Greendale's 75th Birthday Party to Include Balloon Release!

There are five things you need for a Great Birthday Party:

1. Famous Birthday 
2. Famous Guests
3. Fabulous Presents
4. Gigantic Birthday Cake
5. Tons of Balloons

No problem. This Wednesday, May 1st at 4PM in front of Greendale Village Hall there will be a Great Birthday Party!

The famous birthday is that of the Village of Greendale itself. On May 1st, 1938 the Village Hall in Greendale opened for business. Greendale is one of only three planned communities built in the 1930's as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's 'New Deal'. The goal was to provide jobs and affordable housing to bring people out of the Great Depression. 75 years later Greendale remains a great place to live and raise a family, a historic testament to the success of this original planning.   

The famous guests invited once again are the residents of the Village of Greendale. There will be adults at the party who were children in 1938 when their parents took a 'leap of faith' and moved to Greendale. There will be adults who were babies born in Greendale in 1938. Then there will be the children, grandchildren and great grandchildren of original residents, some who still live in Greendale and some who grew up here and are returning to celebrate. And just as importantly are the new residents of Greendale, from all over the world, who still move to this community because of the excellent quality of life it continues to offer.

On October 17th, 2012 the United States Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced the designation of the Historic District of Greendale as a National Landmark. Being named a national landmark signifies that the Historic District of Greendale has meaning for all Americans. A similar example of a National Landmark is the White House in Washington DC.  This Wednesday, Paul Loether, Chief, National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks will formally present the National Landmark Plaque to the Village of Greendale. He will speak about the national significance of the award. You can't get a more fabulous present!

Joining him will be three other distinguished speakers. Dr. Michael Stevens, Wisconsin’s State Historic Preservation Officer will talk about the State significance of the award and the State's role in the application process. Ted Mainella, President of the Greendale Historical Society, will recognize the contributions of those in the local application effort. Finally, Village President John Hermes will talk about the 75th Anniversary and the local significance of this great honor.

Next you need the gigantic birthday cake. Leave that to Village Manager Todd Michaels. He knows that party goers are not really interested in the speeches and presents, for them it's about the cake. So, after exhaustive research and taste testing (just kidding) Todd's elves have baked up an enormous 'yummy' 75th Anniversary birthday cake. You'll want to get in the cake line early so as not to miss out, after Todd of course.....

Finally, no birthday party is complete without balloons. But a few balloons on strings was not what Greendale residents Brad and Valerie DeMint had in mind. Their idea was for a 'Ton of Balloons'. So to mark this historic 75th Birthday of the Village of Greendale they are sponsoring a Patriotic Red, White and Blue balloon release right in front of Village Hall. Awesome baby! You'll want to see this for sure. Thank you Brad and Valerie. You two sure know how to party.

Well, that's about it. This will be a once in a lifetime party, complete with all the main ingredients; Famous Birthday, Famous Guests, Fabulous Presents, Gigantic Birthday Cake, and Tons of Balloons. But the planning for this party did not happen by accident. Village Manager Todd Michaels, his staff, and all of the Village Departments helped put this together. These same departments, Police, Fire, Public Works etc. will be on hand the day of the party to make sure everyone has an enjoyable, safe time. This kind of quality service to the community by the Village employees is another thing that has been constant in the Village for the last 75 years. A sincere thank you to all of our Village employees from the residents of Greendale.