Mount Prospect Historical Society

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Housewalk 2024

Tickets go on sale November 1, 2024 for the Mount Prospect Historical Society’s 36th annual Holiday Housewalk which will highlight the We-Go Park and Bobby Lane neighborhoods north of the Mt. Prospect Country Club.  The walk will be held from 3:30 to 9 p.m., Friday, Dec. 6, 2024.

The interiors of six private homes, built between 1962 and 2016, will be featured on the tour this year.

The homes which will have their interiors featured this year are: 1211 W. Lincoln Street,  owned by George and Suzanne Busse; 210 S. Bobby Lane, owned by Kristin Almeirgi and Vincent Haufle; 305 S. Lancaster Street, owned by Kristin and Jeff Michalczk; 201 S. Lancaster Street, owned by Kristen and Michael Favia; 200 S. We-Go Trail, owned by Kristin and BJ Lindstrom; and 204 S. We-Go Trail, owned by Nayia and Joe Sivulka.

All of the homes will be exciting to tour in their own ways, whether because of the lovely decorating, the new construction or renovation work that has been done, according to JP Karlov, Housewalk co-chairperson.

The tour will begin in a tent at the corner of Kenilworth Avenue and Pendleton Place where last minute tickets will be sold; refreshments will be offered; and watercolors of the featured houses will be displayed.  Museum store items and tickets for a raffle will also be sold there. The “will call” table for tour tickets ordered online will also be located in the tent.

As usual, this walking tour will be accented by beautifully lit luminaria.  Parking will be available along neighborhood streets.

Commentary in the homes will be provided by volunteers from local organizations, businesses, schools and the community.  Homeowners will provide the decorations. 

Non-refundable tickets will be sold for $30 each through Dec. 5 at the Mount Prospect Village Hall, 50 S. Emerson St.; River Trails’ Weiss Center, 1500 E. Euclid Ave.; the Central Community Center, 1000 W. Central Rd.; Millie’s Hallmark, 1024 S. Elmhurst Rd.; and the Dietrich Friedrichs House museum, 101 S. Maple St.

Tickets are also available at www.mtphist.org.  Those tickets can be picked up at a “will call” desk located at the tent headquarters during the walk.

Last-minute decision-makers may also purchase tickets on the day of the walk, beginning at 3 p.m. at the headquarters tent, but the cost will be $35 per person at that time.

“The Housewalk is the Society’s largest fund-raiser of the year,” Karlov explained.  “Its proceeds support the many educational endeavors of the Society and help to pay for upkeep on our museum.  We urge the public to support our effort to preserve local history through enjoying the Housewalk and our other activities throughout the year.”

Phone the Society at 847-392-9006 for more information.

This year’s Walk is sponsored by Hearth & Home, Busse Automotive, Novak and Parker appliances, the Mt. Prospect Park District and Mrs. P & Me.

Tickets ordered online will be available for pickup on Thursday, December 5 from 6:00-7:00 pm at the Dolores Haugh Education Center, located at the top of the driveway behind the museum (101 S. Maple Street). There will also be a Will Call table at the event in the tent headquarters where tickets can be picked up starting at 3:00 pm.

Online ticket sales are now closed. You can still purchase tickets for $35 at the headquarters tent at the Housewalk. The headquarters tent is located at the intersection of Kenilworth Avenue and Pendleton Place.

Milwaukee Bus Trip PR

Both history lovers and beer afficionados will find something to love during the day-long Mount Prospect Historical Society bus trip to Milwaukee on Saturday, September 14, 2024. Participants will tour the historic Pabst brewery and taste some beer (or a soft drink); then have lunch at the On Tap restaurant in the former Pabst Brewing Company’s Mill House building; and finally tour the gorgeous old Pabst family mansion. Take note that each participant will be responsible for choosing and paying for their own lunch.

“Although Best Place at Pabst Brewing may no longer be brewing those iconic tall boys of delicious bubbly, it is still a very cool spot to visit when in Milwaukee,” one Yelp reviewer noted.

“I took the tour and found it to be very informative about Pabst beer, the brewery, the King and Fred Pabst. Not only was the history and tour great, but also nostalgic when seeing the bottling line where Laverne and Shirley’s intro was filmed, along with the iconic glove on beer bottle scene.”

The Pabst Mansion tour in the afternoon will present a totally different experience. Captain Frederick and Maria Pabst had it built in 1892 and it remains the foremost example of a preserved 1890s Gilded Age Mansion in the Midwest or virtually anywhere else in the country.

As leading figures in Milwaukee society, the Pabsts became consummate art collectors, filling their mansion with priceless treasures. After the Pabst descendants sold the house in 1908, it became the Archbishop’s residence and the center of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee for more than 67 years. Then it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 and opened for tours in 1978. Tour-goers will leave Mount Prospect at 9 a.m. and return at 5 p.m. The cost for the day is $95 per person ($85 for MPHS members). Participants should be aware that the trip requires considerable walking and the ability to climb bus stairs, flights of stairs and stand for up to 60 minutes. 

Register at www.mtphist.org/milwaukee.

Edwin C. Wille

Edwin C. Wille was born December 2, 1895 in Elk Grove Township, Illinois.  His father, William, was a German immigrant who worked as a carpenter. His mother, Engel, was born in Illinois. According to the United States Census records Edwin lived with his parents and 7 siblings in 1900 and with his parents and 6 siblings in 1910.  According to his World War I Draft Registration card by June 1917 Edwin worked as a bartender for his father.  He noted on the form that “I am willing to fight for my country to defend it and not for other countries outside of USA.” Edwin did end up enlisting in the military on October 5, 1917 and was discharged on June 5, 1919.  He served with Co. A, 129th Infantry. When he returned home, Edwin lived with his parents, three siblings and four nieces and nephews in Mount Prospect on Busse Avenue and worked as a carpenter.  He married Margaret D. Behrens of Des Plaines on June 29, 1929.  He and Margaret lived at 104 William Street in 1930; Edwin continued to work as a carpenter. He was elected as a Mount Prospect trustee on the Progressive ticket in April 1932.  During this term he served on the board’s street and sidewalks, fire and water, and police and lights committees.  Edwin won reelection in 1935 when he ran on the Community ticket.  He served as chairman of the police committee and continued work with the fire and water and streets committees. Edwin left the board of trustees in 1937. By 1940 Edwin and his wife, Margaret, had three children, a daughter and two sons and lived at 22 Busse Avenue in Mount Prospect. Edwin worked as a beer distributor.  On the World War II Draft Registration form Edwin indicated he worked for himself but did disclose the kind of business.  In 1950 he was again living at 104 S. William now with his wife, son, daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter.  His profession is listed as carpenter. Edwin’s wife, Margaret, died in 1972.  Edwin Wille died on March 17, 1980.  He is buried in Memory Gardens cemetery in Arlington Heights.