South on His Family’s History « People's District

South on His Family’s History

Tuesday, December 7th, 2010

“My family has been in the area for about 250 years. We’ve been here for so long that we still like to think that D.C. is a part of Maryland. My family has a long history of service to this city and the nation. A member of my family was one of the first commissioners of Georgetown, appointed by the crown to develop the city. This was before the revolution. My grandfather was South Tremble, the Clerk of the House of Representatives. He was a big democrat out of Kentucky. My Dad was David Lynn, the Seventh Architect of the Capitol. So we like it here and the city has been good to us.

The flooring business has been an interesting way to see this city.

“Because my Dad was the architect of the Capitol, he had all of the privileges that the senators and congressmen had. As his kid, that meant that I could go to the Capitol Page School, which was the high school in the Capitol, and got a job running the elevator in the Capitol and in the House office building. It was a patronage job.

“I spent a lot of time around the Capitol, but I grew up on Wisconsin Avenue, across from McLean Gardens. I remember when I used to climb the stone wall to Evelyn Walsh Mclean’s estate and jump in her swimming pool. You know what? I never got caught.

“During World War II, I went off to serve in the Navy. When I came back, I finished high school and then went to the University of Maryland. After graduating, I didn’t know what I wanted to do. My brother was working for a building supplier and got me a job at a flooring company. I started in the flooring business 57 years ago and I am still there full-time. I turned the business over to my two boys ten years ago. I may not be in charge anymore, but I still give them hell all of the time.

“The flooring business has been an interesting way to see this city. We have put down floors in the Supreme Court, Library of Congress, Archives, and Treasury Department to name a few. They are usually small jobs because most of those buildings have stone or marble floors and we work in hardwood. In my 57 years, our business has been like an accordion, growing and shrinking depending on business and the economy. Even when times are tough, I love this work. If I had to do it all over again. I would do it all over again the same way. I wouldn’t change a thing.”