March 10, 2024 • 34 mins
Since the early days of Mokena, 11116 has been a place where the community gathers to drink, socialize, shop and eat. For more than a decade now this property has sat vacant. The property is now undergoing a renovation and will be host a new restaurant, The Dock on Front Street! I asked Mayor Frank Fleischer about the restaurant and got his thoughts on what this can do for Front Street.
Mokena is excited about the future of this building, but if you really want to enjoy and appreciate what this property will become, you want to understand where it has been. Matt wrote this great article in 2001, detailing the rich history of this place.
Be sure to check out our YouTube channel for our full video tour of the property as well! It’s pretty cool! Matt's blog post that this article is based on can be found by clicking HERE.
Be sure to check out our website @ www.MokenasFrontPorch.com
Follow Us On Facebook At Mokena's Front Porch
Find Matt's Blog here: Matt's Old Mokena
Photo & Artwork Credit: Jennifer Medema & Leslie V. Moore Jr.
Do you have a question, comment or maybe an idea for an episode, you can email us at:
Podcast@MokenasFrontPorch.com
Local Shows We Recommend:
The South Side Pod
https://www.southsidepod.com
If you have a local Podcast you would like us to include, send us an email! We would love to share your show!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Israel (00:00):
Welcome to Mokena's Front Porch a Mokena History
podcast with Mac Dalek and me,israel Smith.
This podcast we're going totalk about one of the oldest
buildings in Mokena.
It's been around for a longtime.
Many different variations, frompizza places to general stores
and grocery stores, filled thisbuilding in the past and now
(00:22):
it's going to be filled again asa restaurant, hopefully by the
end of 2024, which is reallyexciting for Front Street.
Bring another restaurantdowntown, something to draw
people to our downtown andhopefully encourage more growth
going forward.
Gino Pichola, the owner of theproperty, was kind enough to
(00:43):
give Matt and I a tour of thebuilding and went through.
There's a great.
We put a great YouTube videoout shows the full tour walking
through the property, the oldbeams, the different sections.
You see them as they were builton.
It's such a neat property.
It was neat to see in thisstage and they're going to let
(01:05):
us come through and see thedifferent stages as we get
closer to completion as well.
So that's exciting.
So check out that YouTube videoAgain.
Gino gave us a great tour.
We got to meet the owner, rickTraffton, but it's not in the
video.
He was working with thearchitect, so we wanted to save
him that time, but we're goingto get together with him soon.
(01:27):
Great Moquina guy, local guy,and you'll hear more about that.
So very cool that there's alsoa connection for this restaurant
and for Moquina.
So Matt gives us a cool littlehistory beforehand.
You see in the video a lot ofwhat you'll hear more in depth
in this episode.
So it's a great old building,really cool.
(01:50):
Rick was interested in keepingsome of the historic stuff so
Matt talked to him about gettinghim some pictures and things to
put up.
So that'll be really cool tosee as well once that place is
done.
So I also was speaking.
I got a chance to speak toMayor Frank Fleischer about
something else and I mentionedto him about the restaurant and
(02:11):
wanted to get his thoughts.
So you hear some of histhoughts on this restaurant, the
dock coming in as well.
As you know, we heap a bunch ofpraise on Gino Pichola and all
the hard work that he's doing,the things that he's doing to
bring our front street and makeit more fun and more options and
make it something that peopleare drawn to and come down to.
(02:33):
So thanks to Gino for doingthat and you'll hear the Mayor
is appreciative as well.
So be sure to check out ourwebsite, be sure to check out
our YouTube channel.
We're putting more and morestuff.
I just loaded a fun video fromour Easter Egg hunt last year,
from the Mokena Lions Easter EggHunt, and so I've been, you
(02:54):
know, putting those things herein there.
So real community stuff.
So check out our YouTubechannel, check out our website,
which is Mokenasfrontporch.
com , and make sure to check outour Facebook page as well.
We've got some great thingscoming up for the podcast, great
episodes that we're working onthat I think are going to be
really interesting and greathistory pieces for our village.
This is a great property.
(03:15):
It's got a great history.
So many people from our villageare connected here.
So enjoy this episode.
I would like to ask you becauseI'm the next episode I'm having
coming out is about the dock onFront Street.
You know the old historicbuilding.
We did a video walkthrough.
I'd love to hear what yourthoughts are.
What do you think about that?
Coming to downtown?
Mayor Frank Fleischer (03:36):
Well, the funny thing is, since I was a
trustee and we're going back allthe way back to 1985 I always
felt we couldn't have a downtown.
We just had to work on it.
I always felt that Mokena hadyou know, it's maybe the place
to get a good downtown and I hadto fight people for that.
I had to fight electedofficials over the years for
(03:56):
that.
And now you're starting to seethat we can't have a downtown.
You're starting to seerestaurants coming in.
You know Docks is one of them.
He's a well-dead, he's awell-known restaurant.
We're not just going to getpeople from Mokena to go there.
There's going to be people fromoutside of Mokena.
That has known these guys foryears.
(04:19):
I like the idea that the ownersare born and bred in Mokena.
They've been around for a longtime.
Their father was active in StMary's Church.
Can't remember what we weretalking about, but we talked
years ago about a project orsomething and Benny said that he
wanted to spend in Mokena.
Israel (04:37):
They're happy that they're going to be here, yeah,
and we talk a little bit aboutGino Pachola and his hard work
he's done to keep this buildingstanding and not.
You know, I love the fact thatwe're going to have this old
structure that's been around forsome of it early, early, early
(04:59):
days of our village and peopleare still going to get to enjoy
that today.
I think that's great.
Mayor Frank Fleischer (05:05):
You need somebody, israel.
You need somebody that wants todevelop the downtown, like Gino
.
Israel (05:10):
Yeah.
Mayor Frank Fleischer (05:11):
He's trying to save the buildings,
but, even more important thanthat, he's the one that took the
chance.
Israel (05:17):
Absolutely.
Mayor Frank Fleischer (05:18):
He's the one that put the money on the
line and he has the two.
He's going to have the tworestaurants going downtown.
I have a lot of respect for him.
He's a young man and he tookthe chance on doing it.
I appreciate it very much.
Yeah, absolutely I appreciatewhat he's told from Mokena very
much.
Israel (05:35):
It's a huge positive for our downtown and you know we
talk about the history of Mokenaand that's what our podcast is,
and there's people like Gino,through the years of Mokena,
that have made positive changesand kept our downtown or our
village or that moving in aright direction, and I would
give him that label for sure ofsomebody that is making a huge
(05:57):
positive impact on our downtown,mokena.
Mayor Frank Fleischer (06:00):
Oh, there's no doubt about it.
And the thing is, what I triedto get across to the board for
years was that until we make,until we let people know that
we're not going to work and pushfor downtown investors are not
going to come in and drop moneyin Mokena.
They're just not going to do it.
(06:22):
I mean, if the board has beenexcited about it, why should
they be?
Israel (06:25):
Yeah, that's great.
Mayor Frank Fleischer (06:27):
And now things are starting to pop.
Couple weeks on going to arestaurant I can't mention the
name right now, but I'm going toa restaurant he definitely
wants to build a building in thedowntown area of Mokena.
Israel (06:39):
Oh, that's great to hear .
Well, I hope once they make theagreement, let them know that
Mokena's front porch is theplace to go for the scoop, cause
we had such so many peopleexcited about the video and
getting the tour of that oldbuilding.
Mayor Frank Fleischer (06:53):
So that would be great, because I'll
tell you.
And there's another restaurant.
Okay, they want to leave anarea around here.
That wants to come to Mokena,and I'm in the process of
looking for a place for him, buthe wants a special place, so
I'm trying to find another oneso we can have two restaurants.
(07:15):
That would be great it alreadyhas a following in the area.
Israel (07:18):
Yeah.
Mayor Frank Fleischer (07:19):
So this is what I'm getting the kick out
of.
For years, people told me,israel, that we're not going to
have a downtown.
We're not going to have adowntown.
Well, they were full of blowing.
I did a poll a few years back,four years ago, when I ran the
last time, and we thought, and Iwanted to question, is I asked
was it about downtown?
72%, 72% of the residents inMokena wanted a viable downtown.
(07:44):
Wow.
Israel (07:45):
I'm one of those 72 for sure, so putting both my hands
raised.
We live in downtown and we lovehaving options to be able to
walk down and enjoy and walkingdowntown and seeing you know the
beautiful downtown at Christmasand it's been such an
improvement over just when we'vebeen here and I think more
people want to see more of that.
(08:06):
So it's great it's happening.
Mayor Frank Fleischer (08:07):
I agree with you and somebody younger
people I'm talking to.
You know people want to getinvolved in politics and people
want to get involved in zoningand planning commission.
But they tell me is they justwant to go downtown.
They will love to go downtownto a restaurant and meet one of
their friends down there intheir family.
(08:28):
Yeah, that's what they want todo.
That's why it seems like theyoung people you know want to
downtown.
They want someplace to go, theywant place someplace to meet
friends of theirs.
Israel (08:38):
Yeah.
Mayor Frank Fleischer (08:39):
And hopefully now they're going to
get it and then, when you'regoing to fire him, starts moving
along, because we got someplans for young groups.
Fire, yeah, you know peoplewill start going over there.
They can come into downtown toget something.
I'll tell you, it's really mean.
Not so many years.
Think about what Mokena has.
You've got a downtown, a viabledowntown that needs work, right
(09:01):
next to Mr Yonkers farm, andthen south of that is the Forest
Preserve.
And years ago the ForestPreserve wanted to put winter
activities in that area and I'mgoing to go talk to them and
find out if they still haveplans to do that, such as
cross-country and things likethat.
Exactly, Cross-country tubinghills and winter activities.
Israel (09:25):
Oh, tubing hill, that's a great idea.
Mayor Frank Fleischer (09:28):
So they wanted to put things in out
there.
They wanted to work with us.
You know, we've got to showthem we're willing and, like I
said, this is sorry to mean usthe potential is there.
We could have one of the best.
I mean we could have the bestdowntown in the area Because,
think about it, nobody has whatMolkina has, nobody in downtown,
(09:53):
nobody has a train station, butnobody has a downtown that I
know connected to their parkdistrict, like that, yeah,
connected to the Forest Preserve.
Israel (10:03):
All right, matt.
This episode we're talkingabout the building that's at
11116 Front Street, and youposted this blog post back on
Friday, march 5th of 2021.
Called Beer Suds to PipingPizza a history of 11116 Front
Street.
So, matt, how do people know11116 Front Street today?
Matt (10:28):
Yeah, so this is the building that is immediately
west of Curtin Call Theater.
Nowadays it's empty.
Now, the last business that wasin there was Paulie's
Restaurant For quite a whileback in the oh, about mid 2000s,
up until oh, I can't even placeit when he closed finally,
(10:50):
maybe like 2012 or 13.
One of our listeners may have abetter sense of when he closed
his doors, but longtimeMolkanians will remember this as
the location former location ofA Pizza, one of the great pizza
places of Molkina, and also,going back even farther than
that, was Wilbur Teske's grocerystore.
Israel (11:14):
And you talk a little bit about it in the story, but
you've had a lot of personalconnection to this place and
spent a lot of time there as ayoung person.
Yeah, I'll share a little bitabout that.
Yeah, I would love to.
Matt (11:25):
You know A Pizza was a cool place.
You know there was absolutelynothing special or anything
remotely fancy about the place.
It was just a regular pizzaplace.
But what was cool about it isthat the owners at least as far
(11:50):
as I was ever able to tell neverseemed like they had any kind
of problem with kids, you know,like high school age kids going
and hanging out there.
Or, you know, maybe a littleyounger, like junior high age
kids.
You know, as long as you're acustomer, you weren't just
loitering.
But it was a place where myfriends and I went quite a lot
(12:13):
just to, you know, get a pizzaand kind of you know, take our
time eating it, and a placewhere you never got looked down
at for being an unaccompaniedkid, because there I won't name
any names, but there werebusinesses in town where they
(12:34):
kind of had like an unofficial,unattended teens aren't welcome
here kind of stance, and A Pizzawas never one of those places
and it was just a cool.
Yeah, it was just a good placeto go with your friends and kind
of be out without your parents.
Any games or anything they havein there or they had a bunch of
classic arcade games in there,cool.
(12:56):
The one I remember the clearestwas Miss Pac-Man yes, playing
that a lot.
I remember they had Area 51,that kind of shoot them up alien
game.
Mayor Frank Fleischer (13:10):
That's the best way I can describe it.
Matt (13:12):
They had a few more.
They had one of those.
I think they had one of thoseclaw machines in there.
They had super ghouls andghosts.
I remember another classic fromthe 80s and early 90s.
Yeah, you know, it was just.
It was just a cool place,something like you'd see on like
a TV show or something.
(13:33):
And yeah, once again, it was.
This was not a.
There was nothing sophisticatedabout this place at all, which
isn't I'm not trying to put itdown or anything, but it was
just a real small town kind ofplace that I have.
There's a lot of good memoriesattached.
Israel (13:55):
And you know we'll talk about it.
You know this place is.
This is a very old building intown, oh yeah.
And it started as a bar.
Was there any of that kind ofstuff left over, any of the
interior from earlier days?
Matt (14:12):
You know, not really, unfortunately, going back in my
memory and I was alreadyinterested in in Mokena history
when I was going there.
So I was kind of looking around.
There was nothing I rememberseeing back then that struck me
as being Historic or original oranything, unfortunately.
Israel (14:32):
But yeah, but the building is still there, so
that's yeah, and we're going totry to talk to Geno for this as
well, but Geno Pachola is thecurrent owner of the property
and it was just approved forsome renovations, and so that's
positive.
Matt (14:50):
Good news and yeah, absolutely.
Israel (14:53):
Hopefully we have some life back in that building again
soon.
Yeah, I hope so.
So all right, matt.
Well, let's hear this greatstory.
Here's to piping pizza.
A story of 11116 Front Street.
Matt (15:08):
On a walk down Front Street, one is greeted by many
familiar sites here the CurtinCall Theater, there the former
tribes beer company, not tomention other local mainstays as
part of our village streetscape.
It's easy to become so used tothe scene that many of these
buildings are easy to take forgranted.
Notwithstanding, our mosthistoric structures demand our
(15:32):
attention and appreciation, andone of those is the old
structure at 11116 Front Streetwhich most recently was known as
Paul E's Restaurant.
In the last two decades of the20th century this place was a
pizza, a front street fixture, awell-known gathering place for
(15:52):
Mokena's youth.
This writer wild away countlesshours here with his friends,
counting many days of joy andmirth in this spot which, on
more than a few weekends, couldbecome quite crowded.
It's easy to find a Mokenianwho can remember both of these
eateries, but the history ofthis landmark reaches back well
over 150 years and includes morethan a few interesting
(16:15):
personalities.
The heart of this story, likeso many in our fair village,
lies with a member of thestoried Schick family.
Georg Heinrich and JulianoRosino Schick were all natives
of Neckarbischofshain in theGerman Grand Duchy of Baden.
Building their family there,the couple welcomed 11 children
(16:38):
to their fold before leaving theold country and emigrating to
America in August 1848, arrivingon the heels of unrest and
revolution in their old homeland, setting foot in Chicago with
305 frank pieces in their name,the Schicks stayed there only a
few days before trudging on footsouthward, before they came to
(17:01):
their new home in what wouldbecome Frankfurt Township.
Georg Heinrich and JulianoRosino's middle son, ferdinand,
came into the world on September12, 1832, and was 16 years old
when his family set down theirstakes in our midst.
He tried his hand at farming,the family profession, and would
(17:22):
later even come into his ownacreage a little further west
from the family homestead, downwhat is today 187th Street, near
where Marley now stands.
In the spring of 1871,ferdinand Schick entered the
business world of Mochina, whenhe bought a front street lot and
the two parcels adjoining tothe north and northeast from
(17:45):
Peter Knapp, valued altogetherat $2,500.
This is the property that istoday known as 11116 Front
Street.
At the time of Schick's purchase, a building already stood here.
However, it was likely not thestructure which currently stands
on this spot, boastingdecorative wooden cornices and
(18:09):
framed windows.
This rambling edifice is astunning example of the
vernacular Italianatearchitecture that was popular in
the American Midwest in theyears following the Civil War.
This current structure and allof its outward treasures likely
date from the time of FerdinandSchick's acquisition of the
(18:29):
property.
Interestingly, the building'snorthern half, tucked behind the
main structure like a shy child, is of an even older vintage,
displaying attributes of theGreek revival style, a feature
seen in Mochina houses in the1850s and 1860s, the earliest
period of our village's history.
(18:50):
This is possibly the firstbuilding on the lot and it's not
out of the realm of possibilitythat it was pushed a few yards
to the north to make room for anew structure.
Alternately, it may have beenmoved from elsewhere at a later
date and then tacked on to themain structure.
Israel (19:10):
So a couple of things.
For one, I wanted to ask whatthe connection with Lester
Schick, who we've talked aboutbefore is and this Schick family
.
Matt (19:21):
Yeah, so Ferdinand Schick and Lester Schick are.
They are related.
This is the same family.
Let's see, ferdinand Schickwould have been Lester Schick's
great-granduncle.
So Ferdinand Schick was thebrother of Lester Schick's
grandfather.
(19:41):
Wow, Okay, yeah, that's theyounger brother of Philip Schick
, who is Lester Schick'sgrandfather.
Okay, yeah, to seg back to theprincipal section of the
building that faces Front Street.
Ferdinand Schiek opened asaloon within these walls around
1871, where he was also knownto board guests overnight, along
(20:03):
with a host of other Moquinaand Frankfurt saloonists.
He was indicted by the WillCounty Grand Jury in early 1879
for selling drink to a habitualdrunkard.
A trial soon followed in thecounty seat, which took up two
days and the testimony of some50 witnesses.
By the time the dust wassettled, schiek and his fellow
(20:25):
bar keeps were each fined $20 incosts by the court, along with
20 days in jail, the time in thelockup to let up.
As soon as the fine was paid,the Joliet media was decidedly
aligned against them, the dailynews of that place blustering.
That should teach them to lookout for these old suckers who
should be fined for each offensejust the same as the saloon
(20:48):
keeper who sells it to them.
Legal trouble notwithstanding,ferdinand Schiek became very
successful in his business, asis evidenced by his
Christmastime 1883 purchase of amusical machine which, in the
words of the Will CountyAdvertiser, is a whole brass
band within itself.
The buy set Schiek back $600,or about $16,000 in today's
(21:13):
money.
On Christmas he treated hiscustomers to a concert from the
contraption.
He appears to have kept up thewatering hole and hostility
until the end of 1891, when heand his wife Louisa sold the
property to Mokenian CharlesMariety and his younger brothers
, george and Frank, at the endof that year for $2,400.
(21:35):
And whence the Schicks moved toJuliet, his life caught
dramatically short.
Ferdinand perished there inearly 1897 in a ghastly fire.
New owner, charles GilsonMariety, was a lifelong native
of the Mokena area and a CivilWar hero to boot, having
volunteered for duty in the 20thIllinois Volunteer Infantry as
(21:59):
a 17-year-old in October 1864,having exaggerated his age by a
year, he later became anauctioneer, where he was known
around town as Colonel Marietycried sales all over the region
and was also known for hisability to do them in German,
which made him much in demandamongst Mokena's Teutonic
(22:20):
population.
In the tradition of thebuilding, the Colonel and his
brothers ran a beer hall here,but they weren't long for this
place as they flipped it inJanuary 1893 to John Wanamaker.
The Wanamaker bunch wereanother old Mokena family
arriving in our neighborhood asearly as 1848 via Erzhausen, a
(22:42):
small village near the Hessiantown of Langen in south central
Germany, a point of origin formany of our earliest pioneers.
As luck would have it, theWanamakers carved out their home
off of today's 187th Street, astone's throw from the
aforementioned Schicks.
John Wanamaker was born March24, 1850, and, like his neighbor
(23:05):
Ferdinand Schick, was anagriculturist in the earliest
years of his life.
Before opening his own taproomin Schick's old building on
Front Street in 1893, the sameyear of Chicago's legendary
Columbian Exposition, johnWanamaker's saloon became a
Front Street mainstay and couldalso be quite a lively place, as
(23:27):
is shown by the dance he gaveon July 4, 1902.
Mokena's correspondent to theLockport Phoenix Advertiser, in
referencing the party with athoroughly salty mean, wrote
that there was considerabledoing that day and next down in
the West End, in fact, so muchsome came near forgetting where
(23:49):
the beginning was and when thefinish should occur.
Another newsworthy partyappeared here in October 1910,
this time not for itsraucousness but for the fact
that each of its guests arrivedin autos, newfangled machines
that were not yet often seen onvillage streets.
One of three saloons in villageduring its time, wanamaker's
(24:12):
boasted billiard tables, anornately carved wooden bar, a
stack of wooden kegs in onecorner and spittoons on the
floor for its guests, accordingto show its age.
John Wanamaker spruced up theplace in the summer of 1914,
just as World War I was about tokick off in Europe.
Aside from being a liquorpurveyor, wanamaker was also a
(24:35):
civically-minded resident andserved as a village trustee from
1904 to 1906.
He sold beer at this locationfor decades, until the 1920.
Country-wide prohibition on thesale and manufacture of most
kinds of alcohol almost threwhim out of business.
The federal census that yearlisted John Wanamaker as the
(24:57):
operator of a soft drink parlor.
Around this time frame, his son, george, who attended the bar
and waited tables in the tavern,began to take more of an active
role in the affairs of thebusiness.
George Wanamaker was a uniquepersonage in Mokina's history,
if only for a very seriousdisability that he had, namely
(25:19):
the loss of his left eye.
While working on a Minnesotafarm as a 21-year-old in the
summer of 1907, wanamaker andsome of the other young men he
worked with were experimentingwith dynamite caps and electric
currents.
While holding two caps in eachhand, an electric battery was
switched on and the wire touchedhis hands, causing an explosion
(25:41):
of almost fatal results.
The young Wanamaker was sent toa specialist in Chicago for his
severely injured eye, whereuponthe doctor in charge ultimately
removed it.
Like his father, georgeWanamaker was elected to a spot
on the Mokena Village Board andheld this office from 1919 to
(26:02):
1925.
As the town and nation at largewere officially dry for most of
this time, the former taverns inthe community removed the
coverings on their storefrontwindows in an effort to prove
that there was no shady businessgoing on within.
Oddly, george Wanamaker'sstayed in place and when the
village board asked him what wasgoing on, he became oddly
(26:24):
defensive.
Rumors swirled around town,which eventually made their way
to the county seat, joliet.
So it was that on the eveningof January 19th 1925, will
County Sheriff's deputies raidedthe property and discovered
gambling equipment such as punchboards, as well as illegal
moonshine, whiskey and wine.
(26:45):
These items and Wanamakerhimself were hauled to Joliet by
the authorities.
The village trustee made bailbut wound up paying a hefty $700
fine for keeping thesematerials on his property.
After having gotten his dose oflegal medicine, a change of
business was in order for GeorgeWanamaker.
(27:05):
He put saloon keeping legal ornot behind him and converted his
place into a grocery store,bringing his newly branded doors
to Moquina on June 24th 1925,after having the building newly
remodeled and painted.
Wanamaker carried the standardbrands of packaged, bottled and
(27:26):
canned goods, as well as fruitand vegetables and season.
He was a liberal advertiser inMoquina's village newspaper, the
News Bulletin.
One ad from July of his openingyear reminded customers that a
dry goods line had been added tothe grocery department and that
shoppers would find men's workand dress shirts, overalls,
(27:47):
straw hats, sheeting, calicoes,ginghams and notions at the
store.
Another from a year laterboasted three pounds of Peaberry
coffee for $1.35, one quart ofDelwood cocoa for $0.25, and two
cans of Friesland peas for thesame price.
Illustrative of the ruralenvironment that was our village
(28:11):
at the time, the store was keptopen until 9 pm during
threshing season.
Israel (28:17):
So I just wanted to go back a little bit to the fact
that the village trustee wasarrested for selling booze
during prohibition.
Matt (28:28):
Yeah, yeah, that he was all right, absolutely.
Israel (28:31):
Any idea, like what the ripples around town were from
this?
I mean, did it affect his timeas trustee?
You know?
Matt (28:40):
he did.
That was his last year inoffice.
Whether or not I can't rememberoffhand, without those
materials in front of me,whether or not that was just
because his term ended then, orbecause maybe he resigned, I'm
not sure.
I am wanting to say, though,that it was.
That was just when his termended, yeah.
Israel (29:02):
He's just wondering, because obviously somebody was
selling him out and they weretalking to him.
I wonder if that would havekept him from running again.
Matt (29:12):
Yeah, he doesn't appear to have held any public office, as
far as I know, after that, butin any case he still stayed in
business at his old location fordecades after that, just in a
different kind of business.
So he must not have been toodisrespected by this.
(29:34):
But I mean, he did get introuble and he paid a very hefty
fine for it.
But yeah, he wasn't the onlyfront street businesskeeper to
have been discovered in that erafor this kind of stuff, yeah,
so.
Mayor Frank Fleischer (29:51):
OK.
Matt (29:52):
Yeah yeah.
Mokena was good to GeorgeWanamaker in his business,
sustaining him throughout theGreat Depression and World War
Two.
An accordion studio found ahome in the building during the
postwar years and customers tothe store could hear musicians
practicing.
In the prosperity of this era,the store became affiliated with
(30:13):
the chain of Midwest stores and, in accordance with its color
scheme, the front facade waspainted yellow.
Wanamaker also began carryingfrozen food for the first time
and completed in addition to thewestern side of his building in
the spring of 1955.
After 39 years in business onFront Street, george Wanamaker
(30:35):
retired and sold the concern tohis nephew, wilbur Teske, in
1964.
Teske kept up the store in thetradition of his uncle, which
was simply known as Wilbur's inthe mouths of many locals, and
it was known as a place amongMokena youth as a good spot to
cash in on empty pop bottles andspend the proceeds on penny
(30:56):
candy.
After Teske's long tenure here,the old landmark became the home
of a ski and sport shop brieflybefore Bill Frankenberger
opened a pizza here in the 1980s, feeding countless village folk
.
Until well into the early 21stcentury, this eatery was a home
away from home for the youth whocame to bask in the glow of the
(31:18):
Miz Pac-Man machine or smile atthe motorized pizza chef in the
window with his fuzzy mustacheand outstretched hand.
In 2004, a new restaurant,pauli's, set up shop here.
Nowadays, building is owned byGino Pichola, who is going to
(31:39):
carry out some work on the oldplace and get a new business.
Word on the street is he'slooking at getting a restaurant
in there and we're hoping thatit's just as great of a success
as the old businesses that werethere in the past, something
that'll stay for decades and aplace where new memories will be
(32:01):
made for Mokenians, young andold.
Renowned American author,robert Heinlein, said a
generation which ignores historyhas no past and no future.
Israel (32:15):
Well, that's great, matt .
You know it's a great story toknow that property still sits,
after so long, on Front Street,yeah, and, and especially with,
you know, being neglected for solong.
Yeah, right, and you know, as,as we said, gino Pichola had
recently got plans approved, sohopefully in the near future
(32:38):
we'll see another restaurant inthere that yeah the youth can go
to and play video games orwhatever it is there.
So well, great.
Well, we'll, as always, sharethe link to the episode in the
show notes and it's on thewebsite.
But again, this episode wasbeer suds to piping pizza.
History, a history of 11116Front Street.
(33:01):
So thanks again, Matt, forsharing this great story.
Absolutely.
Matt (33:04):
Thanks.
Israel (33:05):
Thanks to Gino for doing the work.
Yeah, absolutely for keeping alandmark for us.
Absolutely.
Matt and I both really hopethat you're enjoying the podcast
and that you enjoyed thisepisode.
We would really appreciate itif you would share our podcast
with your friends or family, aswell as leave us a review on
Spotify or Apple music orwherever you hear our podcast.
(33:25):
We'd love to hear your showideas or your questions so you
can send us an email at podcast@Mokenas front porch.
com, or on Facebook throughmessenger, or through our
website, which is Mokenas frontporch.
com.
You can send us a message there.
We have a link in the shownotes to Matt's blog post that
(33:46):
this episode was based on.
We have some great thingscoming up and we're really
excited to share with you.
So thanks for listening andwe'll see you next time on
Mokena's front porch.
Welcome to Mokena's Front Porch a Mokena History
podcast with Mac Dalek and me,israel Smith.
This podcast we're going totalk about one of the oldest
buildings in Mokena.
It's been around for a longtime.
Many different variations, frompizza places to general stores
and grocery stores, filled thisbuilding in the past and now
(00:22):
it's going to be filled again asa restaurant, hopefully by the
end of 2024, which is reallyexciting for Front Street.
Bring another restaurantdowntown, something to draw
people to our downtown andhopefully encourage more growth
going forward.
Gino Pichola, the owner of theproperty, was kind enough to
(00:43):
give Matt and I a tour of thebuilding and went through.
There's a great.
We put a great YouTube videoout shows the full tour walking
through the property, the oldbeams, the different sections.
You see them as they were builton.
It's such a neat property.
It was neat to see in thisstage and they're going to let
(01:05):
us come through and see thedifferent stages as we get
closer to completion as well.
So that's exciting.
So check out that YouTube videoAgain.
Gino gave us a great tour.
We got to meet the owner, rickTraffton, but it's not in the
video.
He was working with thearchitect, so we wanted to save
him that time, but we're goingto get together with him soon.
(01:27):
Great Moquina guy, local guy,and you'll hear more about that.
So very cool that there's alsoa connection for this restaurant
and for Moquina.
So Matt gives us a cool littlehistory beforehand.
You see in the video a lot ofwhat you'll hear more in depth
in this episode.
So it's a great old building,really cool.
(01:50):
Rick was interested in keepingsome of the historic stuff so
Matt talked to him about gettinghim some pictures and things to
put up.
So that'll be really cool tosee as well once that place is
done.
So I also was speaking.
I got a chance to speak toMayor Frank Fleischer about
something else and I mentionedto him about the restaurant and
(02:11):
wanted to get his thoughts.
So you hear some of histhoughts on this restaurant, the
dock coming in as well.
As you know, we heap a bunch ofpraise on Gino Pichola and all
the hard work that he's doing,the things that he's doing to
bring our front street and makeit more fun and more options and
make it something that peopleare drawn to and come down to.
(02:33):
So thanks to Gino for doingthat and you'll hear the Mayor
is appreciative as well.
So be sure to check out ourwebsite, be sure to check out
our YouTube channel.
We're putting more and morestuff.
I just loaded a fun video fromour Easter Egg hunt last year,
from the Mokena Lions Easter EggHunt, and so I've been, you
(02:54):
know, putting those things herein there.
So real community stuff.
So check out our YouTubechannel, check out our website,
which is Mokenasfrontporch.
com , and make sure to check outour Facebook page as well.
We've got some great thingscoming up for the podcast, great
episodes that we're working onthat I think are going to be
really interesting and greathistory pieces for our village.
This is a great property.
(03:15):
It's got a great history.
So many people from our villageare connected here.
So enjoy this episode.
I would like to ask you becauseI'm the next episode I'm having
coming out is about the dock onFront Street.
You know the old historicbuilding.
We did a video walkthrough.
I'd love to hear what yourthoughts are.
What do you think about that?
Coming to downtown?
Mayor Frank Fleischer (03:36):
Well, the funny thing is, since I was a
trustee and we're going back allthe way back to 1985 I always
felt we couldn't have a downtown.
We just had to work on it.
I always felt that Mokena hadyou know, it's maybe the place
to get a good downtown and I hadto fight people for that.
I had to fight electedofficials over the years for
(03:56):
that.
And now you're starting to seethat we can't have a downtown.
You're starting to seerestaurants coming in.
You know Docks is one of them.
He's a well-dead, he's awell-known restaurant.
We're not just going to getpeople from Mokena to go there.
There's going to be people fromoutside of Mokena.
That has known these guys foryears.
(04:19):
I like the idea that the ownersare born and bred in Mokena.
They've been around for a longtime.
Their father was active in StMary's Church.
Can't remember what we weretalking about, but we talked
years ago about a project orsomething and Benny said that he
wanted to spend in Mokena.
Israel (04:37):
They're happy that they're going to be here, yeah,
and we talk a little bit aboutGino Pachola and his hard work
he's done to keep this buildingstanding and not.
You know, I love the fact thatwe're going to have this old
structure that's been around forsome of it early, early, early
(04:59):
days of our village and peopleare still going to get to enjoy
that today.
I think that's great.
Mayor Frank Fleischer (05:05):
You need somebody, israel.
You need somebody that wants todevelop the downtown, like Gino
.
Israel (05:10):
Yeah.
Mayor Frank Fleischer (05:11):
He's trying to save the buildings,
but, even more important thanthat, he's the one that took the
chance.
Israel (05:17):
Absolutely.
Mayor Frank Fleischer (05:18):
He's the one that put the money on the
line and he has the two.
He's going to have the tworestaurants going downtown.
I have a lot of respect for him.
He's a young man and he tookthe chance on doing it.
I appreciate it very much.
Yeah, absolutely I appreciatewhat he's told from Mokena very
much.
Israel (05:35):
It's a huge positive for our downtown and you know we
talk about the history of Mokenaand that's what our podcast is,
and there's people like Gino,through the years of Mokena,
that have made positive changesand kept our downtown or our
village or that moving in aright direction, and I would
give him that label for sure ofsomebody that is making a huge
(05:57):
positive impact on our downtown,mokena.
Mayor Frank Fleischer (06:00):
Oh, there's no doubt about it.
And the thing is, what I triedto get across to the board for
years was that until we make,until we let people know that
we're not going to work and pushfor downtown investors are not
going to come in and drop moneyin Mokena.
They're just not going to do it.
(06:22):
I mean, if the board has beenexcited about it, why should
they be?
Israel (06:25):
Yeah, that's great.
Mayor Frank Fleischer (06:27):
And now things are starting to pop.
Couple weeks on going to arestaurant I can't mention the
name right now, but I'm going toa restaurant he definitely
wants to build a building in thedowntown area of Mokena.
Israel (06:39):
Oh, that's great to hear .
Well, I hope once they make theagreement, let them know that
Mokena's front porch is theplace to go for the scoop, cause
we had such so many peopleexcited about the video and
getting the tour of that oldbuilding.
Mayor Frank Fleischer (06:53):
So that would be great, because I'll
tell you.
And there's another restaurant.
Okay, they want to leave anarea around here.
That wants to come to Mokena,and I'm in the process of
looking for a place for him, buthe wants a special place, so
I'm trying to find another oneso we can have two restaurants.
(07:15):
That would be great it alreadyhas a following in the area.
Israel (07:18):
Yeah.
Mayor Frank Fleischer (07:19):
So this is what I'm getting the kick out
of.
For years, people told me,israel, that we're not going to
have a downtown.
We're not going to have adowntown.
Well, they were full of blowing.
I did a poll a few years back,four years ago, when I ran the
last time, and we thought, and Iwanted to question, is I asked
was it about downtown?
72%, 72% of the residents inMokena wanted a viable downtown.
(07:44):
Wow.
Israel (07:45):
I'm one of those 72 for sure, so putting both my hands
raised.
We live in downtown and we lovehaving options to be able to
walk down and enjoy and walkingdowntown and seeing you know the
beautiful downtown at Christmasand it's been such an
improvement over just when we'vebeen here and I think more
people want to see more of that.
(08:06):
So it's great it's happening.
Mayor Frank Fleischer (08:07):
I agree with you and somebody younger
people I'm talking to.
You know people want to getinvolved in politics and people
want to get involved in zoningand planning commission.
But they tell me is they justwant to go downtown.
They will love to go downtownto a restaurant and meet one of
their friends down there intheir family.
(08:28):
Yeah, that's what they want todo.
That's why it seems like theyoung people you know want to
downtown.
They want someplace to go, theywant place someplace to meet
friends of theirs.
Israel (08:38):
Yeah.
Mayor Frank Fleischer (08:39):
And hopefully now they're going to
get it and then, when you'regoing to fire him, starts moving
along, because we got someplans for young groups.
Fire, yeah, you know peoplewill start going over there.
They can come into downtown toget something.
I'll tell you, it's really mean.
Not so many years.
Think about what Mokena has.
You've got a downtown, a viabledowntown that needs work, right
(09:01):
next to Mr Yonkers farm, andthen south of that is the Forest
Preserve.
And years ago the ForestPreserve wanted to put winter
activities in that area and I'mgoing to go talk to them and
find out if they still haveplans to do that, such as
cross-country and things likethat.
Exactly, Cross-country tubinghills and winter activities.
Israel (09:25):
Oh, tubing hill, that's a great idea.
Mayor Frank Fleischer (09:28):
So they wanted to put things in out
there.
They wanted to work with us.
You know, we've got to showthem we're willing and, like I
said, this is sorry to mean usthe potential is there.
We could have one of the best.
I mean we could have the bestdowntown in the area Because,
think about it, nobody has whatMolkina has, nobody in downtown,
(09:53):
nobody has a train station, butnobody has a downtown that I
know connected to their parkdistrict, like that, yeah,
connected to the Forest Preserve.
Israel (10:03):
All right, matt.
This episode we're talkingabout the building that's at
11116 Front Street, and youposted this blog post back on
Friday, march 5th of 2021.
Called Beer Suds to PipingPizza a history of 11116 Front
Street.
So, matt, how do people know11116 Front Street today?
Matt (10:28):
Yeah, so this is the building that is immediately
west of Curtin Call Theater.
Nowadays it's empty.
Now, the last business that wasin there was Paulie's
Restaurant For quite a whileback in the oh, about mid 2000s,
up until oh, I can't even placeit when he closed finally,
(10:50):
maybe like 2012 or 13.
One of our listeners may have abetter sense of when he closed
his doors, but longtimeMolkanians will remember this as
the location former location ofA Pizza, one of the great pizza
places of Molkina, and also,going back even farther than
that, was Wilbur Teske's grocerystore.
Israel (11:14):
And you talk a little bit about it in the story, but
you've had a lot of personalconnection to this place and
spent a lot of time there as ayoung person.
Yeah, I'll share a little bitabout that.
Yeah, I would love to.
Matt (11:25):
You know A Pizza was a cool place.
You know there was absolutelynothing special or anything
remotely fancy about the place.
It was just a regular pizzaplace.
But what was cool about it isthat the owners at least as far
(11:50):
as I was ever able to tell neverseemed like they had any kind
of problem with kids, you know,like high school age kids going
and hanging out there.
Or, you know, maybe a littleyounger, like junior high age
kids.
You know, as long as you're acustomer, you weren't just
loitering.
But it was a place where myfriends and I went quite a lot
(12:13):
just to, you know, get a pizzaand kind of you know, take our
time eating it, and a placewhere you never got looked down
at for being an unaccompaniedkid, because there I won't name
any names, but there werebusinesses in town where they
(12:34):
kind of had like an unofficial,unattended teens aren't welcome
here kind of stance, and A Pizzawas never one of those places
and it was just a cool.
Yeah, it was just a good placeto go with your friends and kind
of be out without your parents.
Any games or anything they havein there or they had a bunch of
classic arcade games in there,cool.
(12:56):
The one I remember the clearestwas Miss Pac-Man yes, playing
that a lot.
I remember they had Area 51,that kind of shoot them up alien
game.
Mayor Frank Fleischer (13:10):
That's the best way I can describe it.
Matt (13:12):
They had a few more.
They had one of those.
I think they had one of thoseclaw machines in there.
They had super ghouls andghosts.
I remember another classic fromthe 80s and early 90s.
Yeah, you know, it was just.
It was just a cool place,something like you'd see on like
a TV show or something.
(13:33):
And yeah, once again, it was.
This was not a.
There was nothing sophisticatedabout this place at all, which
isn't I'm not trying to put itdown or anything, but it was
just a real small town kind ofplace that I have.
There's a lot of good memoriesattached.
Israel (13:55):
And you know we'll talk about it.
You know this place is.
This is a very old building intown, oh yeah.
And it started as a bar.
Was there any of that kind ofstuff left over, any of the
interior from earlier days?
Matt (14:12):
You know, not really, unfortunately, going back in my
memory and I was alreadyinterested in in Mokena history
when I was going there.
So I was kind of looking around.
There was nothing I rememberseeing back then that struck me
as being Historic or original oranything, unfortunately.
Israel (14:32):
But yeah, but the building is still there, so
that's yeah, and we're going totry to talk to Geno for this as
well, but Geno Pachola is thecurrent owner of the property
and it was just approved forsome renovations, and so that's
positive.
Matt (14:50):
Good news and yeah, absolutely.
Israel (14:53):
Hopefully we have some life back in that building again
soon.
Yeah, I hope so.
So all right, matt.
Well, let's hear this greatstory.
Here's to piping pizza.
A story of 11116 Front Street.
Matt (15:08):
On a walk down Front Street, one is greeted by many
familiar sites here the CurtinCall Theater, there the former
tribes beer company, not tomention other local mainstays as
part of our village streetscape.
It's easy to become so used tothe scene that many of these
buildings are easy to take forgranted.
Notwithstanding, our mosthistoric structures demand our
(15:32):
attention and appreciation, andone of those is the old
structure at 11116 Front Streetwhich most recently was known as
Paul E's Restaurant.
In the last two decades of the20th century this place was a
pizza, a front street fixture, awell-known gathering place for
(15:52):
Mokena's youth.
This writer wild away countlesshours here with his friends,
counting many days of joy andmirth in this spot which, on
more than a few weekends, couldbecome quite crowded.
It's easy to find a Mokenianwho can remember both of these
eateries, but the history ofthis landmark reaches back well
over 150 years and includes morethan a few interesting
(16:15):
personalities.
The heart of this story, likeso many in our fair village,
lies with a member of thestoried Schick family.
Georg Heinrich and JulianoRosino Schick were all natives
of Neckarbischofshain in theGerman Grand Duchy of Baden.
Building their family there,the couple welcomed 11 children
(16:38):
to their fold before leaving theold country and emigrating to
America in August 1848, arrivingon the heels of unrest and
revolution in their old homeland, setting foot in Chicago with
305 frank pieces in their name,the Schicks stayed there only a
few days before trudging on footsouthward, before they came to
(17:01):
their new home in what wouldbecome Frankfurt Township.
Georg Heinrich and JulianoRosino's middle son, ferdinand,
came into the world on September12, 1832, and was 16 years old
when his family set down theirstakes in our midst.
He tried his hand at farming,the family profession, and would
(17:22):
later even come into his ownacreage a little further west
from the family homestead, downwhat is today 187th Street, near
where Marley now stands.
In the spring of 1871,ferdinand Schick entered the
business world of Mochina, whenhe bought a front street lot and
the two parcels adjoining tothe north and northeast from
(17:45):
Peter Knapp, valued altogetherat $2,500.
This is the property that istoday known as 11116 Front
Street.
At the time of Schick's purchase, a building already stood here.
However, it was likely not thestructure which currently stands
on this spot, boastingdecorative wooden cornices and
(18:09):
framed windows.
This rambling edifice is astunning example of the
vernacular Italianatearchitecture that was popular in
the American Midwest in theyears following the Civil War.
This current structure and allof its outward treasures likely
date from the time of FerdinandSchick's acquisition of the
(18:29):
property.
Interestingly, the building'snorthern half, tucked behind the
main structure like a shy child, is of an even older vintage,
displaying attributes of theGreek revival style, a feature
seen in Mochina houses in the1850s and 1860s, the earliest
period of our village's history.
(18:50):
This is possibly the firstbuilding on the lot and it's not
out of the realm of possibilitythat it was pushed a few yards
to the north to make room for anew structure.
Alternately, it may have beenmoved from elsewhere at a later
date and then tacked on to themain structure.
Israel (19:10):
So a couple of things.
For one, I wanted to ask whatthe connection with Lester
Schick, who we've talked aboutbefore is and this Schick family
.
Matt (19:21):
Yeah, so Ferdinand Schick and Lester Schick are.
They are related.
This is the same family.
Let's see, ferdinand Schickwould have been Lester Schick's
great-granduncle.
So Ferdinand Schick was thebrother of Lester Schick's
grandfather.
(19:41):
Wow, Okay, yeah, that's theyounger brother of Philip Schick
, who is Lester Schick'sgrandfather.
Okay, yeah, to seg back to theprincipal section of the
building that faces Front Street.
Ferdinand Schiek opened asaloon within these walls around
1871, where he was also knownto board guests overnight, along
(20:03):
with a host of other Moquinaand Frankfurt saloonists.
He was indicted by the WillCounty Grand Jury in early 1879
for selling drink to a habitualdrunkard.
A trial soon followed in thecounty seat, which took up two
days and the testimony of some50 witnesses.
By the time the dust wassettled, schiek and his fellow
(20:25):
bar keeps were each fined $20 incosts by the court, along with
20 days in jail, the time in thelockup to let up.
As soon as the fine was paid,the Joliet media was decidedly
aligned against them, the dailynews of that place blustering.
That should teach them to lookout for these old suckers who
should be fined for each offensejust the same as the saloon
(20:48):
keeper who sells it to them.
Legal trouble notwithstanding,ferdinand Schiek became very
successful in his business, asis evidenced by his
Christmastime 1883 purchase of amusical machine which, in the
words of the Will CountyAdvertiser, is a whole brass
band within itself.
The buy set Schiek back $600,or about $16,000 in today's
(21:13):
money.
On Christmas he treated hiscustomers to a concert from the
contraption.
He appears to have kept up thewatering hole and hostility
until the end of 1891, when heand his wife Louisa sold the
property to Mokenian CharlesMariety and his younger brothers
, george and Frank, at the endof that year for $2,400.
(21:35):
And whence the Schicks moved toJuliet, his life caught
dramatically short.
Ferdinand perished there inearly 1897 in a ghastly fire.
New owner, charles GilsonMariety, was a lifelong native
of the Mokena area and a CivilWar hero to boot, having
volunteered for duty in the 20thIllinois Volunteer Infantry as
(21:59):
a 17-year-old in October 1864,having exaggerated his age by a
year, he later became anauctioneer, where he was known
around town as Colonel Marietycried sales all over the region
and was also known for hisability to do them in German,
which made him much in demandamongst Mokena's Teutonic
(22:20):
population.
In the tradition of thebuilding, the Colonel and his
brothers ran a beer hall here,but they weren't long for this
place as they flipped it inJanuary 1893 to John Wanamaker.
The Wanamaker bunch wereanother old Mokena family
arriving in our neighborhood asearly as 1848 via Erzhausen, a
(22:42):
small village near the Hessiantown of Langen in south central
Germany, a point of origin formany of our earliest pioneers.
As luck would have it, theWanamakers carved out their home
off of today's 187th Street, astone's throw from the
aforementioned Schicks.
John Wanamaker was born March24, 1850, and, like his neighbor
(23:05):
Ferdinand Schick, was anagriculturist in the earliest
years of his life.
Before opening his own taproomin Schick's old building on
Front Street in 1893, the sameyear of Chicago's legendary
Columbian Exposition, johnWanamaker's saloon became a
Front Street mainstay and couldalso be quite a lively place, as
(23:27):
is shown by the dance he gaveon July 4, 1902.
Mokena's correspondent to theLockport Phoenix Advertiser, in
referencing the party with athoroughly salty mean, wrote
that there was considerabledoing that day and next down in
the West End, in fact, so muchsome came near forgetting where
(23:49):
the beginning was and when thefinish should occur.
Another newsworthy partyappeared here in October 1910,
this time not for itsraucousness but for the fact
that each of its guests arrivedin autos, newfangled machines
that were not yet often seen onvillage streets.
One of three saloons in villageduring its time, wanamaker's
(24:12):
boasted billiard tables, anornately carved wooden bar, a
stack of wooden kegs in onecorner and spittoons on the
floor for its guests, accordingto show its age.
John Wanamaker spruced up theplace in the summer of 1914,
just as World War I was about tokick off in Europe.
Aside from being a liquorpurveyor, wanamaker was also a
(24:35):
civically-minded resident andserved as a village trustee from
1904 to 1906.
He sold beer at this locationfor decades, until the 1920.
Country-wide prohibition on thesale and manufacture of most
kinds of alcohol almost threwhim out of business.
The federal census that yearlisted John Wanamaker as the
(24:57):
operator of a soft drink parlor.
Around this time frame, his son, george, who attended the bar
and waited tables in the tavern,began to take more of an active
role in the affairs of thebusiness.
George Wanamaker was a uniquepersonage in Mokina's history,
if only for a very seriousdisability that he had, namely
(25:19):
the loss of his left eye.
While working on a Minnesotafarm as a 21-year-old in the
summer of 1907, wanamaker andsome of the other young men he
worked with were experimentingwith dynamite caps and electric
currents.
While holding two caps in eachhand, an electric battery was
switched on and the wire touchedhis hands, causing an explosion
(25:41):
of almost fatal results.
The young Wanamaker was sent toa specialist in Chicago for his
severely injured eye, whereuponthe doctor in charge ultimately
removed it.
Like his father, georgeWanamaker was elected to a spot
on the Mokena Village Board andheld this office from 1919 to
(26:02):
1925.
As the town and nation at largewere officially dry for most of
this time, the former taverns inthe community removed the
coverings on their storefrontwindows in an effort to prove
that there was no shady businessgoing on within.
Oddly, george Wanamaker'sstayed in place and when the
village board asked him what wasgoing on, he became oddly
(26:24):
defensive.
Rumors swirled around town,which eventually made their way
to the county seat, joliet.
So it was that on the eveningof January 19th 1925, will
County Sheriff's deputies raidedthe property and discovered
gambling equipment such as punchboards, as well as illegal
moonshine, whiskey and wine.
(26:45):
These items and Wanamakerhimself were hauled to Joliet by
the authorities.
The village trustee made bailbut wound up paying a hefty $700
fine for keeping thesematerials on his property.
After having gotten his dose oflegal medicine, a change of
business was in order for GeorgeWanamaker.
(27:05):
He put saloon keeping legal ornot behind him and converted his
place into a grocery store,bringing his newly branded doors
to Moquina on June 24th 1925,after having the building newly
remodeled and painted.
Wanamaker carried the standardbrands of packaged, bottled and
(27:26):
canned goods, as well as fruitand vegetables and season.
He was a liberal advertiser inMoquina's village newspaper, the
News Bulletin.
One ad from July of his openingyear reminded customers that a
dry goods line had been added tothe grocery department and that
shoppers would find men's workand dress shirts, overalls,
(27:47):
straw hats, sheeting, calicoes,ginghams and notions at the
store.
Another from a year laterboasted three pounds of Peaberry
coffee for $1.35, one quart ofDelwood cocoa for $0.25, and two
cans of Friesland peas for thesame price.
Illustrative of the ruralenvironment that was our village
(28:11):
at the time, the store was keptopen until 9 pm during
threshing season.
Israel (28:17):
So I just wanted to go back a little bit to the fact
that the village trustee wasarrested for selling booze
during prohibition.
Matt (28:28):
Yeah, yeah, that he was all right, absolutely.
Israel (28:31):
Any idea, like what the ripples around town were from
this?
I mean, did it affect his timeas trustee?
You know?
Matt (28:40):
he did.
That was his last year inoffice.
Whether or not I can't rememberoffhand, without those
materials in front of me,whether or not that was just
because his term ended then, orbecause maybe he resigned, I'm
not sure.
I am wanting to say, though,that it was.
That was just when his termended, yeah.
Israel (29:02):
He's just wondering, because obviously somebody was
selling him out and they weretalking to him.
I wonder if that would havekept him from running again.
Matt (29:12):
Yeah, he doesn't appear to have held any public office, as
far as I know, after that, butin any case he still stayed in
business at his old location fordecades after that, just in a
different kind of business.
So he must not have been toodisrespected by this.
(29:34):
But I mean, he did get introuble and he paid a very hefty
fine for it.
But yeah, he wasn't the onlyfront street businesskeeper to
have been discovered in that erafor this kind of stuff, yeah,
so.
Mayor Frank Fleischer (29:51):
OK.
Matt (29:52):
Yeah yeah.
Mokena was good to GeorgeWanamaker in his business,
sustaining him throughout theGreat Depression and World War
Two.
An accordion studio found ahome in the building during the
postwar years and customers tothe store could hear musicians
practicing.
In the prosperity of this era,the store became affiliated with
(30:13):
the chain of Midwest stores and, in accordance with its color
scheme, the front facade waspainted yellow.
Wanamaker also began carryingfrozen food for the first time
and completed in addition to thewestern side of his building in
the spring of 1955.
After 39 years in business onFront Street, george Wanamaker
(30:35):
retired and sold the concern tohis nephew, wilbur Teske, in
1964.
Teske kept up the store in thetradition of his uncle, which
was simply known as Wilbur's inthe mouths of many locals, and
it was known as a place amongMokena youth as a good spot to
cash in on empty pop bottles andspend the proceeds on penny
(30:56):
candy.
After Teske's long tenure here,the old landmark became the home
of a ski and sport shop brieflybefore Bill Frankenberger
opened a pizza here in the 1980s, feeding countless village folk
.
Until well into the early 21stcentury, this eatery was a home
away from home for the youth whocame to bask in the glow of the
(31:18):
Miz Pac-Man machine or smile atthe motorized pizza chef in the
window with his fuzzy mustacheand outstretched hand.
In 2004, a new restaurant,pauli's, set up shop here.
Nowadays, building is owned byGino Pichola, who is going to
(31:39):
carry out some work on the oldplace and get a new business.
Word on the street is he'slooking at getting a restaurant
in there and we're hoping thatit's just as great of a success
as the old businesses that werethere in the past, something
that'll stay for decades and aplace where new memories will be
(32:01):
made for Mokenians, young andold.
Renowned American author,robert Heinlein, said a
generation which ignores historyhas no past and no future.
Israel (32:15):
Well, that's great, matt .
You know it's a great story toknow that property still sits,
after so long, on Front Street,yeah, and, and especially with,
you know, being neglected for solong.
Yeah, right, and you know, as,as we said, gino Pichola had
recently got plans approved, sohopefully in the near future
(32:38):
we'll see another restaurant inthere that yeah the youth can go
to and play video games orwhatever it is there.
So well, great.
Well, we'll, as always, sharethe link to the episode in the
show notes and it's on thewebsite.
But again, this episode wasbeer suds to piping pizza.
History, a history of 11116Front Street.
(33:01):
So thanks again, Matt, forsharing this great story.
Absolutely.
Matt (33:04):
Thanks.
Israel (33:05):
Thanks to Gino for doing the work.
Yeah, absolutely for keeping alandmark for us.
Absolutely.
Matt and I both really hopethat you're enjoying the podcast
and that you enjoyed thisepisode.
We would really appreciate itif you would share our podcast
with your friends or family, aswell as leave us a review on
Spotify or Apple music orwherever you hear our podcast.
(33:25):
We'd love to hear your showideas or your questions so you
can send us an email at podcast@Mokenas front porch.
com, or on Facebook throughmessenger, or through our
website, which is Mokenas frontporch.
com.
You can send us a message there.
We have a link in the shownotes to Matt's blog post that
(33:46):
this episode was based on.
We have some great thingscoming up and we're really
excited to share with you.
So thanks for listening andwe'll see you next time on
Mokena's front porch.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Nikki Glaser Podcast
Every week comedian and infamous roaster Nikki Glaser provides a fun, fast-paced, and brutally honest look into current pop-culture and her own personal life.