It wasn’t like Don and Joyce Brittain hadn’t seen the large portraits of Don’s late parents, Bill and Nettie, countless times on the wall inside Double Oak Town Hall. They’d been there for years and were proudly displayed in the same spot — just to the left of the doors to the main conference room, each flanked by smaller photos dating back to the town’s early days.
But as they held those photos in their arms for a photo shoot with State Representative Kronda Thimesch to commemorate the town’s 50th anniversary and their family’s role in all of it, a flood of memories and feel-good emotions quickly overwhelmed them.
“It feels marvelous,” Don said while glancing at his wife of 65 years and their son, Gary. “They were the smartest and nicest people.”
“I’m very proud of them,” Joyce said as she clutched Don’s hand. “They took pride in this community and wanted the best for everyone.”
Double Oak celebrated its 50th anniversary of incorporation on May 25, and the now 3,000-some-odd residents of the self-proclaimed “volunteer town” have the Brittain family to thank for that. While far from a one-person show, Bill Brittain’s dream was to establish a tax-free municipality in south-central Denton County and ward off any chance of being annexed into neighboring Flower Mound. More importantly, he wanted everyone in the proposed tight-knit community to have a say in whatever happened next.
So, he did what any well-intentioned man would do and went door to door asking for support. Nettie even hosted tea parties at their house on the corner of Kings Rd., just east of McMakin Rd. — which is still in the family today.
Once they collected 64 signatures, Bill marched the paperwork to Denton County and formally registered the town.
“We must have been in our late 30s at the time,” Joyce said. She and Don, now 86 and 87, respectively, built their home in Double Oak in 1973, seven years after Bill and Nettie moved from their family’s land in Irving to settle in Double Oak. “We held the first of several town council meetings at Don’s Brittain Awning and Fence Company shop, which was also on our property. Political meetings were also held there; the Republicans were in the back, the Democrats were in the front, and Nettie was the judge.”
Bill and Nettie held elections, coordinated precincts, and did everything else you could think of — with help from their neighbors.
“Don was one of the town’s first Aldermen, and as the town developed in the years to come, it was all about doing things for others,” Gary’s wife, Ginger, said. “If someone moved here, there were instant welcoming committees. It was a tight-knit community.”
Gary agreed. He and his older brother, Randy, were still little when his parents moved from Irving to be closer to his grandparents.
“When [my grandparents] moved out here, they didn’t come alone,” he said. “Family quickly followed. There was nothing but dirt and gravel roads out here at first. I remember that if you sat in their living room at night, you could see to the top of the hill where Cristina’s Restaurant is now. If a car came over that hill, they were either lost or coming to see grandma and grandpa.”
He was quick to add that everyone loved his grandparents. Bill and Nettie initially met in Weatherford. Nettie’s father was one of the seven original settlers in Irving, and she was one of 11 children. Bill worked as an aircraft parts controller for General Dynamics for 35 years. Nettie worked for Temco, which was also in the aircraft industry. When they decided to leave Irving, they instantly fell in love with what they considered a hidden gem in Double Oak.
Today, Bill and Nettie’s presence can still be felt in what is now a thriving town. Double Oak is a General Law City restricted to single-family residences with a minimum 1-acre lot size and a commercial development in the northeast part of the town limits. Residents govern Double Oak, which is represented by a mayor and a five-member town council, along with residents who volunteer to serve on the town’s boards. In the early years, volunteers were known to coordinate fixing streets on “Pot Holes Days,” decorating town hall for the holidays, and maintaining the town’s gardens. The residents also comprise the town’s highly experienced Double Oak Volunteer Fire Department.
This newspaper, originally called The Double Oak Gazette, was founded in 1979 by Jane Eastman who served on Double Oak Town Council and was a member of the Cross Timbers Estates Homeowners Association. A slew of Double Oak volunteers kept the newspaper going in the early years.
In 1988, the Town of Double Oak established the Double Oak Police Department.
“Double Oak is unique — it’s a rarity in today’s world,” Ginger added. “There’s a Brittain Lane in town and a Brittain Tree just outside Town Hall. Some people come inside Town Hall and have no idea who these people are on the walls, but plenty of us still remember them. They are the founding family, and their insistence on caring about neighbors and doing good for others built this town.”
