Spring—Summer 2017

KANKAKEE COUNTY HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION The Preservationist

Volume III, Issue II Spring—Summer 2017

Points of Interest Dining Room Ceiling Laylights Unveiled

 Dining Room Ceiling t was a celebration of Laylights Unveiled I the late architect, Frank Lloyd Wright’s 150th  Every Family has a birthday (Saturday, June History...What is 10). An historic event in Yours? itself with several activities

 Annual fleur-de-lis planned at Kankakee’s B. Celebration Dinner Harley Bradley House and Stable. The highlight of the  KCHPC Receives evening however, was the CLG Grant unveiling of the six interi- or dining room ceil-  Herscher Historical ing laylights / skylights. Society The project was made possible through the gen- erous donation of Ka- ren Janik. Ms. Janik was Kankakee County honored at the event for Historic her contribution. She ex- they first learned that pre- nating funds to have one Preservation plained to those attending vious owners had sold the or two of the leaded pan- Commissioners that she and her husband dining room ceil- els replicated, but of have long been admirers ing laylights. They were course that would have Mardene Hinton, chair of Frank Lloyd Wright’s replaced later by frosted left them incomplete. Un- architecture. They visited glass panels due to the fortunately John Adams, vice chair the B. Harley Bradley expense of reproductions. Mr. Janik later passed House & Stable a few Through the years Jane Johnson, secretary away and it was years ago and that is when the Janiks discussed do- Steven DePasquale Ms. Janik’s decision to honor his memory by do- Michael Donahue nating funds to replace all Shari Ebert six of the panels. Jesse Mulligan, local Terry Johnston artist/craftsman was com- Ron Shank missioned to replicate the laylights using the Pat Wagner original plans for the de- sign. Staff: According to Thomas A. Michelle Sadler Heinz in his book Frank Lloyd Wright’s Stained Glass Newsletter edited by: & Lightscreens, Brenda Albers cont. page 2 The unveiling

Page 2 The Preservationist Dining Room Ceiling Laylights (Continued from page 1)

Laura Golowski, Wright In Kankakee’s Operations Manager with Jesse Mulligan, artist.

Karen Janik, donor

The laylights have a reverse it took over 300 man hours pattern relationship. The to complete. A beautiful gift crossbars align with each for a beautiful house. orientation. This is a rudi- Kankakee is so fortunate mentary method to establish that Wright In Kankakee a a relationship between two non-profit organization run panels. The triangular head predominately by volun- detail and the horizontal teers has stepped up to accents to each side of it open this house to the pub- give an American Indian lic. effect to the pattern, almost The evening also included an abstracted eagle. the volunteer-of-the-year Robert Bohlmann Each panel consists of award which was presented tired architect and now 633 individual pieces and to Robert Bohlmann, re- volunteer director of Wright In Kankakee.

Volume III, Issue II Page 3 Every Family has a History...What is Yours? in collaboration with Linda L. (Rieke) Willibey

A family history tells a story... names and dates in this ceme- da learned to decipher the old tery to refer to?” That is when German script used in church Hand-written diaries, journals, Linda and her mother began records from Pilot and Salina family Bibles, newspaper articles, making a list of the names and townships. She found original letters or scrapbooks created dates and collecting obituaries German spellings of surnames by an ancestor and handed for residents in two family cem- and sometimes it was stated down over the generations can eteries. Realizing that many of where these families lived in be invaluable. Not everyone is these people were already in Germany before immigrating. It fortunate enough to have was always a bonus when their such a family treasure saved parents in Germany were also over the years. listed. Linda L (Rieke) Willibey Linda’s grandmother, Rosella recently put to rest three Emma (Lehnus) Riegel was born generations of her family’s to George F & Emma E genealogy collection. It was (Wagner) Lehnus in 1906. Ro- never a thought to Linda sella was one of 16 Lehnus sib- that she would become in- lings. Fourteen children lived to volved in family genealogy or adulthood and 12 of these mar- that she would inherit the ried. The Lehnus family immi- collections from her grand- grated from Germany in 1854, mother and mother. Linda settling in Pilot Township. The moved away from the extended family grew every year Kankakee area for 20 years. through marriages. In the 1930s, She said that no matter soon after her marriage, Rosella where she was living in the began keeping a family tree world due to her husband’s book about her siblings. Em- company assignments or ma’s parents, were the what situations she was in, Obrecht & Wagner families who she was always comforted settled in Salina township after Rosella Emma (Lehnus) Riegel because she knew where her immigrating from Germany in roots were. She always knew her grandmother’s and mother’s the 1840s. where she would be welcomed family tree books, along with Melba Rose (Riegel) Rieke home. their obituaries, Linda began to was born to Ernest C & Rosella In 1995 an opportunity came recognize and appreciate the E (Lehnus) Riegel in 1931. Melba to return to Kankakee Coun- work of her grandmother and was one of 47 first cousins from ty. Linda found that her grandmother that was in the note- the Lehnus and Riegel fami- mother and mother were still books sitting on the shelf. Lin- lies. Since she was raised with a working on their genealogy col- da was hooked....she went on to respect of family and ancestors, lections. She tells the story of research four more attention was given to the cem- going with her mother to one of “cemeteries” two with family etery plots of family ances- the local cemeteries to look for links, one cemetery linked to tors. Once a month the family a family relative and check some another cemetery and one as a went to both family and church dates on a tombstone. Linda favor to a friend. cemeteries where they joined asked her mom, “Wouldn’t it be Also connected with the re- other families to mow the grass easier if you had a list of these search of these cemeteries, Lin- and clean around the tomb-

cont. page 4

Page 4 The Preservationist

Every Family has a History...What is Yours? Continued from page 3 stones. generation there is a family Rosella’s member like Linda, her moth- grandchildren er and her grandmother who remember the recognizes the value of a col- dining table on lection and preserve it for which she generations to come. spread her ge- With today’s technology, it nealogy family is now easier to organize and tree notebooks easier to share genealogy da- to work ta. on. Linda has A family history....tells a this same table story. and uses it for her genealogy work. Rosella and Melba collected genealogy Melba Rose (Riegel) Rieke data, wrote letters to relatives and talked to filed obituaries, newspaper people at their family reunions. articles and family tree

All that was collected through notebooks. Linda’s ceme- the years was inherited by tery research and deeper Linda. research into a couple of Linda and her husband Tom surnames in the Pilot and are moving to Arizona from this Salina Townships has also area at the beginning of Au- been shared. Today, the gust. To get ready for that family genealogy data for move she has spent several Rosella and Melba is in a months organizing and distrib- digital database to pre- uting the collections from those serve. three generations. She has A family genealogy collec- shared her family’s genealogy tion and sharing of it is a collection of data with several personal form of county organizations and is pleased that preservation. We thank it will stay here in Kankakee Linda and her family as well County to help direct others as many other families who through the research of their have shared their genealogy. family lineage. Their work not only pre- The many years that Rosella serves their family history, and Melba worked to collect but becomes valuable re- Linda L. (Rieke) Willibey not only family history but com- search material. It can and munity history has now been will be used to tell a story about shared with local historical soci- the history of Kankakee County, eties in the form of loose paper It is our hope that with each

Volume III, Issue II Page 5

The Preservationist Page 6 KANKAKEE COUNTY HISTORIC PRESERVATION KCHPC Receives Second CLG Grant COMMISSION The Kankakee County His- from this survey.  Write the historical toric Preservation Commis- The grant is a 70/30 context of Pilot Town- sion has received a Certi- matching grant that re- ship. fied Local Government quires the historical re-  Identify historically and Grant. The grant is federally search to be conducted by architecturally significant funded through the Depart- volunteers, supported by properties and/or sites 189 E. Court Street ment of the Interior and Room 201 the collections and knowl- 50 years of age. Kankakee, IL 60901 administered by the Illinois edgeable members of the  Identify the present Historic Preservation Agen- Herscher Area Historical Phone: 815.937.2940 condition, integrity, ar- Ext. 5555 cy. Society. The data compila- chitectural style and E-mail: [email protected] Last year, after complet- tion and report writing will features, construction www.k3countyhistoricpreservation ing a Preservation Plan for be performed by Wiss, Jan- date and obvious alter- .com Kankakee County, the com- ney, Elstner Associates, Inc. ations and/or additions mission agreed the next (WJE) of Northbrook. IL. of the most historically step was to begin extensive After the data has been significant properties. surveys of the townships. accumulated, the field sur-  Produce recommenda- This new project will in- vey work will be conducted tions of the most note- clude the unincorporated by two-person teams, one worthy properties for portions of Pilot Township, WJE professional architec- listing in the National which encompasses 48 tural history staff person Register of Historic square miles. The incorpo- and one volunteer. Places and/or as a Local www.k3countyhistoricpre rated limits of the Village of The Commission seeks Landmark. servation.com Herscher are excluded to:

Herscher Historical Society by Pat Wagner

Robert Voss, president of the HAHS the Herscher Area Historical Foundation Society (HAHS), is pleased Board. Our to announce that Schreffler sincere Funeral Homes LLC is gen- thanks to erously donating the Her- SueAnn and scher Funeral Home to the the Founda- Herscher Area Historical tion Board. Follow us on Society. December 30, It s not eve- 2016, was the day that the ry day that Herscher Area Historical someone of- FACEBOOK Society was deeded the fers to donate property at 161 W. Myrtle a fine old Kankakee County (the Schreffler Funeral historical Home). Our sincere thanks home as this one. So, what Historic Preservation to Tim Gernon, Bruce does the Herscher Area referring to this house as the Commission Schreffler, and Mike Hake- Historical Society intend to “Anderson House.” man for making this all pos- do with the building? The Our intentions are to exhibit sible. home, built in 1899, was furniture and artifacts from Because of the over- purchased in 1903 by An- the 1900 era. Do you have whelming support by the drew T. Anderson, a local something from that time pe- riod that you are willing to community, the Historical businessman, who served as If you prefer not to receive Society Board has been the mayor of Herscher donate or lend us that is relat- KCHPC newsletters notify us looking for more space to from 1899 to 1901 and ed to the Herscher area? If so, please contact the Herscher at: exhibit and store items. This 1925 to 1927. Andrew T. Area Historical Society at 815 [email protected] whole story would not have Anderson and his family happened without the help lived in this house for many -426-2627. This new location of SueAnn O’Connor and years; therefore, we will be is a block west of the Main Street Museum.