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Community Corner

'Holiday Afternoon Tea' Draws Full House For Historical Society

On a snowy Sunday afternoon, residents trekked to a fundraiser to support the Brentwood Historical Society.

No one could have guessed from the full meeting room at the on Sunday that inches of snow blew around outside. The went right ahead with its scheduled Holiday Afternoon Tea fundraiser despite the wintry weather.

"That's your Brentwood people, we're tough!" said Leon Golfin, a former Brentwood aldermen who attended the event with his wife Elaine and daughter Jane.

The society functions as the keepers of Brentwood's history—gathering old yearbooks, The Pulse clippings and more. The organization held the fundraiser because it hopes to make some upgrades at its headquarters at the Barlow House on Rosalie Avenue.

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"We've pretty much left things the way they were when the Barlows moved out," said Dan Fitzgerald, the society's president. "So there's a lot of old furniture, old carpet—the Barlows haven't been there for 15 or 20 years." 

He said the Barlows were the original owners of the house, which was built in 1910.

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A handful of students served food to the attendees, which added a couple hours of community service toward their required 10 hours for the year. They agreed that it was a typical community service stint, though Emily Connor said she's already up to 20 hours. She likes this kind of thing.

Fitzgerald said it could become an annual event, but it might be moved away from the holiday season and at a time of year when the weather should be better.

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