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Brentwood Memories

We recently asked long-time residents who are members of the Brentwood Forum to share their memories of the Brentwood neighborhood.

Here are memories from three neighbors:

From Carol:

We moved here in January 1970 and the section from Arrowwood to New Hope on Ingram was just being built. Our Court was different (built in fall 1968) as John Adams had the residents pick out their lots and choose the style of house they wanted and for $5 per change order let them make changes in room sizes etc., so these houses are not as the stock models. He would not let the owners of our lot build anything but our style house (split foyer with columns ) on this lot.

The original owners of our home had fatter columns put on the front than others like it in Brentwood. He also designed the berms, and I understand marked all the trees he wanted to save and kept watch over them.

Raleigh had just annexed Brentwood into the city however the County School district would not give over the school to the city since they had turned Effie Green over to them and the city would not let County kids go to it.

Green Year Round was originally named Effie Green in honor of some long ago educator in the county. Over off Six forks near Millbrook which was all county then.

Thus we lived in the city and had a neighborhood school which was a County school. It was a true neighborhood school and everyone walked to it, everyone knew each others kids - a true village raising the children.

The lake (Editor Note: now Brentwood Today lake) was clean and the kids used to canoe and fish on it and get wet with no fear of dire diseases. What is now Brentwood Today was all woods with one dirt road into it from Huntleigh. A lot of the kids on this end used to camp, hike, have club houses over there.

There used to be a drive-in theatre about where Tarrymore Square is today, and the kids used to go hike back and watch the movies from a point in the wooods. Biggest danger were the copperheads which were living among the rocks at the dam.

This used to be farm land and there was a farm house which was razed and the bricks dumped in a dump off New Hope. The bricks from the foundation were all hand made and had the fingerprints of the makers in them they are now in use as a patio in Brentwood.

A farm pond was in the low spot between Arrowwod and Southampton Ct. off Ingram which flowed down a ravine through Camaro Ct. to the creek. Another farm house was originally at the end of Arrowwood at New Hope. For many years the original apple trees and grape vines remained in the yards.

Additional memories: What is now Green Road was a dirt road which was lined with Cedar trees and twisted and turned on to what is now Hargrove to Millbrook Road which was a winding two-lane road. We used to ride our bikes to Millbrook and Old Wake Forest on a leisurely Sunday afternoon. Where Green Castle Apartments are, used to be a field covered with blue Bachelor Buttons every spring. My kids would feel free to ride their bikes up and pick bunches for Mom. Could not go across Green Road on rainy days as you would get stuck in the mud. The last name of Green was very common in this area of the County.

From Kathi:

We moved to "Brentwood Estates" in 1971. We had a 1 year old daughter and later had a son born here. We moved here instead of looking for homes nearer to Wade/St. Mary's because of the young families we had heard about. Also, it was less expensive.

There were kids galore and we had many friends, many of whom later moved on to other neighborhoods.

We first joined softball leagues. The fields were so full, the women sometimes played at the Corning Field. The kids rode bikes, Big Wheels and Mini-Wheels around the park. There were tournaments that were a big deal.

Then my husband joined the local Exchange Club, and I joined the Ettes. (Editor's note: also called the "Exchangettes.") The clubs were very active in the Brentwood community and School, winning many NC District Exchange Club awards.

For thirty years there was Community Day held on the first Saturday in May, with floats and school, City dignitaries riding in convertibles. It always ended with a firetruck. The children would ride bikes or walk their pets. One year our daughter carried our pet duck that had hatched in the 3rd grade classroom as her pet. The Exchangites and Ettes dressed up as clowns and threw candy to the children who lined the streets.

There were many projects around the park, with the Exchange Club and the City working together. The Exchange Club constructed the picnic shelter and an exercise course. Tennis was popular in the 1970's as well, and the courts were always full.

We joined the pool around 1974 and remained members until our children were older teens. They were both on the swim team, and the pool was always packed, especially on the weekends. Swim team and later diving team was big here as we had a league and swam against other community pools, always going out to eat after meets or cooking in if it was at our pool. The parents had parties for young teens.

Brentwood School was wonderful!!! The neighborhood parents were very active in PTA and school projects, ie., reading programs, picnics, Field Day.

Later, our children also played softball/baseball, causing the need for another field to be built in the park and the use of Green Road fields. The Exchangettes sold hotdogs and drinks to make money some years.

The Exchange Club built a "chuck wagon" where we sold hot dogs and homemade chili at the Fair. Then the Exchange Club rented a booth and continued to sell hotdogs, hamburgers, biscuits, etc. It was a VERY big project and the main moneymaker for the clubs.

Needing more living space we moved to Huntleigh Drive from Barker Place in 1978, mainly because of the lake and large backyard and met many more wonderful people. The lake was very different then. People would go boating and fishing from the many docks. The dam started to breach in 1984 and BROKE in 1986 - I arrived home from work that day in SHOCK to find beyond my backyard, there was only a mudhole. We tried to organize the owners around the lake to purchase it but we couldn't get enough surrounding property owners involved and there was a liability to consider.

The BNA formed (yr?) and Community Watch reorganized - it had been in place in the 1970's as part of Exchangettes and there were Safe Houses along the school route. Community Watch became more effective with the e-mail Forum, and we have the entire neighborhood covered with Block Captains.

Extending Huntleigh Drive which dead ended at the condos (there was the driveway into the back of the shoping center) greatly increased the volume of non-resident traffic moving through the neighborhood. Previously, Brentwood Road had been the only through street. Likewise, dead end Winton Road was extended south to Capital Boulevard, north to Millbrook Road and renamed Atlantic Avenue. This not only added fringe traffic but also changed the character and desirability of the duplexes on Atlantic Avenue. At one time some renters moved on to become Brentwood homeowners.

The BNA was active in having speed humps installed, keeping entertainment clubs from opening in the area and having one shut-down.

Generally, care of and pride in neighborhood properties is better now than it was ten years ago. A new garden club formed as an offshoot of the creation of the BNA. This Club in partnership with the City has turned Brentwood Park into the most beautiful neighborhood park in the entire City. The Exchange Club though few in members continues to serve the Brentwood Community. The Brentwood Newsletter, Community Watch program, Brentwood Forum and Beautiful Brentwood website help to organize and unite the neighborhood through communication.

Beamon Lake being restored made a great impact in my life as I love the wildlife and view from my windows. I hope that Brentwood Today's lake can be restored as well.

There was a Picolo Mondo restaurant that opened at the Brentwood Road Shopping Center and later moved to Stoneybrook. There was a pharmacy in the Brentwood Road Shopping Center for a number of years.

The site of Eckerd's was formerly a pizza place (Goodfellow's)?, then Roy Rogers, theen Kristin's. There was Davis Pharmacy for many years and the post office.There was a family restuarant with a buffet as well that became Fortune Palace. El Dorado came and has remained busy.

Andy's Pizza opened at "Kings's Plaza", which was a fancier restaurant at the time. Then Heckinger's opened replacing the long closed Kings K-Mart type store, later to become Mars, Computer Store (?). There was a Winn Dixie and CVS for many years - this later became Food Lion. Shoney's became Chuch'Em's and later Buffalo Brothers. Then Outback moved in & STARBUCK'S :) IHOP came in at some point and remains busy, especially on the weekends.

The first Mexican restaurant I can remember was Jacarranda's which was at Brentwood Square, near Tales Resold. Pizza Inn has been there forever, and I remember Grocery Boy, Jr. that was run by Mr. Denning, who was a contributor to many projects in the neighborhood. A Big Star was originally at the Compare Foods location.

We remain in Brentwood as this is our home and we love our home, lake, and the friends we have still here! Many people have told me that after moving, they wish they had stayed.

From Edward M. Alderman (Ed):

My wife, Nola, along with or two sons, Ed Jr. and Don, and I moved to Julian Drive in the Brentwood Estates from Greensboro in September of 1963. I had been invited to accept a position as Assistant State Supervisor with the Department of Public Instruction. One of my colleagues, Vince Outland, a Brentwood resident, recommended Brentwood as the only place to buy a new home.

At that time Julian Drive dead-ended into the wooded area now owned by Highwoods. The Brentwood developer, John Adams, told us that he was negotiating with the family who owned that wooded tract for the property to continue Julian Drive. (Apparently, those negotiations failed and many years later Highwoods purchased the property.) We purchased the last home on the block.

Brentwood Road was the major street in Brentwood at that time. The pavement stopped a block before reaching New Hope Church road. New Hope Church Road had not yet been paved to Brentwood Road, where it then stopped. Nor had the present bridge across the creek been installed.

The Brentwood/Ingram road intersection was important because a new elementary school was to be built on Ingram Road where it is now located. In addition, a swimming pool and neighborhood park were to be located between the school and Brentwood Road. The west end of Ingram road dead-ended into Winton Road (now renamed Atlantic Avenue) which started at New Hope Church Road and dead-ended in the woods after a few blocks.

The Brentwood community was attractive to us because it was in Wake County, but not yet a part of the city. The Wake county schools had a good reputation, and that was important to us. In addition, John Adams had the reputation of building excellent quality homes. While many builders in the North Hill communities were building expensive homes, the workmanship was only mediocre. However, Mr. Adams demanded that nail-heads in all trim work should be properly set rather than simply driving them home (hammer marks clearly displayed) as was so common in many of those more expensive homes in North Hills.

One of the main attractions of Brentwood was the almost endless variety of their styles of homes including split-levels, split foyers and ranches. They all seemed to be attractively trimmed.

Our home is one of those split foyers. I loved the idea of having a full unfinished basement that I could design and adjust to accommodate my ham radio activities. Somewhat later I created a dandy den to accommodate our computers and watch TV. I also built a Craft room for Nola, and installed a convenient half bath. So we have three bedrooms, two and a half baths, the usual kitchen, living room, dining room, den, craft room and radio shack. Our laundry area is also in the lower level. And, in the true Adams Built style, we have that long steel beam extending from one end of the house to the other.

One of the features of Brentwood that we loved was the fact that one didn't have to travel through any really slum-like or dingy areas to return home. At that time the beltline had not been completed and only extended to New Bern Avenue. Because we are close to the beltline, Brentwood residents have ready access to almost everywhere.

Our old Brentwood shopping center used to include The Pub where "Bill the bartender" prepared dandy pizzas.

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