Dana Somerville was born on February 7, 1984 in Leonardtown, MD. She lived with her mother at her great-grandmother’s house until 1989 when she moved with her mother into the two-bedroom duplex unit at 66 Salamaua Court in Lexington Manor. Dana, her mother, her mother’s boyfriend, and her younger brother lived at Lexington Manor until 1993. They moved after her mother and mother’s boyfriend separated and her grandmother, who had remained in her old home, needed help around the house.
She remembers a diverse group of people living in the Flat Tops in units that were sometimes rundown but mostly very lively. In their duplex unit, Dana and her mother would often dance, play board games, or play video games. She said that although the Flat Tops had a bad reputation in St. Mary’s County, people generally did not mess with other people’s stuff. She remembers no community events besides small barbeques.
When in the Flat Tops she would often play games like dodge-ball, kickball, and tag among the trees within earshot of the house or in what later became Lancaster Park.
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.