Between The Forest And The Hills

A humorous fantasy tale set in ancient Britain. Iscium, an isolated Roman town in the west of Britain, is cut off from the collapsing Empire. Most of the town senators and officials are primarily concerned with keeping a low profile with the neighboring barbarians and renovating the city baths--with the exception of the crotchety old bishop. But when young Falx runs away, and finds a lost barbarian girl, things begin to happen. The children are brought back by a one-eyed merchant who returns them to an Iscium quivering with the possibility of a barbarian invasion. The mysterious merchant has a plan--involving two talking ravens and The Hallelujah Chorus--and life is never quite the same again, for either the Romans or their invaders. A zany mix of history, humor, and the miraculous--in the satisfying tradition of Don Camillo. Ages 14 and up.

Aptly named because of its hilly terrain and abundance of trees, the area now known as Forest Hills was a dusty coal mining community in the late 1800s. Centered between two major roads, the Lincoln Highway (Ardmore Boulevard/U.S. Route 30) and the Greensburg Pike, Forest Hills was incorporated in 1919 in order to gain better representation for tax money. Technology put the town on the map with the first commercial licensed radio station broadcast in 1920 and the Westinghouse Atom Smasher, built in 1937. As the borough grew with new houses, schools, and parks, so did traditions such as the Fourth of July celebration at Forest Hills Park and the Bryn Mawr Corn Roast. Many who live in the community are third or fourth generation residents. Using vintage photographs, Forest Hills presents the untold story of this tight-knit community.

Forest Hills grew out of an experiment - the transformation of 142 undeveloped acres into America's first garden city. From the early renderings of 1909 came a "fairy-book suburb," as Sinclair Lewis wrote, with architecture that was inspired by medieval villages. The success of the community bred development of homes, churches, and businesses on nearby plots. Forest Hills landed the most prestigious tennis tournament in the country. Theodore Roosevelt visited. Helen Keller moved in. Only generations later would the peace shatter when residents viciously protested a historic proposal for public housing.

The Forest Hills neighborhood is set within a heavily treed, rolling landscape adjoining Rock Creek Park and was first home to the Piscataway Indian tribe and later to Civil War encampments. Threshing mills and large rural estates gradually gave way in the early 1900s to a residential community in close proximity to the National Bureau of Standards where many of the residents worked. Diplomats, politicians, and many prominent Washingtonians now inhabit many of the splendidly designed houses found in Forest Hills today. 0Images of America: Forest Hills includes nearly 200 vintage images that document the long and fascinating history of the community. Etchings, maps, and photographs combine to illustrate Native American settlers; architect-designed residences; and the homes of Presidents Truman and Johnson, infamous FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, and Post cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post. The book also highlights Connecticut Avenue, the neighborhood's main street; apartment buildings; and well-known artists and authors who have called Forest Hills home.

In 1906, Cord Meyer Development Company purchased 600 acres in Whitepot and renamed it Forest Hills after its high elevation of rolling hills and proximity to Forest Park. After the Russell Sage Foundation acquired 142 acres and Grosvenor Atterbury and Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. partnered, the Forest Hills Gardens, founded in 1909, became America's earliest planned garden community. When Henry Schloh and Charles Hausmann of the Rego Construction Company came upon farmland in Forest Hills West, they renamed it Rego Park in 1923 after their slogan, "REal GOod Homes." Between the Tudor and Colonial landmarks, one can sense the footsteps of a few hundred notables who granted soul to the community and society. At the Forest Hills Tennis Stadium, imagine the Beatles landing in a helicopter in front of screaming fans in 1964, or when Althea Gibson became the first African American to win a US national tennis title in 1957. Forest Hills High School was a cornerstone for notable alumni, such as composer Burt Bacharach; musical duo Simon & Garfunkel; Bob Keeshan, who portrayed Captain Kangaroo; and the first space tourist, Dennis Tito.

A litte boy with a kind heart listened to the words of his wise grandmother. She taught him that if he trusted and listened to the forest, it would reveal great surprises. When he meets a beautiul little bird, he knows the forest has sent him a secret friend. But the little bird is clearly lost. Can the little boy and the animals of the forest help the little bird find his way home?