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Pastor Edwin I. Stevens was the inaugural pastor for The South Church.

Stevens “answered the call” when a group of 13 Mount Prospect residents wanted to start an English-speaking Protestant community church that would serve every denomination. At the time, only St. Paul Lutheran Church existed in the Village and German was the predominant language there.

Leonard and Corinne Johnson and Dr. Judsom Lee and his wife began the effort to start a second church in late 1935 and for the next 14 months, group meetings were held in the VFW Hall at the time.  But the first formal church service was held at the Northwest Hills Country Club on February 7, 1937. In September of that year ground was broken for the church.

Meanwhile, the Lees and Johnsons were “shopping” for a minister and discovered that Mount Prospect had been “given to” the Baptists and that no other denomination could establish a church here until after the Baptists were established. Apparently, back then the “unchurched” areas around Chicago were divided town by town between the seven dominant Chicago denominations. At the time, there were no Baptist churches between Park Ridge and Barrington.

“I suggested that we call it The South Church because it was south of the tracks . . . and then we tacked on the Community Baptist part out of concession to the money that the Baptists were giving us,” Leonard Johnson said in a 1987 interview with the Herald for the church’s 50^th anniversary.

The picturesque little white church was completed in just three months and the first service was held there on December 19, 1937. The charter membership represented many different denominations.

Edwin Stevens, a Vermont native and recent seminary graduate whom members called “Pastor Steve,” became the new church’s first minister.  He recalled walking from house to house, recruiting members. His wife, Marion, assisted him. The couple had two young children – Lucia and Ralph.

In late 1942, with the United States propelled into war following the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, Reverend Stevens felt he would be better serving God and his country by enlisting in the Army as a chaplain. During his absence and until his safe return in early 1946, his position was temporarily filled by two other pastors.

For many years the ground floor meeting room beneath the sanctuary was busy with church Sunday school, drama and Bible Study groups.  Scouts, as well as women’s and men’s clubs representing all segments of the community, also met there.

And throughout the 1940s and 1950s, South Church experienced an ever-expanding congregation and numerous building additions. For instance, in 1957, a Christian Education addition was built and dedicated a year later to accommodate all church children from ages 3 to 12.

The Stevens continued to minister to the congregation until Marion’s death in 1962 and Pastor Steve’s retirement in 1974. He was replaced by Reverend John Clements.

George A. Stephen, the inventor of the Weber Kettle, a domed grill that came to be widely used by American barbecue-lovers, settled in Mount Prospect after World War II with his wife, Margaret — first in a home within Mount Prospect’s “triangle” and later in the Mount Prospect Country Club area. They had six boys and six girls.

George, who developed a love for outdoor cooking while in the Army, worked for Weber Brothers Metal Works in Arlington Heights. In the early 1950s, Weber Brothers manufactured metal buoys for the Coast Guard and the Chicago Yacht Club.

At the time, George was frustrated with the open brazier grilling technique available at the time which was characterized by uneven cooking and little-to-no protection from the elements. Somehow, it occurred to George to try something new and revolutionary.  He crafted a barbecue grill by cutting one of the Weber buoys in half, adding three legs to the bottom, a handle to the top and a cooking grate inside. His Mount Prospect neighbors laughingly nicknamed his experimental grill “Sputnik” for its similarity to the Russian spacecraft.

Based on the popularity of the grill in his Mount Prospect neighborhood, Stephen hit the street with his invention. He targeted his marketing directly to the public, starting with cooking demonstrations outside of local businesses and at Lions Park, and eventually, on local Chicago television stations.

“Dad would literally load the grill into a station wagon, go to a hardware store and set up a demonstration…” Jim Stephen, his son, recalled in an Associated Press interview.  “He would cook a turkey or a pig or something, and people would be in awe.”

At that time, a non-Weber portable grill retailed for about $7 and a Weber Grill retailed for about $50.

The demonstrations were used to justify the expense, selling the grill as a device that would be easy to use, and would be used often. It was not portrayed as a necessity, but as an enhancement to one’s quality of life, as were so many other products in this period. The growth of the Weber was very much a grassroots phenomenon, first encompassing Chicagoland, then the Midwest and eventually the entire United States and the world.

The newfound popularity of outdoor cooking during this period contributed to the success of the Weber. The notion of “men’s work” and “women’s work” was cracking in the late 1950s. Men were now encouraged to take a more active role within the family, but it was imperative that outdoor cooking be marketed in a way that preserved the cook’s masculinity. 

The consensus that grilling was a perfectly acceptable and a time-honored way for a male to prepare food allowed outdoor cooking and the sales of products associated with it to flourish. The newfound American attraction to outdoor cooking and the very down-to-earth, yet brilliant, marketing tactics of George Stephen would make the Weber Grill an intricate part of this up-and-coming American institution.   

Today, the Weber Grill enjoys a prominent place in the American lexicon. It is one of those lucky few products, such as Coca-Cola, Tabasco and Kleenex, whose brand name is synonymous with the product. Headquartered in Palatine, Weber-Stephen Products Co. is the world’s leading manufacturer of both charcoal and gas barbecue grills, smokers, grilling accessories, and other outdoor room products.

George Stephen died of cancer in 1993 at the age of 71. By that time, he had left Mount Prospect for Kildeer.

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Does MPHS have photographs: Yes

Address: 320 S. School Street, Moved to Schaumburg in 2022

Is building standing: 

When was it built: 1958

What is at site:

When was business founded: 1891

Is business still operating: Yes

If no, when did it close: 

Who runs business: Board of Directors, all 1891 Financial Life members

1891 Financial Life, previously known as the National Catholic Society of Foresters, was founded in Chicago by Elizabeth Rodgers in 1891. This not-for-profit fraternal insurance organization was originally based out of parishes in the Chicago area, but later expanded to seventeen states across the country. In the late 1980s they moved into their first official headquarters building at 320 S. School Street in Mount Prospect.

In addition to offering insurance, 1891 Financial Life is dedicated to serving the community. The philanthropic side of this business is organized into a system of courts. Each court consists of 1891 Financial Life members and is usually based out of a Catholic parish. Courts are often multi-generational, with some over 100 years old. Members of each court work together to plan events and fundraise for local charities. Additional service opportunities arise outside of the court system at pop-up events.

Over their many years headquartered in Mount Prospect, they have contributed to charitable organizations in and around town. Fundraising efforts have supported JOURNEYS the Road Home, the Illinois Fire Safety Alliance, the Wheeling Township Holiday Adopt-a-Family program, the Alzheimer’s Association, and Catholic Charities. In 2020 alone, Mount Prospect Local Impact Team 1255 raised over $7000 for the community. They also work closely with local Catholic churches. At St. Raymond’s in Mount Prospect, for example, they coordinated a canned food drive for the Backpack Ministry as part of Giving Tuesday events.

In summer 2022 they relocated their headquarters to Schaumburg.

Join us in Central School (103 S. Maple Street) on the second Sunday of every month anytime between 11:30 am to 1:30 pm for a variety of hands-on activities, make-and-takes, and all around family fun! Free tours of the Dietrich Friedrichs House Museum will also be available. Second Sundays are FREE and registration is not necessary. 

January 12 – Winter
February 9 – Valentines
March 9 – A Peek in Mount Prospect’s Attic
April 13 – Pinecone Bird Feeders
May 11- No program due to Mother’s Day
June 8 – Old Fashioned Games
July 13 – Summer Crafts
August 10 – “Meet” the Friedrichs
September 14 – Apples
October 12 – Pumpkins
November 9 – Turkeys
December 14 – “Gingerbread” Open House

Visit our 2nd Sundays page on Eventbrite for more information

Mount Prospect Trivia Night
Location: Central School/Mount Prospect Historical Society
103 S. Maple St.
Friday, February 3
6:00 pm

Did you know February is Mount Prospect’s ‘birthday’ month? Our Village officially came to be on February 3, 1917. To celebrate, the Mount Prospect Historical Society will be hosting a Trivia Night on Friday, February 3, 2023 at 6:00 pm in Central School. All questions will be based on the history of Mount Prospect. Players (ages high school and up) will compete individually. Pizza and soft drinks will be served. Tickets are $20 per person. Space is limited and reservations are required.

Registration is now closed.