MILWAUKEE — There's a hidden gem in Milwaukee's near southside. You wouldn't even recognize it if you drove through it. You might just think that it's part of Bay View. However, the neighbors that live there are quick to let you know it's not Bay View.
That neighborhood is Saveland Park.
“Yea I’m absolutely proud to live in Saveland Park," Kate de Lutio, the president of the neighborhood association, said.
It's a small neighborhood. Saveland Park is roughly six blocks by six blocks and includes a short stretch of I-94/43.
"Well, Saveland Park is an area, had I not been looking for a house would not have known existed. And I grew up less than three miles away from here," de Lutio said.
It's the type of place where all the neighbors know each other. In fact, it's thanks to all the dogs that the neighborhood has become so well connected.
"We’ve all met each other walking dogs along the park," neighbor Mona Whittmannlaak said.
The hub of Saveland Park is the park named Saveland Park. It's located in the middle of the neighborhood. That's where you'll find kids playing on the jungle gym, families having a picnic, and dogwalkers strolling around the pond.
"I think it is a bit of a hidden gem in that not a lot of people know about it," de Lutio said.
I met with Kate de Lutio to learn about her neighborhood, Saveland Park. Where we went and who we talked to was all up to her. There was no script to follow. I wanted to learn about her community through her eyes and experiences. Welcome to Saveland Park.
A Hidden Gem
“The very first year I moved here one of the neighbors invited me to a party at her house, and it was a little wild, and I thought alright what am I getting myself into? But (that) just showed me what a diverse and welcoming group of people who lived here were," de Lutio said.
She grew up in neighboring Bay View. Kate was drawn to the area for its communal feel. She said it had a "sacred" feeling.
“Sacred in that there's a sense of safety. There's a sense of belonging. There's a sense of purity," she said.
Kate said it's the type of neighborhood that embodies all the values you look for when raising a young family.
“People looking out for neighbors. Be it bringing them bread and eggs and butter, helping to shovel sidewalks, bringing food when a baby is born.”
Dogs, Dogs, and more Dogs
If you take a walk through Saveland Park, you will see, "lots and lots of dogs," de Lutio said.
So it's appropriate that all three of the friends she wanted to introduce brought their dogs.
"I think a lot of us got close during COVID cause we were all walking our dogs," neighbor Gerry Cofta said.
It seems like everyone owns a dog. In some respects, they are the force that brings the neighborhood together. People run into other dog owners on walks and share neighborhood information and update each other on how they are doing. This can happen multiple times on just one walk.
"We can leave the house at 4:30 and not get home until 7:30 depending on who you bump into," neighbor Amanda Curtiss said.
In this roughly six-by-six-block community, dog walks are the way news spreads, plans are made, and dinner parties are scheduled. Thanks to dogs wanting to say hello to other dogs they pass by, it forces the owners to talk. And thus, the neighborhood grows closer one dog walk at a time.
The heart of Saveland Park
After we said goodbye to the dog walkers, we went to the middle of the neighborhood to meet de Lutio's children and her friend's children.
“We are about to go to the hub of the Saveland Park neighborhood which is actually Saveland Park," she said.
It's a small park with a pond on the east side. The other half has a play structure, picnic benches, and large trees. The kind of trees that can trap a football or soccer ball if kicked too high. And that's exactly what happened.
"Did you get the football down yet?" Kate asked the four boys that were there.
They didn't get it down.
"I caught it. I punted it up there while they were wrestling," one of the boys said.
The ball was way out of arms or ladder reach. So the only way to get the ball down was to kick another ball to dislodge it. A classic childhood conundrum.
The boys took turns kicking a soccer ball as high as they could to hit the football out of the tree's grasp. They tried and tried again with no luck. Until one kick looked like it had promise. It had the height and was on target. There was a moment of silence until the soccer ball hit the football, and the two balls returned to earth.
All the boys erupted in triumphant screams.
"We got it down while the cameraman was here," Louie de Lutio, Kate's son said.
Saveland Park is a neighborhood where kids can be kids and play. Just like in Lindsay Heights kids play cans, in Saveland Park kids play catch without a worry or hesitation.
"You want to raise kids this is the place you want to be," Philippe Archambeau whose son was part of the group that kicked the ball in the tree said. "It's just a lot of fun. You not only just have the kids being able to make a bunch of buddies like we all became best friends. It's cool. Everyone around here is really fun to hang out with, and they all take their time to look after each other's kids."
Hawthorne Coffee
After the kids got the ball down, they all went home for dinner. However, Kate had one last place for us to visit. She took us to the local coffee shop that doubles as a cocktail bar in the evening. It's called Hawthorne Coffee Roasters. While it's not in Saveland Park proper, it's just a short walk to pick up a cup of joe or grab a drink. It's the defacto spot for Saveland Park neighbors.
“We opened on a hope and a prayer I guess," co-owner Steve Hawthorne said.
Hawthorne Coffee Roasters started brewing coffee in 2015. Steve opened it with his wife Kendra Barron. Their young children are listed as being on the board of directors. Hawthorne and Barron saw a need for a coffee shop in the area and then turned towards making cocktails too.
"The growth and the amount of people that we get to see every day now has been really humbling, and (I'm) just proud that we can still be here seven years later," Hawthorne said.
Kate likes coming here for a pick-me-up in the morning with a jolt of caffeine or to wind down with a craft cocktail. Plus, it's another way the community connects. Just as the park brings the neighborhood kids together and dog walks introduce the adults to one another, Hawthorne Coffee Roasters is where friendships grow.
"Theres been people that we’ve met since opening that have just become part of our lives, and we're part of their lives, and it really just exemplifies our community," Hawthorne said.
One Last Question
Once Kate was finished with her cocktail, we headed back to her home to end the tour of Saveland Park.
As is tradition, the last word is always given to the tour guide of the My Block story. Before that happens though, here is how you can be part of the series. Reach out to James Groh to nominate your neighborhood or a neighbor to be featured in the next story. You can fill out this submission form or contact him at james.groh@tmj4.com or call/text at (414) 254-8145.
Now to Kate's departing words.
"Is there anything else you’d like to say about your neighborhood?" TMJ4 reporter James Groh asked Kate.
"I think our neighborhood is a pocket that represents our beautiful city on a whole. Where it's really this neighborhood that is a community, and people just connect in a lot of ways, and they feel like they belong. And I know that happens all over the city, and it's just a fantastic representation of that."