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Olney area residents relied on technology to help them stay connected and share information during the recent snowstorms.

During a time when cell phones filled in when land lines were down and students were able to get homework assignments via a school's Web site or even Facebook conversations with teachers, residents say they wonder how they would have survived without the electronic connections.

The Olney-Brookeville Exchange, a Yahoo group that has continued to grow since it started five years ago and recently welcomed its 1,000th member, was a main source of interaction during the storms.

While the listserv remains active all year long with members sharing information on topics ranging from garbage collection companies to orthodontists, it became an invaluable resource to residents stranded by the record snowfall.

"It's a very valuable community service and it seems like more and more people are realizing that," said Greater Olney Civic Association President Sharon Dooley. "It brings people together — it was important for people to learn that their streets weren't the only ones that had not been plowed, and it was great to see how people pitched in to help when it was requested."

Linda Silverstein moved to the area in 2005 as a working mother with two young children. She had lots of questions about the area and not many people to ask.

"A friend in Bethesda was telling me about their listserv and I suggested the idea to my sister, Andrea Brody, who also lives in the area," she said.

They began the Olney-Brookeville Exchange, commonly referred to as OBX.

During the snow, OBX members discussed snow totals, whose streets had not been plowed, which of the local grocery stores had milk, bread or flour, and which pizza places were open.

People put out pleas for help with shoveling and plowing and other members quickly responded with names and phone numbers.

Desperate parents pleaded for unwanted boots and snow pants so that their children could go out and play, while others took the opportunity to clear out closets and offer up those items and more.

While people were bored and looking for things to do, some people exchanged recipes for such delicacies as "The Best Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie." Several tried the recipe, and rated it as truly the best, big, fat, chewy chocolate chip cookie.

Others offered random acts of kindness. Alicia Mahmot offered to go to the grocery store and pick up necessities for those who had not been plowed. She did not get any takers, but instead received several e-mails from those who complimented her kindness.

Brookeville resident Heather Hoffman posted a message questioned the condition of roads. She had had a baby boy during the first of the two snowstorms and he was still at Montgomery General Hospital.

An OBX member quickly offered to drive her to the hospital in a four-wheel-drive vehicle, plus several other people emailed her to offer rides after seeing her post.

"It was so nice of people to offer to drive me," Hoffman said. "I was able to get a ride there, but I wasn't sure how I was going to get home. I took down all the phone numbers of the people who had e-mailed me, and it was a relief to know that I wouldn't be stranded there."

Silverstein, a social worker, said she is intrigued by how OBX members have created a sense of community and considers it a group of friends.

"It really is amazing," she said. "It has really created a sense of camaraderie, and I love to think that it what it has become."

Dooley has become an active member of the group and often uses it to disseminate important information to the community. She said OBX enabled her to reach a greater number of people than trying to reach people individually during the storms.

"In the old days, people used to have conversations over their back fence," she said. "We now have our conversations over an electronic fence."

Even County Councilman Michael J. Knapp (D-Dist. 2) used the listserv to share information on plowing during the snowstorm.

"I had Sharon Dooley forward information to the Olney-Brookeville Exchange because it was a good way to reach a lot of people in the community," he said. "That allowed them to e-mail back to my office to discuss their concerns. It's a very valuable tool."

Anne Rood, an Olney resident who was snowbound for an entire week, called OBX "a lifesaver."

"We couldn't get out of our street so it was helpful to find out what was going on with other people and what was going on throughout the community," she said.

Silverstein said she is pleased that OBX has become what she had envisioned. During the first half of this month, more than 825 messages were posted.

She estimates that she spends three to four hours each week approving new members, corresponding with people and compiling information into categorized files.

While she tries not to over-manage it, she admits that occasionally a controversy will arise.

"I like to believe that 90 percent of it is a good thing," she said. "I have gotten tremendous feedback, and people seem to appreciate it."