Douglas Medley was born June 1, 1944. His parents, who were then living in the Flat Tops, had moved to St. Mary’s County for work during the construction of the Naval Air Station Patuxent River in the early ‘40s. The family lived in a two-bedroom duplex unit at 25 Tanner Avenue until they moved to a three-bedroom unit at 24 Coral Place because there was not enough room.
He remembers a safe and friendly neighborhood where kids played freely in the streets and woods. Children would play pranks on the Shore Patrol. His family moved to the new development at Patuxent Park in 1957. In 1960, Doug joined the Lexington Park Volunteer Fire Department, now known as the Bay District Volunteer Fire Department, Lexington Park Station. The firehouse was one of his favorite hang-outs as a teenager.
In 1966, he became the mail carrier for the Flat Tops. In 1966, after graduating from high school and getting married, he moved back into the Flat Tops to the two-bedroom duplex unit at 6 Salamaua Court. He stayed there with his wife and his first daughter until 1966 when they moved to Patuxent Park. He noticed many differences in how the community was maintained in the late 1960s after the land had been sold to private enterprise in 1963. Overall, he describes the Flat Tops as “Americana at its best.”
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.