Carolyn Banks Summers Joins Board of Directors

The Franconia Museum is pleased to announce that Carolyn Banks Summers, a native of Franconia who grew up in Hayfield, has joined its Board of Directors.

Carolyn and her 14 fellow members of the Board will continue to work to preserve, protect and promote our cherished section of Fairfax County, Virginia.  Joining Carolyn on the Board are Carl Sell, President, Don Hakenson and Nathaniel Lee, Vice Presidents, Judy Hutchinson, Secretary and Jane Higham, Treasurer. Other members are Cary Nalls, Charlie Wood, Joyce and Bob Young, Carol Hakenson, Steve Sherman, Phyllis Walker Ford, Mary Smith and Jeff Langley.

“Carolyn brings another unique perspective to our Board,” President Sell said while announcing her appointment. The Banks Family will be remembered in perpetuity in Franconia and Hayfield now that the Banks Family Park, once a large gathering estate for the Banks family and their friends, is available for all as a “Special Place for Future Generations to Enjoy.”

The 10-acre property now belongs to the Fairfax County Park Authority through an acquisition arrangement that benefitted both the County and the family. The pastural setting in the midst of townhouse developments is already a favorite for those seeking nature’s quiet vibes.

Carolyn attended Browne Academy, Hayfield Elementary and Hayfield Secondary in Franconia. She spent a year at Bowie State University before transferring to the University of Maryland at College Park, where she earned a degree in African- American Studies and Photojournalism in 1983. Her career included work for MCI Telecommunications, and as administrator of a Christian School in Temple Hills, Maryland.

Carolyn’s parents, Olander and Margaret Lomax Banks, were married in 1941 and settled in Alexandria. Olander owned a cab company and Margaret worked at the Torpedo Factory on Alexandria’s waterfront. Olander also worked for Washington Gas before starting his own trucking company. That led to Banks Auto Repair and Banks Auto Parts, the latter of which became a highly successful Black-owned business that made Olander a multi-millionaire.

Olander and Margaret had nine children, all of whom have worked in the family business. Carolyn served as her father’s caretaker in the last years of his life and continues to help manage Banks Family Investment Properties. Olander and Margaret bought the Old Telegraph Road property in 1957 and lived in a small house there before a 27-room home was finished in 1963.

Carolyn and Hosea L. Summers were married in the large home on the occasion of her parents’ 50th wedding anniversary in 1991. They have two children, daughter Lindsay and son Robert, both graduates of Hayfield Secondary School. Both Hosea and Carolyn are retired, he after 27 years with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro). She is currently the Ambassador of Sales Supervisor for the McCormick and Schmick’s Restaurant location in National Harbor.

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FRANCONIA REMEMBERS:
This is one of the Franconia Museum’s occasional articles highlighting the area’s history. If you would like a friend to receive these FREE articles, contact us at franconia.museum.newsletter@gmail.com and membership is also encouraged, so that we can continue our work. The Museum is in the Franconia Government Center, currently located at 6121 Franconia Road, Alexandria, Virginia 22310. The hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. The Museum is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization, as approved by the Internal Revenue Service.