Raymond Cyrus was born on July 22, 1946 in La Plata, MD. His father had worked at Naval Air Station Patuxent River since its opening but commuted from Indian Head until he received housing in the three-bedroom apartment at 75 E. Rennell Avenue in the Flat Tops sometime in the early 1950s.
Raymond attended Frank Knox Elementary School, Esperanza Middle School, and Great Mills High School while he lived in the Flat Tops. When Route 235 was being constructed, he hitched rides to school on construction vehicles. He used to sneak on the Navy base in order to go swimming and take advantage of the drill hall. When not on the base or in school, Raymond was usually playing with friends in the woods. He spent many evenings watching TV with friends.
Some of his favorite events were the air shows on the Navy base. The only change he remembers while living there was when the coal furnaces in the apartments were replaced with oil furnaces. When Raymond was 16 his father bought land in Ridge and moved the family out of the Flat Tops. One of his fondest memories is when all of the fire hydrants in the neighborhood were opened, and he went rafting down the streets in an inner tube. Raymond remembers the Flat Tops as a fine neighborhood and a good place to grow up.
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.