Anna Hargons Reminisces about the Greenbush and South Madison: Growing Up with South Madison (Part 1 of 2)
Above: Ms. Anna Hargons (Seated Middle) and her family at her 97th Birthday Party at the Olive Garden
Below: Ms. Anna Hargons at her home
by Jonathan Gramling
For almost too many years to count, on a daily basis, one could see Ms. Anna Hargons — who was born Anna Banks — walking steadily down Ridgewood Way in South Madison enroute to the bus stop or to do some shopping. At 97-years-old, Hargons had to give up her walking routine relatively recently. And perhaps it’s her walking routine that contributed to her longevity.
Hargons was born in 1929 at Madison General Hospital — now UnityPoint – Meriter. Her family lived at 744 W. Washington Ave. in the Greenbush until she was 8-9-years-old.
“And I went to Longfellow School,” Hargons said. “On Mound Street, there was the Jewish church, And there was a school. And then there was the hospital. Neighborhood House was on W. Washington Ave. People spoke different languages in the Bush. The school kids I went to school with had to go to the Jewish church. They spoke the language, but they went to school in the basement to learn to write the language. When I would get out of school at 4:30 p.m., I could look through the window from the outside and see them like it was a classroom. And they were learning to write the language.”
It was almost a self-contained community.
“I have a picture of me when I was 7-8-years-old,” Hargons said. “And I was living next door to Ralph the Shoemaker. And I was also living next door to a grocery store. It was a photo with the girl whose father owned the grocery store. At the time, there were 2-3 grocery stores. They weren’t big stores. They were family stores and most of the time, the family lived upstairs. And when I go down Mills Street, I still remember a house that was there that was a Jewish grocery store and the people lived upstairs.”
The grocery store was an important institution in the Greenbush for it was in walking distance, but also was a source of short-term credit.
“And everyone had a little garden and they did a lot of canning,” Hargons said. “That’s what we did when it came to food. And when we went to the grocery store, it had a little notebook where you would write down a list of what you want and then come payday, you would pay.”
Hargons recalled the Greenbush as a safe and friendly community.
“It was just a mix of people,” Hargons said. “Just going down the street sometimes, there were languages spoken and I didn’t know what they were saying. But everyone was friendly. As far as I could see, everyone got along well with each other. Our doors were unlocked. And most of the kids when we were playing, would be in the neighborhood or go to the park. But other than that, I don’t recall a lot of fighting and arguing.”
That didn’t mean that the Greenbush didn’t experience any crime.
“There was a girl whose parents owned the grocery store,” Hargons recalled. “A photo showed us and I think we were 8-9-years-old. He had the grocery store and somebody came in there and shot him. It showed the picture of her and the grocery store. They never found out who shot him and why he got shot.”
Back then, one didn’t have to go far to take advantage of services and events. The Square was only seven blocks away.
“I remember that the Sears used to be downtown when I was growing up, right there at the corner,” Hargons said. “I remember one day at night, it would be open. I remember the Strand Theater and all of the Theaters that were around the corner. Rennebohm Drug Store was where the Children’s Museum is now. And then it moved down State Street at the end. I didn’t go into stores like the kids now. If I was looking for something, I would go in.”
State Street was even closer.
“On State Street, there was the Capitol Theater,” Hargons recalled. “Everything is changing. Another thing I remember when I think about State Street. It was the main street. It’s changed. All of my landmarks are gone except there is one house that is still on State Street. It used to be a women’s store, women’s clothing. It’s still there, but you have to go around the back to get to the apartments that they had.
Back in the day, Mt. Zion Baptist Church was located at 118 E. Washington Street, which again was an easy walk each Sunday, at least when it wasn’t winter out.
“I am the daughter of Rev. Zachary Smith who was the pastor of Mt. Zion Baptist Church,” Hargons said.
Hargons’ mother died in childbirth and so some of the kid watching fell on the shoulders of Hargons’ oldest brother, Peter. And Hargon’s family got around by walking.
“Peter walked and he knew everyone,” Hargons said. “He was a person who wandered. On Saturday, the neighborhood was quiet. Every kid was at the Majestic Theater watching Gene Autry. And Peter would leave us. He was in charge, but he would leave us and go do his thing. We didn’t tell dad. We were honest and the kids weren’t doing anything wrong. We would get out of the show and wait for him to come. Another thing about the Majestic is they started giving out free candy bars. That would get rid of us because we would go to the show and stay all day. That was a smart idea when they came up with that. I can remember parents walking around looking for their children. It was just a nice time and there were no problems.”
It appears that Hargons’ family would have been content to remain in the Greenbush. But in the late 1930s, even then, there were people buying up the properties.
“It was still pretty nice when people started moving out of the Bush,” Hargons reflected. “I was 7-8-years-old. Somebody offered the landlady a little more money for the land. So we had to find a place. My dad was raising us because my mother had died in childbirth. So we moved out to South Madison. From what I hear, my dad worked at Oscar Mayer. And evidently from what I hear, the owner of Oscar Mayer must have been a pretty nice person because I heard he had something to do with helping my dad. We moved out on Baird Street. That’s where I lived and stayed until I was grown. It was like a farm land. Some people still had outdoor water and outdoor toilets.”
The Baird Street area was a rural community back then.
“Everyone knew everyone. I think about dogs. There were no fences. Park Street wasn’t where it is now. Park Street was where there was farmland back this way. And Wingra Creek at that time, the water was blue and I could see the fish. It’s pretty dirty now. And the kids could swim in it. And as kids, we used to ride down the hill during the winter time.”