The Farnsworth’s have had an on-going involvement in promoting activities for the residents since the beginning which finally tapered off in mid 2000. One of the early activities was the famous barbeques held at the site of the future Farnsworth Hall. Warren Hadley states the over 50 of them were held in the period 1961-1991. A photo exists that places an early barbeque at the site of Read Hall, obviously before the building was constructed. It appears that almost every resident of Dreamland Villa was active in these events. The last of the barbeques were in early 2000’s and were for the residents of the rental units and Board of Directors members only. I also recall that a large group of children of the Farnsworth families performed Christmas music at the auditorium around this time.

An Early 1960's Farnsworth Barbecue

Probably the 1991 Anniversary

Dreamland’s First President – William Read
William and Jenny Read, from Michigan arrived in Arizona in 1960 and were among the first to buy in Dreamland Villa. They were tireless in the development of the club and its activities. The club was modeled after the one in Sun City and he compared notes with their board. He made suggestions on the types of rooms in the Club house. He was the founder of the Michigan Club and the Tureen Dinner. He provided a projector for showing slides. They loved card games and promoted the card playing groups. She passed on in 1973 and he lived until March 1978.

William Read

Read Hall prior to 1962 and Aerial View in 1970

Read Hall Facilities Built
By the end of 1960 the Recreation Center now known as Read Hall was complete and ready for use. The Hall was named for William Read the first president of the Dreamland Villa Community Club. This original building holds the pool room, the art room, lapidary and ceramics. The 1962 photo of the building does not show a pool but it is assumed that the pools were built at the same time. The photo shows a porch on the 56th Street side that later has this filled in with three additional rooms. These rooms are now used for storage and as small meeting areas. The annex that now houses the office, wood shop, computer room and the card players was added at some as of now undetermined date. It assumed that the shuffleboard courts were part of the original plans as well as the parking lot. The addition of the annex that houses the present office, wood shop, computer room and card room was built by 1962.

Community Club Organized
The idea of forming a community club was discussed after Read Hall was constructed. On January 18, 1961 the club was named “Dreamland Villa Community Club. A constitution and by-laws were proposed and adopted on February 14, 1961. After that a board of directors was established featuring eight men and eight women. The Dreamland Villa Community Club was chartered as a non-profit organization by the State of Arizona on June 1, 1961, and was initially operated by the Farnsworth Construction Co.

The Citizen
The Citizen has been the Board’s link to Dreamland’s residents since 1971. The DVCC has copies from February 1972 on. The paper had (4) 8/12” X 11” pages printed by an outside firm. Some mention was made of a prior “Bulletin” but none seem to have survived. Two years later the Citizen was enlarged to (4) 11” X 17” pages. By November it had grown to (12) pages with advertisements and photographs and printed in conjunction with a newspaper publisher. The paper was distributed by volunteer carriers much like it is 40 years later.

September 1972 Issue

Dreamland Villa Retirement Community
320 N. 55th Place, Mesa, AZ 85205
(480) 832-3461

Adult 55+ Community

Schedule