Paradise On The Magothy

In the movie “The Wizard of Oz,” Dorothy shared the iconic phrase, “There’s no place like home.”

For 20 children who were raised in the idyllic Whitehurst community, their dream of returning “home” has come true as well as providing their children the same “utopian” surroundings they experienced a generation ago.

“We’re a true definition of community,” said Whitehurst resident Ali Mikiska. “It was always a very close neighborhood when I grew up here and we have continued that tradition of caring for your neighbor.”

Whitehurst has 150 homes along the Magothy River, and the first homes were constructed in the late 1960s. It was known as the Whitehurst farm from 1938 to the mid ‘60s, and its rich history goes back to the famous Baltimore Sun writer Folger McKinsey, who owned 500 acres with six miles of waterfront property on the Magothy River.

Many communities on the east side of Ritchie Highway were built during the 1960s and 1970s, including Oakleigh Forest, Fair Oaks, Cape Arthur and North Cape Arthur.

Since then, Whitehurst residents have developed a unique bond that has lasted through generations, and the community has provided homeowners with a serene and safe place to raise children.

“Our typical summer day growing up in Whitehurst was swim team practice early in the morning, followed by taking a boat ride to Dobbins Island and swimming by the island, then coming back and hanging out by the pool,” said resident Erica Mules. “It was so cool that our parents would call the community pool if they were looking for us because they knew where we would be.”

As the younger generation went off to college and purchased their first homes, many of them knew that the community spirit and caring neighbors they had growing up in Whitehurst were special.

Slowly the migration of the “children” coming back to Whitehurst began. Through communication between former childhood friends who discussed properties going up for sale, the baby-boomer generation’s kids came home, including some who moved back into the homes they grew up in.

One of the common bonds that the residents have is organizing events for children and adults to celebrate holidays and special occasions.

“We really try to have fun by scheduling activities throughout the year,” said resident Betz Wild. “Our activities range from breakfast with Santa (to) Easter egg hunts, volleyball games, Halloween parades, July 4 celebrations, community plays, Friday night grilling at the clubhouse, progressive Christmas dinners and New Year’s Eve parties where you stop at everyone’s house for some spirits.”

Tim Krauss, who has overseen the neighborhood’s Fourth of July fireworks for 10 years, said that this sensational community spirit was “the only thing I knew growing up, but it took going away for a while to appreciate how special Whitehurst was.”

Whitehurst resident Kathy Brennan has a unique connection to Severna Park: she taught math at Severna Park Middle School for 28 years. “It was always great to have Whitehurst kids in my class, and they were good students because they knew I was friends with their parents, and we would see each other all the time at our community events.”

Whitehurst neighbors take pride in caring for one another, especially helping the elderly. The oldest residents are 105 and 98 years old.

“If we have a storm and lose power, we make sure we get generators to those homes so our elderly residents have power to heat or cool their homes, for medical equipment, as well as cook,” Wild said.

In his book “You Can’t Go Home Again,” Thomas Wolfe had a quote that captures the same sentiment shown by Whitehurst residents, who have spent decades caring for their neighbors: “Some things will never change. Some things will always be the same.”