Wisconsin Life

This community is a Wisconsin original.

Colleen Fechtmeyer

Good afternoon, ladies. My name is Colleen. I'm gonna be your tour guide today. A place so out of the ordinary some people never leave. This place is Greendale, the only Depression-era community built by the Roosevelt Administration in Wisconsin. They were trying to create jobs, number one. Get people out of the overcrowded cities. The concept was "creating a better life" and "everything within walking distance." In 1936, Eleanor Roosevelt came to dedicate the village, So, as we walk around, what I want you to see is the uniqueness of Greendale. The Roosevelts, the Depression, and Norman Rockwell-style living aren't the only things unique to Greendale.

wind rustles leaves, happy playful instrumental

Roy Emmons

He figures he's kind of like Walt Disney in Greendale. He is Al Emmons, chimney repairman, and artist. It was my dad's idea, you know, to start decorating and put the artwork up on the chimneys.

Al Emmons

People will come to me and say, "My chimney's leaking." That's the reason that they called me in the first place-- not to do artwork. It just kind of blossomed and got bigger and bigger and bigger. Once we started putting sculptures on it, then it was over. People would call me up and say, "I know what I want on my chimney." I don't even tell them how much yet. Behind every one of those chimneys, there's a real-life story. We have a fireman's memorial, which is absolutely gorgeous, but a fireman lives in the house, and we used his hat, his boots. These chimneys also sport hometown pride. The panther is the mascot for the-- for Greendale. That's an actual life-size panther that we have, and then we've got a baby panther up on the top of that. Across the street, a neighbor intrigued by fairy tales and pixie dust. The woman loved Peter Pan and the Peter Pan stories, and the theory and feeling behind it, which is a good thing and a happy thing. And Tinkerbelle is just a plus. It's a joy to think about that, you know, making other people happy. And for Al, it forced him to learn the art of patience. This is one of my favorites. We're on Cardinal Court. Every time I came around the corner, I thought, "Oh, look at the size of that chimney." and I could put this beautiful cardinal on there. Days turned into months and months into years, and then one morning, about eight o'clock in the morning, they called, and they said, "Hey, we have a leak. Would you come?" and I thought, "Oh, this is it! My golden opportunity." When I got here, I acted like I was calm, but I was not-- inside, I was not calm. I thought, "This is going to be the best chimney I ever did." I made them an offer they couldn't refuse. Yeah.

chuckles

Al Emmons

These days favorites come in all shapes and sizes. Most of the time, I'm frightened. I don't know what people are going to say when we get done with it. It's like a tattoo. If you're going to do it, you want to make sure that it's done right because it's not very easy to take it apart and do it over again. In all, Al and his family have decorated more than 200 chimneys. My children are involved, my wife's involved, the neighbors are involved. In his eighties, Al is still involved. He just doesn't climb chimneys anymore. Through the years, his kids have inherited the honor.

Roy Emmons

My role is that I help think of the imagination for the chimneys, and they're actually pretty big. I mean, the sundae comes up to about here on me. So, they look smaller when they're on a chimney, but everything is actually a lot larger.

Bingo Emmons

The wolf one is always one of my favorite because I did the daffodil in the front, and then my sister did the wolf in the back.

Virginia Emmons-McNaught

I was asked to do my first chimney, and I thought it was a little bit strange, a little bit unusual, and as a 16-year-old, you're like, "I'm gonna do what on a where?"

Dan Emmons

It was a lot of fun. Whenever you want to get to know somebody, just ask them about their chimney, and they'll tell you the story. Forty years later, visitors come for chimney tours and the stories.

Colleen Fechtmeyer

So, the gentleman that lives in the red house still lives there. He does short films for a living. But he wanted the movie camera. And then, he decided instead of "Hollywood" on the front, he would put "Arrowwood." We're on Arrowwood Street. You want something that you're going to love looking at.

Al

They visualize what they would do with their own chimneys. By now, some may wonder what design Al has on his own chimney. I'm a Mickey Mouse fan. My mom would say, "Pray and don't worry, "you know, because Mickey Mouse is never worried. He's, you know, he's always happy." Today, Al is happy that the story of Greendale includes the history of his art-covered chimneys.

Virginia Emmons-McNaught

He really poured his heart and soul into this community.

Dan Emmons

I think they mean everything to him.

Bingo Emmons

That's his legacy. That's my dad's legacy. He loves these chimneys. Can I say this? Truthfully, it's-- I'm a show-off. I like it when I go into town, and people say, "Are you the guy that does the chimneys?" Al Emmons, a true Greendale original. There's a perfect chimney over on Clover. I hope the guy calls.

chuckles

Bingo Emmons

s