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This week for Georgetown Time Machine, GM is visiting a legendary pharmacy that stood at the southwest corner of O and Wisconsin for many years. It was formally named Georgetown Pharmacy, but it was colloquially known as Doc Dalinksy’s after its longtime owner, Harold “Doc” Dalinsky.

The photo above shows the shop in 1977. Dalinsky retired and sold the shop just six years later in 1983. By that point, though, he had been running the shop for 48 years. And though it had a shabby appearance, it was quite the draw. As described in this New York Times article from the same year as the photo:

(GM would normally just grab some excerpts from old articles like this, but this one was just too full of details to slim down).

Even before Dalinski retired and sold the shop, people were gathering to honor his legacy. In 1982, the Times covered a gala held in Dalinsky’s honor, featuring a photo of the man himself:

Perhaps the gala was organized in anticipation of Dalinsky leaving the shop, because he did so just the next year. When Dalinsky died in 1992, the Post covered an impromptu memorial service held by some old regulars at the corner:

On a soggy corner of Georgetown yesterday, Doc Dalinsky’s friends and family and former customers danced and clapped under umbrellas while a fiddler fiddled and a baritone sang “If I Were a Rich Man” and an 8-by-10 brass plaque to Doc was dedicated while Arab merchants stood outside their shops and watched with puzzled looks.

“Doc,” said his widow, Marion, “would have loved this.”

Seemed like old times: good cigars, good bagels, good coffee, good-looking women (one with a puppy in her Gucci bag), famous newspapermen. It was a wake for Harry “Doc” Dalinsky, who ran the Georgetown Pharmacy on the corner of Wisconsin Avenue and O Street NW for 48 years. Dalinsky died earlier this month at the age of 82. He had Alzheimer’s disease. He was a card, a character, a cigar connoisseur, a matchmaker. As Georgetown got busier and glitzier — as the stores began selling thick gold chains, Nike tennis shoes and french fries — Doc’s remained a messy blast from the past until he retired in 1983.

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Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Unearthed article describes the rituals of a burial at Mt. Zion Cemetery.
• Georgetown knows how to get decked out for Halloween, that’s for sure.

On Monday, GM gave you some tips on how to catch sight of some glorious fall foliage. Today GM is going to give you some tips of how to get rid of it when the “fall” part of the season truly kicks in.

City Leaf Collection

Towards the end of the season, the city will send big crews around to collect leaves from the city streets. They go around slowly with what amounts to a giant vacuum cleaner sucking up all the leaves. The city asks you to rake your street leaves into tree boxes, where they will later suck them up.

How much later? The schedule for Ward 2 is below:

In short, if you’re on the east side of Wisconsin, they’ll be coming the week of Thanksgiving. If you’re on the west side, they’ll come the week after. Aim to collect the leaves into the tree boxes by the beginning of those respective weeks.

Garden Waste Collection

But let’s say you have leaves on the back of your house or you don’t want to wait for the end of Thanksgiving to get rid of the leaves. You can still have the city pick them up, but it will take an extra step or two.

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Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• How improvements to archive technologies helped the effort to bring to light GU’s slave-holding past.
• A door as symmetrical as it is beautifully decorated.

The 2022 general election has begun in DC! And if you’re wondering how to actual perform this essential civic duty, read on!

There are three ways to vote in DC: by mail/drop box, early, and on election day itself. Here are their respective details:

By Mail/Drop Box:

If you’re already registered to vote in DC, you should have received a mail-in ballot in the mail in the last two weeks. There should be a separate ballot for each registered voter in the household. This is perhaps the easiest way to vote. Simply fill out the ballot and put it in the return envelope and drop it in the mail. Alternatively you can drop it off in a ballot drop off box. The closest one to Georgetown it at the Georgetown public library on R St. (Make sure you put it in the ballot box and not the returned books slot!).

In either event, when making sure to follow all the directions on the ballot itself. Most importantly, put only one ballot in each return envelope. Any other household members voting by mail must use their own return envelops. If you try to group them in one return envelope, the Board of Elections won’t count them.

Also, make sure to sign and date the voter’s oath on the back of the return envelop. Without this signature, the Board of Elections won’t count your vote.

All ballots returned by mail must be sent by USPS and postmarked by Nov. 8th, the day of the general election, and ultimately received by the Board of Elections by Nov. 15th. Drop boxes can be used right up to 8 pm on Nov. 8th.

By Early Voting:

If you want a little more confidence that your vote will definitely be counted, you can still vote in person. And you don’t need to wait until Election Day to do that. You can start voting in-person on October 31st right through to Nov. 6th. You can vote early in Georgetown at the public library.

Election Day:

And of course you can do it the old fashioned way too! Between 7:00 am and 8:00 pm, you can vote in person on Election Day, Nov. 8th. Like with early voting, on Election Day you can vote at any open voting center. The most convenient location for Georgetowners on Election Day is likely Hardy Middle School (enter off of 35th St.).

Registration:

If you are a DC resident but not yet registered. Today is the last day to get registered! You can register online here. If you miss this date, have no fear! You can still use same-day registration. Just go to an early voting or election day vote center with some proof of residency (e.g. driver’s license, utility bill, etc.). Your vote still will be counted!

Any other questions you might have are likely answered at the Board of Elections website here.

And finally, if you live in northwest Georgetown, please vote for me!!

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Georgetown homes still ranking in the top most expensive around DC.
• Inside the disastrous GU student elections.

Fall foliage has finally arrived to Georgetown. And there are plenty places to take it in.

In 2013, Casey Trees pulled together some recommended walking routes around the city to take in the brightly changing leaves. In Georgetown it recommended a meandering trail through the heart of the village to enjoy its sugar maples:

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Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• As part of DC Water’s work on K St., there will be a bike route detour starting today.
• Fantastic DIY ghost walking tour for the neighborhood.