Teresa Schaffer was born March 27, 1916 in Washington, DC. She moved to the Lexington Park/Flat Tops in 1952 in order to reduce stress related to driving from Mechanicsville to the Patuxent River Naval Air Station for work every day.
She lived at 45 Tanner Avenue which was a three-bedroom duplex unit, then moved to 83 Rennell Avenue when her brother moved in with the family in 1958. In 1965, 83 Rennell Avenue was demolished, and she again moved to a new four-bedroom duplex unit at 4 Misima Place until she was told to move out in 1966, and the property was transferred to private ownership from the government. The house was heated using coal and wood.
Her fondest memory was when her sister, Margaret Grace Fairfax, moved to the Lexington Park/Flat Tops with her family. She wants people to remember that the Flat Tops were a godsend for a lot of people who came to St. Mary’s County for work but had few options for housing.
Text Courtesy of "An Oral History of Lexington Park/Lexington Manor (also known as “Flat Tops”) MHT/OHC 028 (SM-LXM)" Master Report created by the St. Mary’s County Board of County Commissioners. Copyright protected by the St. Mary’s County Board of County Commissioners 2007. Reproduced with permission.