few years overseas, have lived here ever since (42 years). We bought the house from Dalton and Auguste Bell who were the original owners. They signed the contract with the builders on March 21, 1964 to buy the lot (#114 in Phase 2) and have the house built, and took possession of the house on April 20 of 1965. The Bells left us a folder with the original sales information for the house and some marketing materials for Canterbury Woods. We also learned about the history of CW from our neighbors Bill and Betty Bowman who were the original owners of 8414 QE. Bill had always been active in the community, and Betty had been part of the sales team for the builders. When people came to the sales office Betty was one of the reps who described the development, house models, prices, options, etc. So she knew a lot about the community, the houses, and the builder. And we heard early stories from our neighbors Jack and Ann Crogan who moved into 8417 QE about 1968 with their family, including their son, Pat, who still lives there with his wife Pam. Pat grew up in Canterbury Woods and remembers clearly when houses were still being built, when Queen Elizabeth ended before the school, when all of the back yards ran together, when the two houses on Magdalene Ct. were destroyed by a gas leak, and much more.
So here are some of the things we learned from those sources and others.

CWCA Annual Meeting Video Link (21 April 2020)

April 21, 2020 at 10:28 pm

Here is the link for the CWCA annual meeting held on the 21st of April. If you could not attend, you can view the video to see the entire meeting. Thank you to our guest speaker; Lainie Cooke Shifflett who is a Management Analyst for the Recycling, Compliance, and Planning Division of the Solid Waste Management Program, DPWES.
She spoke about the Petition process for County trash collection/recycling/yard waste and leaf collection. If you missed the meeting and had any questions you can contact her at:Desk Phone: 703-324-5697Email: Lainie.Shifflett@fairfaxcounty.gov

Fairfax County Petition for Trash Collection Services

April 17, 2020 at 8:31 pm

Update on 4/23/2020 – You should have received the mailer in your mailbox. The signature page did not match the instruction sheet, so the new signature page has been added for download below. Sorry about the inconvenience! Please download the updated form and send that one in for your vote.

Dear Residents, You will be receiving a mailer from the CWCA Board with instructions on how to sign the Petition for requesting our neighborhood to receive Fairfax County Trash Collection and Leaf Pickup Services. Below is the instruction letter that you will receive, and the attachments are attached as a .pdf file. If you do not receive the mailer, you can download the attached .pdf files, print them out and drop your signature page in my mailbox at 8706 Prudence Drive. We will also discuss the petition during the online meeting on the 21st of April between 7 and 8:30 pm.

Dear Canterbury Woods Resident,

The CWCA Board has distributed information about the petition to move our neighborhood to Fairfax County Trash Collection Services through multiple venues.  The dissemination methods have included those listed below:  

All residents are required to be contacted with respect to the petition for Fairfax County trash collection services.  In order for your vote to be counted, you need to fill out the signature page enclosed in this mailer, place it in the pre-paid envelope that has been included, and mail in your vote.  These are your options:

  • Sign Petition #1; If you only want the county to provide Trash Collection/Recycling/Yard Waste services then sign ONLY Petition #1
  • Sign Petition #1 AND Petition #2; If you want the county to provide Trash Collection/Recycling/Yard Waste and Vacuum truck leaf collection services then you need to sign in two places.  Sign Petition #1 AND Petition #2
  • Do Not Support: If you do not wish to receive Fairfax County Trash Collection Services or Leaf Collection service then sign the I do not support section
  • I’m Not the homeowner: If you are not the homeowner, then please provide the homeowners contact information and return the envelope.

Please read the enclosed attachments.  Trash Collection services will be assessed on your tax bill at $385/year.  Vacuum leaf collection would also be assessed on your tax bill based upon your assessed value; currently $65-$85 per year for our neighborhood.  Any questions please contact the CWCA Board.   Thank you!! Dale Johnson

Trash Petition Meeting Video from the 25 March meeting

March 24, 2020 at 6:19 pm

Residents,
Sorry about those who dialed into the number provided, that was the number from the test meeting that we did, and Meetings generated a new number, so Lesson Learned for me on ensuring we give you the right number!  We did record the video, and obviously we don’t have the highest quality video, but at least you can see and hear what is going on, in case you missed the first part of the meeting.  Thanks to everyone that got into the meeting and participated and thanks to Lainie Shifflett from the county for her time!  Here is the link to watch the video.
https://youtu.be/R3_MGs4yvZk