Posted by Bob Nelson on Aug 09, 2017

Judith Welles is a writer and former journalist who has authored local history books about the area in which she lives including Cabin John: Legends and Life of an Uncommon Place and Lilly Stone.  She also wrote a worklife e-book for Kindle, Get a Life, Try This!  Judy was media relations manager for PricewaterhouseCoopers and IBM and a speechwriter for U.S. Cabinet members.  She has chaired the Montgomery County Commission on Aging, been a Board member of the C&O Canal Trust, and is a speaker on local history for the Montgomery County Historical Society. 

Topic: Lilly Stone (Grandmother of the late P-B Rotarian John Stone) Historic photos and a book tell the story of a daring woman who changed the landscape of business and culture in Montgomery County.  Lilly Stone was born during the Civil War and she died during the Cold War.  At the age of 63, in 1924, Lilly Stone began operating a quarry in Bethesda, Stoneyhurst, that provided stone for part of the National Cathedral, National Zoo and hundreds of area buildings and homes.  She ran a business generally considered "men's work" at a stage of life when many people retire.  Even later, at the age of 80, she inspired the Montgomery County flag and founded the Montgomery County Historical Society.  Letters from her son detail World War I and, remarkably, World War II brings German POWs to work in Bethesda at her quarry.  Books will be available for sale and signed by the author. 

Celebrating the 37th Anniversary of the chartering of the Potomac-Bethesda Rotary Club