ORAL HISTORY PROJECT RESUMES AS WE APPROACH 2026

By Jean Murphy

Much of the firsthand history we know about Mount Prospect comes from the memories of individuals. Over the more than 50 years of the Historical Society’s existence, we have periodically interviewed businesspeople, residents, elected officials and others to glean stories about how Mount Prospect has grown and changed over the years, often corroborating those memories with newspaper articles and advertisements. 

We have recently revived this effort, in cooperation with MPTV, as part of the Society’s celebration of the nation’s upcoming Semiquincentennial (250^th anniversary) in 2026.

Since April we have videotaped interviews with three people whom we felt could enlighten us about Mount Prospect’s families, businesses, government and daily life during the past 100 years. More interviews will be scheduled in the coming months.

We first interviewed Bernice Oehlerking. She has lived in Mount Prospect her entire 102 years.

Bernice, one of six siblings, grew up on a farm along the south side of the tracks near Louis Street. Her home no longer stands. She remembers her parents growing corn, tomatoes and soybeans.

She and her siblings attended St. Paul Lutheran School and later when they grew older, traveled by bus to Arlington High School where Bernice studied secretarial skills. During World War II she assembled parts for the war effort at Busse Buick and then took a secretarial job downtown. Later she worked for many years at Meeske’s Market in Mount Prospect and then for many more years at Central Continental Bakery.

The Oehlerkings sold the family farm during the mid-1950s and moved to a new ranch home on School Street. Bernice moved with them and lived there continuously until just recently. After her parents sold the farm, her father worked as a custodian at St. Paul School and both he and Bernice’s mother worked in the onion sheds along the north side of the tracks during the season.

Interviewed next was Carolyn Krause, Mount Prospect’s ninth mayor and first female in that position. The Wisconsin native was appointed to the zoning board in 1975 and then ran for mayor two years later when Bob Teichert chose to retire. She was only 38 at the time and Mount Prospect still had a small town atmosphere. 

“People still ran small shops in the downtown. I loved it. You would go into them and the owners would come over and help you if you were looking for something in particular,” she recalled.

During her 12-year tenure, Krause oversaw the transformation of a large parcel of land owned by NICOR into Kensington Business Center; decided to tie into Lake Michigan water; constructed a large Public Works garage on the western side of town, freeing up land in the downtown area for redevelopment; and began work to reduce flooding in the northeastern portion of town.

In 1992, a few years after she left Village Hall, the Illinois General Assembly drew up a new map for the House and Senate. Krause liked the new District that included Mount Prospect, Arlington Heights, Prospect Heights, a small part of Des Plaines and part of Buffalo Grove.

“I thought, what the heck? I like government and I like the change that can occur. So, I filed petitions down in Springfield and ran in the primary. I won that and then ran in the general election. I took office in ’93.”

“It was a more political setting, but not as it is today. When I entered the House, we worked with both parties and you did not have the bickering which seems to be almost national now. We would work out issues. Republicans and Democrats got along well,” she continued.

Krause is remembered for telling those who served with her to always listen to the people and “remember who took you to the dance.”

Our third interview was with Dave Esau, owner of the recently-shuttered Dave’s Specialty Foods on Prospect Avenue.

Dave’s Specialty Foods was a popular business in Mount Prospect for 24 years before it closed in January 2025. It was originally located on Northwest Highway between Hearth & Home and Benjamin Moore, Esau recalled during his interview.

“Since sixth grade I always knew that I wanted to cook,” Esau stated, so he entered a local cooking school when he was 19. Then he worked for a string of restaurants, perfecting his trade. Around the turn of the Millenium, he opened his own shop in Mount Prospect. It quickly became a local institution.

“Before I retired, I worked every weekend, holiday and night for 45 years,” he explained, even catering customers’ parties and weddings in far flung places within Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin.

Now he is enjoying retirement, while also occasionally catering events.

If you have suggestions about individuals in Mount Prospect whom we should interview, contact us at info@mtphistory.org.