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BACK IN THE DAY — A BEDROOM COMMUNITY

Is Frederick County a bedroom community? Growing up in Frederick City in the 1940s and ’50s, that wasn’t a phrase used often. In fact, there were many large manufacturing companies and government agencies located within the area, hiring the vast majority of residents. And, that’s not to mention the many farms and farm-related businesses that made agriculture the county’s number one industry.

However, when the 1960s rolled around, that’s what you heard many people in the area talking about. Is Frederick just becoming a “bedroom community?” As more planned unit communities are built, and fewer businesses opening, will people begin working in the surrounding larger cities, coming home to Frederick only to sleep? As a young person just starting a family in Frederick at the time, there was an implied negative connotation to the words. Did someone really want to live in a “bedroom community?” Is it the kind of area in which you’d want to raise your children?

I’ve since learned that living in a “bedroom community” is just where I want to be, although I don’t now, nor have I ever really believed that’s what this county is.

When I was growing up in Frederick City, we knew everyone on both sides of the street within the block where we lived. And even many of the neighbors in blocks farther away. We knew their names, their kids if they had any, and they were the kinds of people you always spoke to if you or they were out walking. Cool summer evenings were spent outside, cutting grass, playing games, and other activities that would afford an opportunity to talk with and socialize with the neighbors.

Now I will admit, after I was married and moved out of my family home, there was a time when I couldn’t tell you the names of my neighbors. But usually there were at least a few that I would get to know and with whom I’d become friends.

During the late ’60s and throughout the ’70s, it seemed that Frederick County was indeed becoming one in which people lived, but many commuted to work, at least 40 to 50 miles away. Frederick had become a suburb of the Baltimore and Washington D.C. areas, and many people moved here to get the real feel of living in suburbia. Again, not a bad connotation.

With the loss of such businesses as Ox Fibre Brush Company, The Everedy Company, and a number of other large manufacturing companies, the workforce in the county seemed to be dwindling. More and more residents were finding jobs out of the area. And, then came the 1980s. Since then, according to statistics, private employers have increased more than 80 percent, and employment has risen 66 percent. With new and expanding companies countywide, more than 11,000 new jobs have been created in just the past five years. At this time, there are 5,830 businesses in the county, employing nearly 76,000 workers. And, new businesses are opening every year.

The population, of course, has increased mightily in recent years. The population in 1970, according to the national census, was 84,927, growing to 114,792 in 1980. This was a 35 percent growth in just 10 years, the largest growth rate ever shown. (Compare this to the 1900 count of 51,920. Not too much growth in the first 60 years of the century.) In 2010, the population in the county stood at 243,200, and between now and 2030, is expected to grow to 339,700.

The good news is that the number of new jobs in the county is on the increase. Some of the largest employers are expanding their workforces, and new companies are opening each year.

Does this mean we will not be a “bedroom community” in years to come? The good news is, who cares? Some residents will always commute to other areas to work, just as those who live elsewhere come to Frederick County every day for their jobs. At the present time, it is estimated that about 40 percent of the workforce are employed at least 40 to 50 miles from their homes.

The people in Frederick County live here mainly because they enjoy a family-oriented quality of life. Whether they’re best friends with their neighbors or not, this is where family time is spent. And, Frederick County today, just as it did back in the day, offers much to residents of all ages. It’s home. I don’t know about you, but it’s for sure where I want to live.

 

 

 

 

 

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