Greendale's 75th Birthday Countdown - Week #74

History records and explains past events, while folklore preserves what people widely remember.

History and Folklore!

Time to move to the country from Milwaukee, so thought Elroy and Marvel Barbian in 1946. And where exactly was the country? Why, Greenfield of course. They found a lot west of 76th Street on Edgerton Avenue that they liked. But the farmer who owned the land would not sell just that lot, only a large portion of land west of 76th Street, and north of  Edgerton Avenue to West Barnard Avenue. So they ‘bought the farm’ as it were, except the farm house, which was located where the Pancake House now is on 76th Street.

Elroy built their house (yes I said built) at 8000 W. Edgerton Ave. in 1947. Back then, it was the only house on the dirt road that was Edgerton Avenue. Then Elroy had the roads built, created a development called 'Crestview Acres', and sold lots for new homes.

It was a thickly wooded area, and the lots were 1 to 2 acres in size. A friend of Elroy’s who lived in Hales Corners, Dr. Julius Heil and his wife Helen also wanted to move to the country. So together the Barbians and Heils bought another area of land south of Edgerton Avenue. These 2 lands purchases totaled pproximately 60 acres and it was truly a beautiful area. But Elroy was not happy with the treatment and services he was receiving from Greenfield. Around 1951 he approached Greendale about being annexed.  This was just about the same time that Greendale was expanding and selling land for other development. Greendale jumped at the opportunity, and that is how the Barbians of Greenfield became the Barbians of Greendale.

But did you know?

Elroy had to approach every resident of Crestview Acres and get their approval for changing communities from Greenfield to Greendale. But not all the home owners wanted to move. One woman did not want her mail to be postmarked ‘Greendale’, because it was a government project. A Greenfield City official lived in the farm house (pancake house), and had to reside in Greenfield to keep his job. The lots where the owners did not want to change were not annexed. And that is why the boundary between Greenfield and Greendale looks like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.

People, Past & Present!

When I tell you that the person of this week #74 is Ron Barbian, you’ll probably say, “I know Ron Barbian”. But do you?

Ronald Elroy Barbian was born on March 19, 1932 to Elroy and Marvel. He grew up in Milwaukee, and moved with his parents to Greenfield in 1947. He graduated from Pulaski High School in 1949 and enrolled in the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He loved baseball, which during his high school years he played on the local ‘sandlots’. He was selected to play baseball for UW. One of his teammates was Harvey Kuehn.

He told Harvey there was a girl he wanted to meet. So Harvey invited him to a lunch that she would be at with one of her girlfriends. Now, I’ve seen Maryellen’s photograph in the UW yearbook, and can understand why Ron didn’t waste much time making an official marriage proposal.

After graduation Ron played semi-professional baseball, for a while in Canada and eventually with Triple-A Oklahoma City. Oklahoma City was with the Washington Senators organization which would become the Minnesota Twins. During his travels he sometimes roomed with Harvey Kuehn, and played with and against many of the stars of that era. He remembers batting against Whitey Ford (a New York Yankee that you former Braves fans should remember).

Sometime in 1955 he was assigned to a team out east, and while travelling from Oklahoma City he arranged to stop in Greendale where Maryellen was at the time. He was tired of the travel and being away from home and Maryellen, so he made the decision to stay in Greendale. Fortunately, at that time the new Greendale High School was being built and they needed a Physical Education Teacher. He was hired by Superintendent John Ambruster and taught in Greendale for the next 33 years. Many residents remember Ron because he coached basketball for 23 years, baseball and some other sports off and on, and taught driver’s education.

So did you know this Ron Barbian, or were you thinking of Ronald Allan Barbian the current Village Trustee, born to Ron and Maryellen in late 1953, or Ronald Joseph Barbian, the grandson of Ron and Maryellen from their other son Gregory Roy Barbian? Now that I think about it, I should have asked what their nicknames are. Then perhaps we could start to make some sense out of the confusion created by that simple name, Ron Barbian.

Greendale Trivia Question and Answer:

Week#75 Answer – 5599 Apple Court was the first ‘Original’ built in Greendale.

New Question – What is the neighborhood name for the area of Greenfield that became part of Greendale, the former Crestview Acres development around Edgerton Avenue west of 76th Street?

** Week #74 contributors Sally Chadwick, Ron and Maryellen Barbian, Ron and Wendy Barbian