Recently I stopped into the Silver Spring Trader Joe's grocery store and was very saddened by what I didn't see.
Allow me to explain.
Prior to this location opening in spring 2005, the manager contacted the Silver Spring Historical Society asking us if we had any old photos of Silver Spring that their staff artists could use as models for a mural that he wanted to be painted as part of the store's Silver Spring-themed decor.
"Of course we have photos you may use!" I replied, even though I no more thought of their location at 10741 Columbia Pike...almost 3 miles out Colesville Road from downtown Silver Spring...as being located in Silver Spring then I think of the location of the former Naval Surface Warfare Center on New Hampshire Avenue in White Oak as being in Silver Spring (which it is).
Two young women named Julie and Leah met with me a short time later to look at the many images of old Silver Spring that are in the historical society's archives. They chose about a dozen images which were provided at no cost to Trader Joe's. The only thing that SSHS requested was that a sign be placed near the mural indicating that assistance was provided by the Silver Spring Historical Society.
Before Julie and Leah departed, they took a Polaroid photo of me and said they would recreate the photo as a stand-up display that would be placed in the store, along with other similar portraits, of folks proclaiming how much they like Trader Joe's.
Several months later when the store opened, customers were met with a mural that extended nearly the full length of one wall of the store. Located primarily over the deli case, the mural depicted a "Main Street" view of a town with several of the buildings depeicted being clearly (at least to me) reproduced from the photos provided.
Familiar Silver Spring landmarks such as the (top) ca. 1850s Acorn Gazebo and the 1938 Silver Theatre and Silver Spring Shopping Center and (bottom, left to right) 1845 Silver Spring mansion, 1937 Silver Spring post office, and 1946 Canada Dry bottling place were incorporated into the Trader Joe's mural, completed in 2005. All photos by Jerry A. McCoy.
And sure enough there I was...a three ft.-high caricature rendered in acrylic on plywood placed above the section of the deli case where the prepared sandwiches were!
Over the years it was kind of fun to see myself immediatedly to the left as I entered the store. Once in a while I would tell the cashier when checking out that I was the guy above the deli case. At first they didn't believe me but after they took a quick look at the very accurate rendition of myself they were always impressed.
Cashiers may be easy to impress but not managers. In early 2008 I visited the store and my caricature was nowhere to be seen. I asked the manager what happened to it and he said it was thrown out along with all of the other portrait stand-up displays. I was devastated and more than a little ticked off that they didn't have the courtesy to contact me to see if I wanted it. I shouldn't have been surprised though, as they never did get around to installing the sign that I had asked for indicating that SSHS had assisted in the production of the mural.
And then, this past weekend I went in to buy a case of Poland Spring seltzer water (which they don't seem to carry any more) and the entire mural streetscape was gone! It had been completely painted over with robin egg blue paint upon which had been painted puffy clouds. The only evidence remaining of the original Silver Spring-themed decor is the four curled spurting water jets that were lifted from the Silver Spring Regional Center logo.
Maybe Trader Joe's got tired of the Silver Spring homage. Maybe it will have better luck with illustrating where they really are....Burnt Mills.
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