Happy 100th Birthday to a Greendale Original

Greendale might be getting ready to celebrate its 75th anniversary, but one local man has the village beat by about a quarter of a century.

Life was very different back in 1938 in the newly built Village of Greendale, and very few residents can remember it first-hand, but that's not the case for Ervin Kazik, one of the first residents to live here. Kazik will gather with family and friends on Sunday, November 27 to celebrate his 100th birthday, which will take place on November 29.

Kazik was a young newlywed when he and his wife, Elinore, were given a chance to move into one of the new four-family rental units on Carnation Court. It was during World War II and and there was a shortage of housing through-out the U.S., so many young couples had been living with family members, including the Kaziks.

Kazik said he wasn't recruited by the military because he had a job then as a buyer for a pharmaceautical company, although he had six brothers who all served in the armed services, and two sisters.

He was very grateful to be given the opportunity to move into Greendale and looks back fondly on his days living in the village. At the time, there were 366 multi-family homes in the village, which were owned by the federal government. According to the Greendale Historical Society website, the community was developed to provide good housing at reasonable cost and was built on the "garden city model," which meant residents could walk to the town center and have easy access to green spaces and jobs.

Kazik recalls visiting the variety store, barbershop, drugstore and movie theater among other businesses in the village at the time, all of which were located on the west side of Broad Street.

He said there was only one school in Greendale then, a K-12 school. He said there were regular tenant meetings held among the residents and that most of his neighbors on Carnation Court would have frequent evening get-togethers to socialize.

The Kaziks had one son, Erv, who spent his early years in Greendale and later started Erv's Mug restuarant on Ryan Road in Franklin.

Kazik said they lived in Greendale until they decided to build a new home, because it wasn't until 1949 that the federal government decided to give residents the option to purchase their homes.

He was married to Elinore for 49 years, until she passed away in 1985. Four years later, at the age of 84, he married his second wife, Irene. They were married until she passed away in 2009.

"Everybody thought we were nuts when we decided to get married," Kazik says with a laugh, recalling his second marriage.

They thought he was even nuttier when he bought a brand new car at the age of 95.     

He still lives in his own home, drives his own car, actively plays the stock-market and mowed his own lawn up until two years ago. He doesn't play golf much anymore either, but he loves to bake and every year makes hundreds of Christmas cookies. He is also still active in his church, "Our Lady Queen of Peace' in Milwaukee.

Asked what his secret is to living so long, Kazik says, "Everything in moderation. That includes eating and exercise."

He said he only smoked for a short time and during prohibition couldn't stand the taste of 'boot-leg booze' so he never really developed a taste for alcohol either, although he will occasionally treat himself to an Old-Fashioned or a Manhatten nowadays.

Kazik says while some things in Greendale have pretty much stayed the same, like the Village Hall, he marvels at the improvements made to the Greendale Originals, as the residences are called like the one he once lived in.

"Because of the war, everything was built as cheaply as possible at the time. It's interesting to see all the changes people have made to the homes since then, like new siding, garages, etc."

He should know - even though he no longer lives in the village, he manages to make it back on a regular basis. He's a fixture at music and sporting events for his two great-grandsons who go to school here - Justin, who is in sixth grade at Greendale Middle School, and Josh, who's a sophomore at Greendale High School.

So the next time you're at one of those schools... which weren't even in existance back in the day... if you see Ervin Kazik, be sure to wish him a Happy 100th Birthday. After all, it'll be another quarter century until the Village catches up to him.