Then and Now: Disbrow Wagon Shop/ Offie's Tap

        

          In 1882, a two story, wood frame structure was constructed in the village of Huntley. One of the early owners of this structure was Andrew Disbrow, who operated a wagon shop in the structure. In 1904, the structure was purchased by a prominent resident by the name of Pat Keating, who around the turn of the last century was the largest landholder in the village. Other businesses to occupy the structure included C. H. Herbert Grocery and millinery around 1910 and the Well-Seen Restaurant (a play on the name of the owners, Ed and Gertrude Weltzien) around 1930. A harness shop may have also been located in the structure around 1907, owned by R. Krusche, but that is not known for sure. Another recognizable business to occupy the structure prior to 1922 was a Ford dealership owned by John F. Weltzien. Large, dark letters spelling "FORD" were painted in between the first and second story of the building on the Church St. side, the same side where he displayed some of his automobiles. In 1922, he constructed a new brick structure to the east of the wood building and moved his business in there. This structure, along with a later addition to the south, still stands today, with his name adorning the top.

          While businesses occupied the lower level, the upper level was a large meeting hall. An early group to hold their meetings there was the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF). A later group to occupy the structure was the American Legion Post 673. Around 1940, the landmark structure burned to the ground, destroying the Well-Seen Restaurant and the original documents for the IOOF. It was also believed that the original documents from the legion's formation were lost in the fire, but supposedly the documents had been taken to a member's home sometime prior to the fire. Whether this rumor is true has yet to be proven.

          In 1940, a single story brick structure replaced the destroyed landmark. This building contained a tavern, as well as a coffee shop and a barber shop. One of the barbers located at that site was Clarence Schinske, who operated his barber shop back in the 1970s.

          The longest running business at that site opened in 1955. In that year, the tavern became Offie's Tap, owned by Offenheiser family. In the nearly sixty years the tavern has operated, there have been the typical ups and downs (fights, liquor license issues, stereotypes), but considering its unfortunate location, one issue brought out the worst of a town's government and the best of a town's citizens.

          Around May and June of 2000, the owners, Jack and Marlene Offenheiser filed for divorce. In the divorce, Marlene, who was the third generation owner, remained proprietor of the establishment. The problem was that since the opening of Offie's, a state law went into effect stating that no business could sell liquor within 100 feet of a church. The village extended this law by passing an ordinance stating that it cannot be within 200 feet. Located directly across the street from Offie's was the First Congregational Church, which had been located at that site since 1864. The law and ordinance had no previous effect on the tavern due to the tavern being grandfathered in (the ordinance was enacted in 1992, well after the tavern opened). Once Jack and Marlene filed for divorce, however, the village saw it as a change of ownership, which in the ordinance would make the grandfather clause null and void. The village planned on shutting down the long time tavern, but the townspeople and other proponents of the tavern thought otherwise. When news of the possible closure hit the stands, supporters of the tavern came out in droves to protest the village's closure of the popular water hole. Town meetings with anything about the tavern's future saw heavier attendance than usual, and supporters took to the sidewalk in front of the tavern with handmade signs of support and sporting "Save Offie's" shirts. Even the police chief supported the tavern. Residents argued that the town had been lenient in the past with businesses, and seeing as the tap and the town had such a long standing relationship, the village should continue its leniency with the tavern. Another argument dealt with the fact that state law would not see the divorce as a reason to close the tavern. State law only required a change in corporation to rescind the grandfather clause, but a change in ownership did not qualify as grounds to strip the tavern of its status. With the backing of many in and outside of the town, and technicalities on their side, Offie's was awarded a new liquor license and was allowed to continue operation at their long time site.

          Today, the 1940 brick structure still stands, and is all owned by Offie's Tap, which is still in the Offenheiser family. The 1922 John F. Weltzien building still stands and is currently owned by Anchor Pool and Spa. Two Ford "V8" symbols are still painted in the back area of the Weltzien building, reminiscent to the days long since past.

 

 



Photo circa 1912

Photo circa 1900. Note the second story balcony on the structure

Photo circa 1910

Photo taken by Gene and Norma Lindsey, 1976. Note the 1922 John Weltzien building surrounding Offie's. Courtesy of the Huntley Area Public Library

Photo 12/08/2012

 

Wow Has Basketball Changed!

          The sport of basketball has been a main past time in Huntley as well as many towns across the world. But a lot has changed since its creation in 1891 and since this photo was taken of the 1912/1913 Huntley high school team. In fact, so much has changed that it may surprise you! The origin of basketball goes back to the winter of 1891. A gym teacher by the name of James Naismith at the School of Christian Workers in Springfield, Massachusetts, was told to create a new game for the students. The issue that needed to be resolved dealt with the cold winters, and how the students could not go outside for physical education. Naismith remedied this problem by taking an ordinary soccer ball and asking the janitors to put two boxes up on either side of the gym. There were no boxes on hand, so instead they employed the use of two peach baskets, and the game of basket ball (originally two words) was born.

          Some of the original set ups included baskets that were closed at the bottom. They later changed to a metal ring with a net, but the net was also closed. It wasn't until about 1906 that the net was left open for the ball to fall through. The original rules did not allow the players to dribble, and in fact, the rules did not even let players move with the ball! They had to pass it through the court. That rule changed in 1910, but only to the extent that the player could dribble the ball. If the player did dribble the ball, he was not allowed to shoot it. He had to pass it to someone else to shoot. Players who dribbled were finally allowed to shoot the ball starting in 1916.

          The below photo was back in the time of the no-shooting-after-dribbling policy. In those years, the high school in Huntley did not have a gym. Instead, they played their games in the upstairs of Smith and Weltzien's hall on the square. Around 1916, when Pabst's Hall was constructed, basketball games were moved there. The high school constructed in 1924 was the first school in Huntley to contain a gym, and from then on the games were played at that school and the high schools that followed. It's hard to imagine these boys playing what we now know as basketball, but then again it was a very different game 100 years ago. 

 

Huntley's Bandstands

          Since Huntley's earliest days, a bandstand has stood on the town "square" (I put "square" in quotes because even with a structure standing on the east end of the park in Huntley's early years, the park has been more of a rectangle than a "square"). With the square being the hub of the town, the bandstand has always served as a main gathering place, whether it was for festivals or picnics, or for bands or choirs to grace the town with music. In the town's history, there have been three different bandstands to adorn the square (depicted below).  The first was constructed some time before the turn of the 1900s. This was an octagonal, all wood bandstand with a wood railing and a low pitched roof. Around 1910, a new bandstand was constructed. The cement block foundation was constructed by local mason Andrew Schmidt. The railings were made up of two rows of metal poles held up by cement block pillars. From there, round wood, tapering pillars supported the steeper pitched roof. This bandstand was plaqued by the McHenry County Historical Society, but sadly the prestige did not save the structure from the wreaking ball. In the winter of 1993, after being deemed "unstable," it was razed by the village.  Little warning was given of its possible demise and the demolition occurred rather quickly (this action has been compared to a similar act would occur years later by Mayor Daley with Meigs Field in Chicago). The demolition of the bandstand infuriated many of the residents, but the deed was done. So the new question was what should the new bandstand look like? The three options were to build one like the first, construct one that looked like the one that was razed, or construct a completely different bandstand. In the end, the choice was to construct a new style bandstand, which was completed in June of 1994. In 2001, for the town's sesquicentennial, a time capsule was placed in the center of the bandstand to be opened in 2051, the village's 200th birthday.



Photo circa 1900

Photo circa 1912

Photo 1999

The Tommy Gun Incident

          It always seems that the small towns have some of the greatest amounts of history. Huntley has seen its fair share. Some world renowned. Some local. And some, well, some are just downright odd. Such is the Tommy gun incident of 1968. Of course, there is a little background information to help explain this occurrence. In the 1960s, there was a common issue in small towns, especially those located near the city of Chicago. Biker gangs were coming from the city and wreaking havoc on these small farm towns.  One such group caused issues around July and August of 1968 to the peaceful town of Huntley. In late June or early July, a small group of men arrived at one of the taverns, but when they came they were in cars and in street clothes. On the 10th of August, more came, and although they still arrived in cars, this time they were dressed in their biker jackets. Due to their dress and obvious gang association, they were turned away from the three bars they visited. This led to a special visit that they would not soon forget.
          On the night of August 17, 1968, the gang arrived around 60 strong on their bikes and in cars, and all wearing their group jackets. Once they arrived, they proceeded to occupy Parkside tavern and cause a raucous in the downtown. Although the gang rubbed the townspeople the wrong way by bickering loudly, the arguments were the least of the townspeople's worries. Some of the members spotted a toilet bowl sitting in front of one of the barber shops, and tossed it into the street, breaking it. Some other members went behind the stores in town, where they discovered two more discarded toilets, which they then placed at the corner of Main and Woodstock Sts. Another toilet was also found and broken. Word reached the town authorities rather quickly, and the chief, Richard Nelson, along with two officers, arrived at Parkside to disperse the crowd.  The two officers, one armed with a service revolver and the other a shotgun, stood outside as cover for Chief Nelson. Nelson, however, went to the trunk of his squad car and pulled out a Thompson sub-machine gun. Chief Nelson then entered the establishment and ordered the men out. Now a small town police chief walking into a bar with that much fire power in his hand must have been quite intimidating. Some of the gang members thought it smart to make threats of setting fire to several of the town's structures, but the leaders of the group talked some sense into the members and they reluctantly cooperated with the police. All the members were rounded up, led down the street to their vehicles, and told to get out of town. A shot was fired behind the stores in town, and one member made the threat that the gang would return 200 strong, but overall they complied with the Tommy gun wielding chief and left town.
          Now as all of this was going on, some unknown person had called the state police, and along with them the McHenry County Sheriff. Both groups arrived on the scene as the gang was being led out. When the lieutenant of the state police asked if there were going to be any charges filed, Chief Nelson told him there would not be.
          Of course, after the incident, some of the residents spoke out against the idea of using a Tommy gun to quell the crowd. The reason for the backlash was due to the fact that there were some Huntley residents mixed in with the crowd at Parkside. But with the lack of using the gun, the outcry was little more than a blurb in the opinion section of the local newspaper.
       Fast forward to 2012, and that threat of returning 200 strong never happened. The group never wanted to test the machine gun wielding police chief, and never returned. The Tommy gun incident never left the memory of the town's residents. Whether it was at Chief Nelson's retirement or today, the story is always shared with a smile, a wink, and a couple laughs, to those interested in hearing some of the odd, quirky history that has occurred in Huntley.

The Farnsworth House

          If you are a fan of history and architecture, and happen to find yourself in Illinois, then it is time to take a trip to the Farnsworth House in Plano. Designed and constructed by renowned German architect Mies van der Rohe, the history of this house is both extensive and fascinating, from its conception right up to the current day. For information on the history, tours, or how to donate for its preservation, visit http://farnsworthhouse.org/

 

          This house is a must see in any season! The following pictures are from a visit to the house in fall of 2012. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Huntley Farm Store: John Deere

          For over three decades, The familiar green and yellow greeted those who passed through Huntley on Rt. 47. Named the Huntley Farm Store, they were the dealer for John Deere equipment. Prior to its construction, John Deere products were sold at Enos Conley's feed and coal business, but in the 1940s, John Deere wanted a larger facility for their products. When Enos Conley could not accommodate their wishes, they constructed a new facility along the railroad tracks on Rt. 47. In 1945, the facility opened under the ownership of Carl Fogle, Helen Irwin, Paul Dale McClintock, and John McClintock, all of whom had opened the Crystal Lake Farm Store one year prior. At its opening, the Huntley facility had three employees, but by 1960, they had expanded to twelve employees, many of which would drive the countryside selling John Deere equipment. In short time, the red brick building could no longer hold all the operations that needed to be fulfilled. The solution was to expand their holdings in a short amount of time. In fact, by 1960, just a short 15 years after opening, they had constructed and occupied a steel pole barn across Rt. 47, a round roofed, steel structure behind the main brick building, and a structure across the railroad tracks, along with their original brick store.  By the 1970s, though, machinery had become too large to be displayed at the site, and the property was put up for sale. Later businesses to occupy the site included a plumbing business in the early '90s, and in the mid 90's through late 2009, Randy's Cycle, a dealer in Victory motorcycles. In April of 2010, the site was razed due to the expansion of Rt. 47. Currently, nothing occupies the rest of the site.   

 

Circa 1945



Photo taken by Gene and Norma Lindsey, 1976. Courtesy of Huntley Area Public Library

This nondescript section of land marks the former store. 04/16/2013.

Let's Spot the Difference!

          At the turn of the twentieth century, postcards were one of the best ways to communicate with family and friends across the country. Majority of these cards, which cost a penny postage, had a photograph of a person or place on the front. Huntley, like nearly every town in the U.S. at that time, had many postcards depicting structures and locations in town.  Many professional companies produced these cards (E. C. Kropp, C. R. Childs, and later Curt Teich, just to name a few). Other people took their own photographs and brought them to a company or a local photograph developer and had cards created. I will say this: there is a definite difference between a professional made card and one made by a local towns person, and below, there is fine evidence of that! Enjoy the folk art!

 

          The first two cards were produced about 1908 by the well known and well respected card producer C. R. Childs Company. This company produced highly detailed cards from the exposure to the angle of the photograph in relation to the structure to quality of the paper used. These two cards use actual, already published postcards. The top card uses six unmarked, most likely German produced, cards. The lower uses one of the same cards, but grouped with different cards from another unmarked company.  After arranging them in an interesting pattern, and in the case of the top photo, adding larger lettering, voila! C. R. Childs successfully took some other company's photos and made them their own. This was a common practice, both in using a photo that was produced by an unknown company, and having multiple images on a card.  Because of the popularity of these multi-image cards, others produced their own version.  Most that produced these were professional companies, but the below picture shows what happens when the town pharmacist takes a stab at it.

 

          This card was produced at the same time as the above cards, but there is one glaring difference: The top ones were professional, beautiful to look at, and well arranged. This one, eh, not so much. But that's because this card was hand made in every way, most likely by the druggist mentioned. Notice how the pictures are once again postcards, but see how he wrote over the front to make the titles more evident. Also note that the main title "Churches Huntley ILL." was entirely hand written. And, what is in my opinion the best part, note how he tacked everything to a piece of wood! This wasn't some nice, beautiful piece with postcards adhered to a pleasant background. No, it was completely hand done, tacked up to a dark piece of wood, and displayed with a hand written title.  Frankly, I find this card to be more attractive just from the obvious fact that it is folk art, but that may just be me. In any case, these three cards exemplify the difference between a manufacturing company that does this for a living, and a small town druggist trying to make a scenic card to sell to passers-by.

Washington Whittemore/ Van Acker House

Two early farmsteads stand just west of Huntley on Marengo Road. Both of these farms were owned by Whittemores, who were one of the earliest settlers in Grafton Township. Prescott and his wife Lucy moved to the area in 1838. Their six week journey in covered wagons and subsequent three month stay in Aurora was followed by their settling west of what would eventually become the village of Huntley. Here Prescott named the new township Grafton Township, after the New Hampshire township that the family formerly resided in. Prescott constructed a house made of stone that served as their residence as well as a stage coach stop. This was also the location of early township meetings. This home is now plaqued by the McHenry County Historical Society.

The house pictured below was constructed on the next plot of land just west of the Prescott Whittemore farm. This property was owned by Washington Whittemore, who came with his parents to the area in 1838. Whether he ever resided at the property or whether he built the house is still a mystery, but this farm was among the acres of land owned by Washington. The house is all that remains of the original structures, and as can be seen, it has changed relatively little in 150 years. 

 

 



Photo circa 1865

 

Photo 2012



Ariel photo circa 1950



Note how very little had changed in about 100 years. Even the fence is the same!



 

Cattle Drive

          Like many Midwestern towns, Huntley was founded on farming. And for much of Huntley's history, farming was the main source of revenue for the town, especially dealing with the dairy industry. But like many suburban towns, farms and the fields have given way to big box stores and subdivisions. So when someone mentions the thought of a cattle drive down Main Street, it can be hard to imagine. Well imagine no more! The below photo depicts just that. This was a herd of dairy cattle from one of two main cattle dealers in Huntley. It is quite possible that this herd was from wealthy cattle dealer E. E. Keating, and that he was moving them to his stock barns located in town. Truth is, we'll probably never know, but just imagine looking out your window down town now and seeing a cow grazing in your front yard!

Bygone Days

          Isn't this the most perfect scene? This photo was taken November of 1979, with a beautiful, freshly painted Chicago Northwestern engine pulling matching green and yellow cars through Huntley.  The Huntley Farm Store (John Deere) was for sale and Marlowe Feed and Hatchery had the old paint scheme advertising Honegger Layers. On the left, cars from Pfaff's Auto Sales can be seen sitting on the corner of Rt. 47 and Main Street.  Today, any train that comes through is full of mismatched, rusting cars hauling automobiles from the Belvidere plant, and the farm store, Marlowe Feeds, and Pfaff's are long gone. Such a shame.

Sun Valley Farm

          In Huntley, there is a farm that stands out from the rest. Known as the Sun Valley Farm, its history goes back. I mean, way back. In fact, it is believed to be the oldest barn in McHenry County, and the homestead is one of a limited amount of buildings that date to about 1840. But the age is not the only thing that adds to the uniqueness of the site, and after being able to tour the site, I was able to see what made this site so special for a Midwestern town.

          But first, some history. The first structure believed to have been constructed on the site was the barn, which was constructed somewhere between 1838 and 1840.  This actually was common practice to construct the barn before the house (how else are you going to make any money to put food on the table and clothes on your back).  After the barn was constructed, the family lived in the barn along with the livestock until they had enough money to construct the homestead.  The wood in the barn was from old-growth white oak, with some timbers measuring over 8 inches by 12 inches.  These timbers were cut and squared on site, and then constructed and raised into place with the help of "neighbors" (this is where neighbors would mean the next few farms down the road, with the farmsteads being spread out by miles). The beams still retain much of the original bark, and the structure is put together using oak pegs instead of nails. Much of the details of this barn are similar to those found in New England states, not the Midwest, and thus has brought barn enthusiasts to the site to observe this barn.

          In the early 1840s, the original portion of the house was constructed. Like the barn, it was also constructed of white oak, and is post-and-beam construction.  Some of the beams in the upper floor of the structure also contain the 170 year old bark, as only one side was hewn flat for the roof.  The house has had other additions, dating from the 19th and 20th century, and the porch was later enclosed.

          Other structures on the site include a stone smoke house, corn crib, chicken coop, and a later garage.  The smoke house is a rare for the county, and still shows sign of the smoke in the interior.  The corn crib also has some interesting details, like the fact that it was constructed using square nails instead of wire nails, which may put the crib's construction from before 1880.

           Two of the most prominent people to own the site were John S. Cummings and Edwin F. Deicke. Cummings, who came to Illinois in 1838, and to Huntley in 1841, was also the first mayor of Huntley when the town was incorporated in 1872.  Edwin F. Deicke was a later owner, purchasing the farm in the 1940s.  It was then he established The Sun Valley Farms, a group of 5 farms in the Huntley area.  A prominent figure in DuPage County, he was the president of a couple different insurance firms in Wheaton IL (Suburban Casualty Company and Pioneer Insurance Company), and also set up a foundation in his name to help others. He donated money for many different projects, and in 1965, Edwin and his wife Lois donated $35,000 to purchase part of Donahue Woods and create a park (the first public park in Huntley since Oakland Park closed in 1925).  Park district meetings were first held at this farm once the park was created.  The farm was eventually purchased at the turn of the 21st century by the park district and they have made key renovations to the site, with the plan to have it as a possible museum or living history farm.

          I have been able to tour the site twice. The first time I was awed by the construction of the structures and with how complete the site is. About a year later, I had returned to do a more in depth search of part of the site.  On the second floor of the house, I found that one side of a wall used to be covered by newspapers for insulation. Only scraps remain, but some scraps are very telling. One looks to have been from the turn of the last century from a prominent paper, The Prairie Farmer. Another, which had multiple scraps near the base of the wall still intact, was a German newspaper with a date of 8 April, 1873. In the basement, I started looking through two rusting file cabinets. Most of the drawers were empty except for empty manila folders. In a (no longer) stuck bottom drawer, however, there stacks of letter heads, mostly from Edwin Deicke's businesses. They were from the insurance business he was president of, and even included some from the farm itself. Other items like an advertisement wallet from a Lombard insurance company were found in the bottom of another cabinet, and other little discoveries popped up that day (hooray for possessing a stronger flashlight than last time).  It's only a matter of time before more discoveries are made. But for now, here are the pictures from the first two visits. Enjoy!