By Mary Lacy and Dave Meyer
Brentwood Neighborhood Association
Prospect Hill was the first part of the current Brentwood neighborhood to be platted, and was bounded by MacPherson Street, Fremont Avenue, Sherman Avenue, and ends about where St. Paul’s Church is located. The Maple Bluff Board of Trustees approved the plat Oct. 17, 1940; Clyde Gallagher was the developer, and the area was at that time located in the Town of Westport.
By 1950, the area was part of the City of Madison, and Albert Moe and Sons, who had purchased much of the farmland in this area, platted the first part of Brentwood Village with 20 residential lots. MacPherson Street, Fremont Avenue (including Fremont Circle), Almo Avenue and Pleasure Drive bound this first section.
In 1953, the First Addition to Brentwood Village was approved by the City of Madison, and 37 more homes were added to the neighborhood along Pleasure Drive and Sheridan Avenue, and included Brentwood Park. More additions followed in 1956 and 1961.
In March 1959, 75 Brentwood families received survey cards to gauge interest in the formation of a Community Club. The response was encouraging. On May 12, 1959. a group of neighborhood families met, and after some discussion and a vote, the Brentwood Village Association was born. The consensus was that there should be nine board members, at least three of whom were women. Initial membership dues were $2, with $1 annual dues after that.
The Board of Directors held their first meeting May 27, 1959. The treasurer reported $56 on hand, the initial dues of 28 families. Committees were formed: Welcoming, Membership, Publicity, Social, Civic, Finance and Promotion.
The Social Committee immediately got to work planning the first official neighborhood picnic. Brentwood Park was the scene, a ham sandwich cost 30 cents, potato salad 10 cents, beer 20 cents, and the relish was free. Reading through the 1969 meeting minutes, the first neighborhood picnic went well, although “the cake didn’t sell very well.”
In that first year, one of the main features of meetings was working out the bylaws of the group. Other efforts went toward planning social events. The October meeting included planning a Christmas party, location of the neighborhood Christmas tree, Christmas decorating and a winter carnival. The Civic Committee was working on the need for more street lights, speeding problems, a bulletin board, and a drinking fountain at the park.
A sign of the times is this note: “The possibility of snow removal was discussed, but it was felt that the $20.00 to $25.00 fee per season was too high”. It is interesting to think that, as a neighborhood, we could be required to take care of our own snow removal.
Over the years the neighborhood association has organized picnics, potlucks, garage sales, bike parades, nature walks, holiday parties, family fun nights, stargazing nights, outings to Mallards games, and many more social activities. The neighborhood association also participated in efforts affecting the entire Northside by contributing to the building of Warner Park Community Recreation Center, supporting neighborhood schools and students, and contributing to Lakeview Library.
Our busy lives, the COVID pandemic, and the growth of social media have impacted neighborhood groups such as ours. Getting to know people and really working together isn’t as easy and straightforward as it used to be. Time to change that!
It would be great to have a current email address for as many Brentwood Village neighbors as possible in order to quickly and efficiently communicate throughout the neighborhood. Send an email to brentwoodvillage@gmail.com to get on the email list and to keep up to date on neighborhood news, issues, opportunities and events. In your email, please note any ideas or concerns you’d like to share.
It would be tremendous to have an active board of directors to plan neighborhood events and work with the City of Madison and other neighborhood associations on issues that affect us all. You can get involved a lot or a little, but get connected today. The more connected we are, the stronger our neighborhood can be.
