Come help us celebrate:
the 30th Anniversary of the Westchester Community Center
and
the 50th Anniversary of the Greater Oella Community Association
and
the 100th Anniversary of the construction of the Westchester Consolidated School (which now houses the Community Center).
Saturday, May 18, 2024
Rain or Shine (to be moved inside in case of rain)
12 pm to 5pm
Westchester Community Center
2414 Westchester Avenue, Oella, MD 21043
Lunch 12-1:30pm
Speeches 2-2:30pm followed immediately by cake-cutting
3-5pm tours of the Community Center
Live Music from (TBD) will take place throughout the day
All questions regarding event planning and breakdown of the schedule should be directed to Steve Schreiner at [email protected].
All current and past elected officials will be introduced at 2:00pm. All are invited to deliver some brief remarks during this historic event in our community.
Here’s a little history of what we are celebrating:
In 1924 the Westchester Consolidated School was built by Baltimore County to replace several one-room schoolhouses in the area. It later became the Westchester Annex housing the lower grades for the original Westchester Elementary School (now Catonsville Middle School). It was closed by the county in 1977 and sat vacant until 1994.
In 1974 the Greater Oella Community Association was formed to advocate for and keep the community of Oella informed. At this time a large portion of the community had no indoor plumbing. This changed when water and sewer lines were finally installed in 1983. Oella is now a highly desirable part of Baltimore County in which to call home!
In 1994 the Westchester Community Center was established by a creative partnership between the Oella community and Baltimore County Government. The partnership involved county government leasing the once dilapidated, long-vacant school building to the community for $1 per year in exchange for long-term community responsibility for management, maintenance, and repair of the building.
Today, the center is run by the Westchester Center Foundation, a non-profit organization of the community which oversees operations of the facility. The county performed lead abatement and installed new windows before turning the building over to the Foundation. This is the only cooperative partnership between Baltimore County and a third-party organization that has succeeded over the long run.
Over the years the Foundation has benefited from State Bond Bills to make further improvements to the building, and it serves a thriving center for the community to this day.
For more information some of the residents and their impact on the community of Oella, please visit www.weloveoella.com/about-oella/oella-stories/.
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