Author Ann Harris Davidson has lived in six countries on four continents. Since settling in Berwyn Heights in 1989, she has undertaken projects to enrich and preserve her town's quality of life.
Title: From Paris to Prince George's County: Town historian proud
to call Berwyn Heights home
Author: Joshua Garner
Publisher: Maryland Gazette
Date: 112/24/2008 Call her the "international woman." Ann Harris
Davidson spent decades hopping across the globe in Africa, North
America, Europe, and Australia before settling down in the town of
Berwyn Heights nearly 20 years ago, where she grew roots as a
community activist and local historian. This year the native
Swaziland became a citizen of the U.S. In March, she published her
first book, ''Berwyn Heights: Then and Now." With it she hopes to
recognize that the history of the town is important not only to
current residents but also to those in the future. But her road to
town historian has been guided by a global view. She's worked in
Paris, went to college in Canada. She's taught school in Australia
and grew up in southern Africa. After meeting her husband, Stephen
White, who accepted a job as a senior research scientist at the
University of Maryland, College Park, she set sail from Paris to
Prince George's County. "To one degree or another, I miss all the
places I've lived, but I am as happy and comfortable [in Berwyn
Heights] as I've been anywhere else," she said. "Once one has
traveled a lot, one can adapt to most areas." But the move from
Paris in 1989 left her without a job - despite having a bachelor's
degree in education and a master's degree in public health, her
visa did not allow her to work. But she said she kept busy with her
newborn child and sudden interest in local activism, where she
advocated for school desegregation, was a board member of the
school system's community advisory council and was instrumental in
the reopening of Berwyn Heights Elementary School in the late
1990s. "I just had to make do and use my skills and abilities to
make myself useful in other ways," she said. Nearly 20 years later,
those skills and abilities Davidson used are still at work. She
spends her time juggling work as a board member for the Prince
George's County Historical Society, writing educational grants and
tutoring students for standardized tests. "I don't really have an
average day," she said. And then there is her self-appointed task
of being a historian for Berwyn Heights. She became intensely
interested in researching the town after finding out that her house
was originally a Sears catalog home. Soon she found herself digging
through news clips and interviewing people who lived in the town
during the 1920s and '30s. There were, of course, the sordid town
stories she enjoyed: the one of young children stealing items from
the town or the one where a man married his former stepmother.
These tales, and others like them, helped inspired "Berwyn Heights:
Then and Now," which can purchased at most local book stores. "I
hope there will be recognition that [Berwyn Heights'] history is
important and that it will be enjoyed by future residents," she
said. But some within the town are already recognizing Davidson's
mission. "I've never seen anyone who has such an avid interest in
history," said Edward Murphy, town administrator for Berwyn
Heights. "She brings to the town this tremendous interest in the
education of history." With her globe-trotting days behind her,
Davidson said she is looking forward to continuing her efforts as
both a historian and a local activist. She hopes to write more
books in the future, she said, but for now is keenly focused on the
present. "One must live for the moment - not for the past or
future," she said.
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