Wildlife and Families Flock to Whetstone

Whetstone was designed with quiet cul-de-sacs ideal for children's play. Matthew Thompson, 6, rides his scooter near his family's home in the neighborhood. (Photos Stephanie K. Kuykendal For The Washington Post)

Geese swarmed the front yard of a Colonial-style house on Whetstone Drive one recent morning, but passing joggers gave them no more than a glance. More geese milled and honked on another tidy lawn across the street, while dozens others spilled over from nearby Lake Whetstone onto grassy banks.

Geese are part of the scenery in the Whetstone neighborhood of Montgomery Village, just a gate away from fast-paced thoroughfares and big-box stores.

So are hawks and blue herons, white pine and cherry trees, and a steady flow of walkers, runners and children in strollers.

While the geese are a nuisance to some, especially to those whose lawns are invaded, most residents consider them part of living near a lake. "I'm not bothered by them," said Kate Waters, who lives along the lake and who has a pre-kindergartner who finds the geese entertaining. "You've got water, you're going to have waterfowl. I love the fact that you have a little island [in the middle of the lake] that is a nesting ground for the blue heron."

Whetstone is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Montgomery Village, a planned community north of Gaithersburg started by Kettler Brothers Homes four decades ago. In such communities, homes conform to certain standards and the developer tries to incorporate recreation, public space and services.

In Whetstone, the idea seems to have worked. "Family friendly," "great for walking," "nice parks" nearby, "safe" and "quiet" are ways residents recently described the neighborhood.

"We lived in a different neighborhood before this one, and no one talked to you," said Tammy MacLaren, who moved to Whetstone 7½ years ago with one child. She now has four. "I know if I have an emergency, I can go knocking on the neighbors' door. You can borrow a cup of sugar, or someone can give you a ride or, if you have go out to deliver a baby, someone can watch your kids," she added, speaking from experience. She is grateful to her neighbors for watching her other young children while she delivered her fourth earlier than expected in July.

The section consists of 447 single-family houses in four subdivisions: Courts of Whetstone, Goshenside, Lakeside, and Ridges of Whetstone. Other houses are organized along circular Whetstone Drive, the only through street. Smaller streets branch off in alphabetical order to small circles or cul-de-sacs, such as Annapolis Way, Breckenridge Place and Canal Road. Each dead end or circle thus becomes a smaller entity within the whole.

The amenities within Whetstone include the man-made lake along one side, and a sprawling swimming pool-community center and park complex along the other. In between are four- and five-bedroom houses with enough yard space to accommodate families. Paths between the houses create shortcuts to the swimming pool, tennis courts and lake. A pedestrian tunnel beneath Centerway Road allows children to walk to Whetstone Elementary School without having to cross a street.

There is no swimming, wading or ice skating in or on the lake, but there is canoeing, kayaking, fishing and a great deal of nature appreciation.

The setting was a big draw for Waters and her husband, Michael, when they moved five years ago from a house on the West River outside of Annapolis. Although their teenage son next year will have to travel more than half an hour daily to school in Washington, they intend to stay. "I like the neighborhood," Waters said. "It's quiet, yet it's a community, and we're close enough to town that it's convenient."

The community center overlooks the swimming pool and is used year-round for preschool, children's art classes, club meetings and social events. In summer, many residents head to the Whetstone pool -- or any of six other pools in Montgomery Village.

Homeowners include a mix of neighborhood pioneers and younger families who are relative newcomers. Jack and Marilyn O'Connell moved in with five children and a dog to an eight-month-old house in 1969, when Jack relocated from New York to a new job at International Business Machines Corp., which used to occupy a building nearby on Route 355.

"What we liked was the family feeling," said Marilyn O'Connell. There were bike paths for their five children, who could also walk to school. Many other children lived nearby.