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Health & Fitness

The Greendale Review Newspaper - Revisited Week 17 - 5/4/39 to 5/20/39

The Greendale Review was Greendale's first newspaper and through 2013 I will post stories every Thursday from the early days of Greendale taken from the paper.

 

 

With this year being the 75th anniversary I thought it might be interesting as well as fun to look back at Greendale’s beginnings from the viewpoint of its own residents and local news stories of the day. Every Thursday through the end of the year, I will be posting humorous, relevant or just interesting stories from Greendale’s original newspapers.

Find out what's happening in Greendalewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The following selected stories are copied exactly as they were originally written (including some misspellings) unless otherwise noted. Some may be shortened with “…”. They will be in bold and italicized type.

Also, just a reminder - Greendale first opened to residents on May 1, 1938

Find out what's happening in Greendalewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

 

SPECIAL!!----For last week and this week, I am featuring only the stories from Greendale’s First Anniversary dedication and festivities in their entirety without any editing. This will tie in nicely with our own 75th Celebration and our National Historic Landmark Designation and 75th kick-off ceremony on May 1, 2013 in front of the Village Hall. Be a part of history and be there if you can!

 

Greendale Review – Dedication Edition – Thursday, May 4, 1939

Village Ready for Gala Celebration of First Anniversary, May 5 to 7

Dedication Ball To Climax 3 Days of Fun

   A cannonade set off the business district on Friday afternoon, May 5, will announce that the festivities celebrating Greendale’s first birthday have begun.

   At that time, 4 p.m., villagers are invited to speak over WTMJ, when Bob Heise’s program “Around the Town” will be on the air.

   From then on the village will be a beehive of activity, with various organizations cooperating with the Dedication Committee of the Citizen’s Association to make the dedication of Greendale a huge success and a gala event long to be remembered.

   At 8 p.m. an organ prelude will herald the formal dedication ceremony at the Community Building. There will be an address by Dr. A.  R. Hatton, and greetings by an official guest.

Hatton is Speaker

   Dr. A. R. Hatton, head of the Political Science Department of Northwestern University will be the principal speaker.

   Before assuming his present post, Dr. Hatton held the same position at Western Reserve University in Cleveland. He was credited with being the father of the Cleveland City Manager Charter, and he became a member of the first non-partisan city council elected under that charter. Dr. Hatton has had a wide experience in both the theory and practice of local government.

   On Saturday the entire village will be shown off to visitors, when all public buildings including the school will hold open house. School will be in session and the fire house, nearby, will be open for investigation. The firemen are willing to show off their new equipment, of which they are proud.

   A ball game between the Old Settlers and the No Stars will be played at 2 p.m.

   At 2:15 an Arbor Day program will be held, with the Garden Club planting and dedicating a tree on the school mall.

   At 3 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. a pageant, “The Community of Tomorrow-Today”, will be presented at the Community Building.

   Sunday will again be visitor’s open house day, with a ball game at 2 p.m. between the Forum and the Men’s Club. At 3 p.m. the Greendale Fire Department will engage in a skill demonstration, competing with the Hales Corners Fire Department.

   Heinie and his Grenadiers will provide music and entertainment for the dedication ball to be held Sunday evening at 8.

   Headquarters of the Dedication Committee are on Broad Street where information may be obtained at all times.

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Greendale Review – Saturday, May 20, 1939

Visitors in Greendale During Dedication Acclaim Spirit of Residents in Thriving Model Government Housing Project

Cooperation of Citizens Makes Three-Day Celebration Big Success

   Hundreds of visitors were welcomed into Greendale during the three days of festivity, when the village was formally dedicated and celebrated its first birthday.

   Open house at all the public buildings drew many sightseers to these points of interest and a hobby show at the community house attracted much attention.

   During the day, tree planting exercises and athletic events provided entertainment and, in the evening, dedication ceremonies, a pageant and a dance were well attended.

   Sherwood L. Reeder, village manager, officially opened the ceremonies when he spoke Friday afternoon over WTMJ on the ‘Around the town “ broadcast. J R. Ambruster, principal of the Greendale school and a number of residents were also given an opportunity to speak.

   Residents and friends gathered at the community building in the evening for the formal dedication ceremonies which were opened with a half hour organ prelude by Walter E. Kroening, assistant manager.

Distinguished Speakers Present

Lee Sowin, Citizen’s Association president, introduced Benjamin Glassberg, one of the members of the Greendale Advisory Committee, who acted as chairman for the remainer of the evening.

   Speakers of the evening were Sherwood L. Reeder; George Brinkman, President of the Village Board; Harry S. Muir, regional director of the Farm Security Administration; Daniel W. Hoan, mayor of the city of Milwaukee; and Dr. A. T. Hatton, head of the Department of Political Science, Northwestern University.

   Rev. F. P. Arnold, pastor of St. Alphonsus Catholic Church of Greendale gave the invocation and Rev. Gustav Stearns closed the evening’s ceremonies with a benediction.

   In his speech, Professor Hatton praised the friendly and neighborly spirit of the village. He expressed the desire of sometime owning a small home patterned after Greendale’s “honeymoon bungalows”, which have a living-room, kitchen and bath and bedroom.

   Mayor Hoan said the government had to take the initiative in public housing because private business had done nothing, although the need has been felt for many years. He stated that he will always have the interests of Greendale at heart and welcomed the village as a neighbor.

   The auditorium was packed to capacity both afternoon and evening when the pageant “The Community of Tomorrow-Today” was presented Saturday, May 6.

   With more than 20 people on the pageant committee and a cast of more than 150, it would be well nigh impossible to give credit to each and every individual. Suffice it to say that it was well written, planned and executed.

   Although certain teachers of the school and the Drama Club were responsible for most of the directional work, it would be safe to say that almost everyone in Greendale had a hand somehow in the pageant.

  The pageant, or the story behind the pageant, belonged primarily to the residents of Greendale, because it was their village--their lives—their hopes and joys—which were shown to them on the stage—to view as in a mirror of the past.

   Chuckles ran through the audience as many saw themselves in situations “just like that”, time and time again. How well they remembered the numerous salesmen, the committees, the meetings and elections of last summer, last winter and of this spring.

   Yet these things were all necessary, and vitally so, for the growth of Greendale to the sturdy community of more than 2,000 it now is.

   Martin Paust, clerk of the school board, was pageant chairman. H. K. Barr was narrator, and L.L. Nellis, organist.

Delegations Welcomed

   A cavalcade of more than 40 cars from the South Side, under the auspices of the Mitchell Street Advancement Association was escorted into the village Sunday afternoon by Fire and Police Chief Warren Hale.

   Preceded by a color guard of legionnaires the cavalcade drove down Broad Street where they were greeted by village trustees and other officials.

   They bore with them messages of congratulations to the Greendale residents and, after viewing all that could be viewed, went on home again, singing the praises of Greendale, our modern village.

Our Firemen Win Fight

   Greendale’s valiant volunteer firemen, led by Chief Warren Hale, came to the fore with victory on their side in the old fashioned water fight with the Town of Lake Fire Department during Sunday’s celebration.

   A hilarious crowd of more than 3,000 watched the water conflict as the men of both teams were sprayed, then sprinkled, soaked and finally dragged in the mud by opposing teams.

   But the brave lads of Greendale let nothing daunt them and went on to victory, 2-1.

   Then the visitors went home and the Greendale boys found out somebody had to clean up the mess. By the time they finished the job of cleaning hundreds of feet of muddy hose, they were asking themselves, “Who won?”

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Next week – Back to the regular schedule of stories.

Thanks to the Greendale Historical Society, for which I am a member, for providing the original newspapers.

Please leave a comment if you like these postings – thanks!

Steve Peters

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