Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz

A podcast about positive things happening in and around Washington County, Wisconsin

The Barton Garten with Alderman Justice Madl

• Transcript

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  [00:00:00] Fuzz Martin: What’s up, what’s up, what’s up? I’m sorry. That was a little intense. Welcome to Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz. My name is Fuzz Martin, and this is my show. Here we dig into positive things happening in and around Washington County, Wisconsin. So this past week I presented at the West Bend Sunrise Rotary meeting and while I was wrapping up I told the group that the hardest part about creating Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz is finding out who I should be talking to next.

  That’s the biggest part. Interviewing easy. Editing, awesome. I love it. It’s so much fun. Doing this part, it’s great. Finding people to talk to, that’s the hard part, because I need to do research and dig in, and what I feed off of is input from listeners like you. So, if you ever have an idea for the show, please send it my way, 15withfuzz at gmail.

  com. Now, the group at the West Bend Sunrise Rotary did not let me down. I now have a number of great guests that will be coming up here in This week, my guest is Alderman Justice Madl. Madl is the Alderman in West Bend 7th District, which is Barton, and he’s also the owner of Do Your Hair Justice Hair Salon in Barton.

  And, uh, he and the historic Barton Business Association recently completed the Barton Garden, and they’re always working to improve the Barton area. So with that, here are Fifteen Minutes with Alderman Justice Madl. On Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz.

  AldermMadldel, thanks for joining me today. So you’re an alderman in West Bend’s seventh district, which is Barton, and we’ll talk about that in a little bit, but you also own a salon. So can you tell us a bit about your business, how you get started and about that?

  [00:02:01] Justice Madl: Sure. Yeah. Yeah. Thanks. Thanks for the question, Fuzz.

  I started the business up in Barton about 11 years ago. You know, it was a, it was a little bit of a slow start, but we’ve really got the ball rolling within the last couple of years. For some reason, the pandemic, Really kick things in, kick things into gear. I’m independent out there. I’m by myself. So I think people were just more comfortable coming into the shop when there wasn’t anybody else around.

  Oh, sure. So that really, really got me moving. So

  [00:02:26] Fuzz Martin: do you do both men and women? Correct. Okay, correct. And, uh, and so could you work with this here? I, of course.

  [00:02:36] Justice Madl: Yeah, we could do good things here.

  [00:02:37] Fuzz Martin: Being an alderman in Barton, what made you decide to run a business?

  [00:02:42] Justice Madl: The business community in Barton wasn’t completely satisfied with the representation that we had.

  Um, and, and it’s, it’s kind of ironic because it’s really not the businesses of Barton that are Barton voters. It’s not really the constituency, you know what I mean? Sure. But, that was the catalyst. And so, when the next Aldermanic, uh, Election came up. I went ahead and put some signs out and got a hold of a buddy of mine who’s in marketing and Ran a first campaign and fortunately it went really well.

  I won by 13 votes. Oh nice. Did exact right amount of work

  [00:03:12] Fuzz Martin: How long you’ve been older been

  [00:03:14] Justice Madl: four years just a little over four years Yeah, this was this it was my third election was this past April and I was uncontested.

  [00:03:21] Fuzz Martin: Okay. All right So to your term So you’re the president of the Historic Barton Business Association.

  Can you tell us about the organization and what that organization is responsible for?

  [00:03:32] Justice Madl: The organization, it’s, again, it’s the Historic Barton Business Association, and we did start up about, right about the same time my salon opened, actually. Okay. I found the group. Pretty quickly after they got going, Deb Anderson actually was, uh, was the person that got that moving again.

  She’s a former alderman of District 7. And it was, again, with that slow moving at first, but we had a really strong membership right from the start. When I say slow moving, it just meant we weren’t immediately sure what our mission was. but it’s slowly started to form, and basically it’s to shine a light on Barton, you know, because Barton has been sort of in the, in a shadow for for many many years, ever since it was annexed into into West Bend.

  And so, we’re trying to create a better business community, a better community to live in, better, you know, community to play in, you know, a more beautiful community. And so it has sort of over the years morphed mainly into really making it a more attractive part of West Bend. It’s felt for many, many years, like it’s been neglected.

  Sure.

  [00:04:30] Fuzz Martin: And it was annexed back in the 1960s, right? Correct. Correct. Yeah. So it’s been a good 50 years before the historic Barton Business Association was formed before. a group really took hold of that?

  [00:04:42] Justice Madl: Well, I don’t want to represent it that way because there was an organization and I, I’m sorry, I don’t know what the organization was called, but there was an organization that was started up and tried doing things and it just sort of fell apart as these kinds of organizations also.

  [00:04:57] Fuzz Martin: Yep, certainly. And that’s where it goes to needing. People in the community to care for and to keep these things going because it is a lot of hard work.

  [00:05:05] Justice Madl: It’s a lot of hard work and it obviously it’s volunteer based, you know, nobody’s getting getting paid, obviously. And, you know, you really do need a few core people that really have passion and energy and frankly, some time to put into it.

  [00:05:19] Fuzz Martin: Yeah, definitely. Having you on the show was a recommendation from a number of different people and we’re here in the city of West Bend that recommended that I speak with you because of you. The things that you’re doing to help improve the Barton area. So let’s start with the Barton garden. What is that?

  Is that my pronouncing it right? That’s correct. Yes. Yes. It’s a,

  [00:05:36] Justice Madl: it’s a, it’s supposed to be a German spin on it. You know, obviously we’re a very German area, so yeah. Barton garden was a garden that existed for a number of years and was maintained by master gardeners up until. I’m just going to guess here, you know, up until 10 or 15 years ago.

  Okay. And then it was just kind of left without care for a number of years. It was, I think the folks that were taking care of it just kind of aged out. You know, it was a group of older ladies that was managing it and they just didn’t have the energy or the time or the willingness to do it anymore. So we, um, we saw this patch of weeds that basically the city was mowing around, which I don’t, you know, it’s not, it, It wasn’t up to the city to maintain it.

  Right. So I don’t blame the city at all. But, and there, so there was some flowers in there. It was still some semblance of a garden, you know? Right. But it was very, very unattractive. So, Barton Business Association, you know, we, we kinda just look around Barton and see where the issues are and try to solve them.

  Right. We picked up the garden issue and, uh, and sort of ran with it. I mean, it turned into. A lot more work than we expected. I spent a lot of time last year building steps into the side of the hill that goes up to the garden. The city came in and poured concrete platforms. It was really nice of them.

  They did a great job. And I built a rock wall behind the platform that creates kind of a raised platform. Flower garden effect. And, and then there’s a couple of the most expensive benches, uh, the, the Parks and Recs program program has. And those benches were donated by Rotary for one. And, uh, the Holbrook family up in Barton that owns the Jokers.

  Sure. Yeah. Diane Holbrook was the person I was talking to. Kay Holbrook owns the bar and, and Kay Holbrook’s son, Mason. A lot of people in the community are familiar with this name, Mason Holbrook. He was a young man that passed away from a heart condition a few years back. And so it’s a memorial bench for Mason Holbrook.

  [00:07:26] Fuzz Martin: Where in Barton is, this is right off the Eisenbahn Trail, right?

  [00:07:29] Justice Madl: Right off the Eisenbahn, uh, right at the intersection of the Eisenbahn and Barton Avenue.

  [00:07:33] Fuzz Martin: The project itself just came, as you were saying, for the Barton Business Association. You were looking for things to improve and decided to tackle that.

  How will people use the garden now that it’s up and built?

  [00:07:45] Justice Madl: It’s meant to be a resting point for weary travelers on the Eisenbahn. It faces the historic Barton Mill. It’s a beautiful scene. You can see the river, you can see the mill, you can have conversation with folks walking by in the Eisenbahn, and of course it’s going to be just a wonderful place to sit and enjoy the flowers.

  It is jam packed this year. I don’t know if we’ve got 20 or 30 flats of flowers planted up there along with it. West Bend, Kewaskum, Slinger.

  [00:08:20] Fuzz Martin: What went into that event?

  [00:08:21] Justice Madl: Well, we had, we had food and we had music. Gary Cross was our, was our entertainer. Uh, some of the older folks in the audience are gonna recognize that, that now known around here.

  Yep, yep, yep. . And we had the mayor came and did a proclamation. It was just a lot of fun. We had, we had, we, it was, it was very well, very well attended. Great. Um, we also had a, a hot tub raffle. Oh, nice. I cannot remember the name of the guy that won the hot tub, but someone won the hot tub raffle.

  [00:08:43] Fuzz Martin: Excellent.

  Somebody’s enjoying that right now. That’s

  [00:08:45] Justice Madl: correct.

  [00:08:45] Fuzz Martin: Or because it’s so hot out, just don’t make it hot and just leave it as a cool tub.

  [00:08:49] Justice Madl: Right, a cool

  [00:08:50] Fuzz Martin: tub, yes. I’m sure more people than you were out there busting their backs, putting in steps, and working on things. Who was all involved with getting the Barton Garten put together?

  [00:08:59] Justice Madl: Of course, of course, yeah, thank you for, thank you for asking that. Uh, Roots and Branches is really the main folks that we partnered up with here, but I would, I would also definitely have to say the city and the, specifically the Parks and Recs program. Also, to be more specific with Roots and Branches, Amy Johnson is the president.

  Um, she was very open to the idea of partnering with us, which was really important because, uh, then she handed us Susan Steinhoffel as if she’s a commodity, but she really is. I mean, she’s, she’s helped us out a lot. She came up with the design idea for the garden. She comes out there, she orders all the flowers, roots and branches, donates most of them.

  We, the HBBA has some budget for the garden, but a lot of it is just due to community effort. And so we get all those flowers and she takes them out and puts them right where they need to be planted. We’ve got a lovely group of volunteers. I’m really sorry. I can’t remember the church they come from, but you’re out there, you know who you are and we really appreciate you.

  [00:09:56] Fuzz Martin: Oh, that’s excellent. And it’s good to have that thing in the community that everybody had a hand in participating to help build. And every time they see it, they know that they were part of that. Absolutely agreed. Now the association also. It has some things to do with, uh, well, first of all, coming up on the 4th of July at Regner Park, right?

  Yep, yep. So, what do you guys do in there?

  [00:10:16] Justice Madl: Well, we started, uh, the Tumbling Group, Jackie Maynard and the Tumbling Group had been managing that concessions at Regner Park after the parade for years. Okay. It had been 20 years. So, she handed it off to us. We had our inaugural Regner concessions last year and, um, now we’re, uh, getting ready to enjoy another year of doing that.

  We get hammered, you know. Sure. So, the parade finishes, and we just get a huge rush of people come over and obviously it’s a bunch of hungry parade goers. And so we’re five or six deep for two or three hours, it’s amazing. It’s a lot of fun.

  [00:10:46] Fuzz Martin: So, I’m the president of the 9 11 Memorial in Kewaskum. Oh, sure.

  And we just had the Kewaskum 125th celebration. Oh, nice. And we had the privilege of, and it was great, and I appreciate everybody that came, but we were running a brat fry stand. Right at the end of the parade and the Wisconsin Badgers band played right there afterward. You got your buck fifty. And we got slammed.

  But we sold out of brats. I’m sure you did. Helped raise fifteen hundred bucks for the memorial. That’s awesome. So thank you to everybody who bought a brat. That’s awesome. But I know how much, how much work that can be when you’re running around trying to fill those orders when you don’t do it for a living.

  So in addition, the uh, Historic Barton Business Association also has something to do with the Christmas lights, right?

  [00:11:27] Justice Madl: Uh, correct. The Christmas lights in Barton. Okay. So, when you hit Park Avenue going up Main Street into Barton, that is right where our Christmas decorations start. There’s a couple of huge wreaths on the first main pole that’s in the middle of the street, and then there are metal, uh, Large metal ornaments on the light poles going up Main Street to Barton Avenue.

  And then there’s sprays that were donated by the bid downtown, along with a bunch of other stuff. They were amazing. Thank you very much. Downtown bid that hit from Barton Avenue on North Main out to approximately MPTC. Those sprays exist and Friends of Parks last year donated a large sum of money to help us put new bows on those sprays.

  Thank you very much, Friends of Parks. And then there is a number of really old. Ornaments that go up on the light poles from North Maine all the way up well to Salisbury on bar on Barton Avenue. And those are also lit up. And there there’s plugs on the poles. So those are really pretty. And then there’s three Christmas trees that are lit up at the firefighters Memorial park, which we also designated.

  Um, and then there’s another. Christmas tree that’s lit up down right in the middle of Barton Garden, actually. Sure. And then those, I think there’s six of the large, I don’t know if they’re crab trees or what those things are, but they’re big, full looking trees that are completely lit up with white lights, and it’s just beautiful during Christmas.

  That’s excellent. It’s amazing. So

  [00:12:47] Fuzz Martin: does the HBBA put the lights in, or did the city put those in? No.

  [00:12:52] Justice Madl: HBBA. Well, I don’t want to overstate things because the city, the last couple years, you know, since we’ve had representation at the city that’s been involved with Barton, um, the last few years, the city has either donated some time or just brought, brought up a cherry picker truck to, to help us get those things up.

  So, again, there’s a couple of volunteers with the HBBA that are really consistent in doing that every year, and we really appreciate them.

  [00:13:14] Fuzz Martin: So you’ve built the Barton Garden. What is next for the HBBA, and what are you guys looking to improve next?

  [00:13:21] Justice Madl: That’s a great question, and I appreciate the question, and I was thinking about that.

  And, uh, you know, we’ve got a list. I’m feeling like we don’t have a strong next project established yet, but we do want to get flower baskets that wrap around the light poles on Barton Avenue, and some maybe freestanding ones that could go on North Main. So more flowers. Sure. There’s some signage stuff that we’ve been talking about.

  We’d like to see some coming into West Bend and welcome to West Bend slash Barton signs, you know, um, that have the rotary symbols and Kiwanis and all that stuff. There’s a couple of entry points to West Bend in our area that are lacking that. And really just to continue putting on fun events for the community and continue to do everything we can to make Barton a more beautiful, enjoyable place to be.

  [00:14:00] Fuzz Martin: I know it’s a lot of hard work doing this and helping to improve your community and owning a business and, you know, making sure that you’re keeping the lights on and doing all that and having enough time to run your business as well. So, appreciate you doing what you do to improve Barton. I wish you guys the best with the next steps.

  Thank you so much, Fuzz. Thanks again to Alderman Justice Madl for joining me on this week’s show. Be sure to visit the Barton Garten next time you’re out for a ride on the Eisenbahn trail or walking, whatever you’re doing. It’s a beautiful place. Stop on by and that’ll do it for today’s episode. Next week, we talk about German night and Regnerfest in West Bend.

  You can learn more about the show at fifteenwithfuzz. com or check my socials. Fifteen with Fuzz is the handle on all of them. And by socials, I mean, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. And thank you for listening and sharing the show with your friends. It keeps the show going and makes me feel like what I’m doing is worth it.

  It is. It, this is always really fun to me. So, uh, thank you again for listening. I truly appreciate it. And we’ll talk to you next week, right here on Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz.