Front Street is the face of our village. Every building, whether not-so-old or ancient, contains something like a life of its own, a soul containing memories of every deed done there. Behind every familiar façade is a story, some are of great success, some of storied Mokena personages, and some even reach back to the earliest days of the village’s narrative. One of these many landmarks is the old building at 11028 Front Street. What nowadays holds a quiet real estate office along with a skin and beauty bar, is actually a spot well-steeped in community history.
The story of this location reaches far back into the 19th century. As is often the case for the Mokena of this era, the exact beginning is nebulous, hard to pin down in the fog of time. However, when the mists are parted, the figure of Valentin Scheer arises, a Bavarian harness maker who bought this lot of Henry Bock for the princely sum of $1,400 in the summer of 1869. The son of a brave pioneer family, Valentin’s father and mother, Johannes and Philippine Scheer, first settled the wilds of what would become Frankfort Township in 1847, at a time when the villages of Frankfort and Mokena, not to mention the local railroads, were but a distant fantasy. One of twelve children, Valentin Scheer was born in the southwest German village of Siegelbach on December 1st, 1844, the second to last child to be born to the Scheer clan while the family still lived in Europe.
Around the time of the Civil War years, Valentin moved to Mokena proper, then a flourishing hamlet along the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad, and by and by entered the town’s business circle. On April 12th, 1868, he married Henriette Heim, the daughter of a local saloonkeeper, their nuptials being carried out by Reverend Wilhelm Meyer of the German United Evangelical St. John’s congregation, of which both families were founding members. By the summer of 1870, Valentin Scheer had fully established himself as a harness maker in Mokena, and it is likely from this period that the building at the center of this story dates. The stately two-story structure features Italianate-influenced decorative brackets in its eaves, as well as window frames that appear to harken back to the Greek Revival style. Inside, Scheer’s shop sported hardwood floors and a lavish stamped tin ceiling.
The Front Street harness shop and feed store of Valentin Scheer as depicted in an 1873 lithograph.
Valentin Scheer flourished as one of Mokena’s early tradesmen, while advertisements of the day referenced a “first class harness shop”, boasting a large salesroom where “sets of harnesses of every kind needed” were available for inspection, from “heavy work harnesses” to “fancy buggy harnesses.” After being in businesses at this spot for several years, he eventually branched out into feed and flour sales as well, also dealing occasionally in baby carriages, trunks and valises. The harness shop was a product of its era, and also hearkening to its place in the 19th century is the 1878 ad showcasing fine horse blankets and buffalo robes to be had.
Illustrative of his rising position in the community, Valentin Scheer was elected to the post of trustee on the first village board in the spring of 1880, and the board’s very first meetings were held within these historic walls. The trusteeship was held by Scheer until 1885, at which point he still appears to be in business at this location, as is indicated by his continuous advertising in area newspapers in this timeframe. The harness maker relocated to Chicago at some point in the second half of the 1880s, where he met a tragic yet mysterious end. A Cook County death certificate exists for him bearing the date of March 16th, 1890, indicating that Scheer’s demise was caused by “shock from frost bite – hands, feet and ears.” On the same sheet, a note in the margin cryptically states “man insane.” In the register of the dead of the St. John’s congregation, pastor Carl Schaub’s German language inscription records that Scheer died “as a result of frozen limbs.” Nothing has ever surfaced on the historical record to indicate what caused his psychological break, and why he wandered outside on that cold March night. His mortal remains were borne from Chicago back to Mokena, where he was interred in St. John’s Cemetery on what is today Wolf Road.
The 1890s are an uncertain time, an epoch of many unknowns in our village’s history, due to the fact that there was no local newspaper to report happenings in town, and thus no consistent record. The community, as well as the nation at large was in an economic depression after the Panic of 1893, causing many Mokenians to move elsewhere. Just enough evidence exists that villager Jacob Weber may have conducted a saloon in Scheer’s old harness shop at the end of the decade and into the first years of the 20th century.
The history of this old landmark comes back into focus in the spring of 1903, when hardware merchant David Kolber set up shop here. His arrival in Mokena is marked by the uniqueness of his background; in a village made up of mostly German-Americans, Kolber was an Austro-Hungarian Jew. The 1911 birth of his son was heralded in local media as being that of Mokena’s first Judaic citizen. The Kolbers would come to be esteemed residents of our town, and their hardware store would be remembered as a “first class business and tin shop” in its early years.
David Kolber built a solid business at this location, and within several years, it outgrew the shop here. During his tenure, it appears that he was a renter at this address, for the structure was still referred to as “the Weber building” in local parlance of the era. Coinciding with the relocation of the hardware store a few doors to the west in 1911, Katherine Sippel opened her dry goods shop here, herself having moved from other quarters farther down Front Street. Once its doors were thrown open to the public in November of that year, it was boasted of as being the biggest and best store in town. The sister of the aforementioned saloonkeeper Jacob Weber, Kate Sippel was born in Mokena on September 12, 1856, the daughter of a Hessian stonemason whose handiwork was the foundations of many of the village’s oldest buildings. A capitalist par excellence in the village, a contemporary hailed Sippel as a “courteous and very efficient business woman;” while another noted her store as a place where “any products could be purchased.” Aside from selling general merchandise, Mrs. Sippel was a well-known maker of women’s hats, having learned the art of millinery while a young girl.
This circa 1910 image of Front Street looking east from Mokena Street depicts the property (at third from left) as it appeared when it came into the ownership of Kate Sippel.
Once this property came into the hands of Kate Sippel, it underwent some significant changes. In the summer of 1911, she had a small extension on the west side of the building torn down, and a considerably larger wing on the east side detached from the main structure, and moved to the north side of the lot close to First Street, where it was converted into a storehouse. Finally, a large addition was tacked on to the north side of the Front Street building. Another big improvement came in the spring of 1913, when the building was fitted out with electric lights. Mrs. Sippel’s right-hand men in her business were her two adult sons, Elmer and Christian. Aside from being known among local folk for their friendly manner, they also were very civic-minded. They improved a patch on the eastern edge of their lot into a “town beauty spot” that contained a small pond teaming with fish and two public horse shoe pits, as well as later sponsoring some of the first outdoor film screenings with other Mokena businessmen.
After the death of Kate Sippel in 1922, her son Elmer took over operations here and continued trade until his own sudden passing in 1942, when the store closed its doors for good. This building would play a key role in Mokena’s home front activities during the Second World War, when Elmer Sippel’s widow offered the store’s vacant space for use as the headquarters and sewing room of the village branch of the Red Cross. Here local members gathered and engaged in various patriotic activities, such as the preparing of surgical dressings for use on wounded soldiers.
After having been the property of the Weber and later the Sippel families for decades, the structure was acquired by Irwin Howes in the summer of 1943. The owner of a small grocery store that was part of the Royal Blue chain, Howes relocated his combined store and meat market to this location after his previous Front Street quarters became too small. However, his presence in the day-to-day affairs of the business turned out to be short lived, as he was inducted into the Navy as a radio technician in early 1944. In his absence, his wife Edna ran the affairs of the store, but shortly after the end of the war, Irwin Howes found himself no longer desirous of running the enterprise, and ultimately sold it to Joe and Vicky Grobarcik of Joliet in 1947.
A 1946 view of Irwin Howes (right) in his store. His customers are Herman Schweser (left) and Paul Lembke (center).
Previously the keeper of two stores in the county seat, Joseph Benedict Grobarcik was born February 17th, 1913 in that place, and ultimately married Victoria Bernice Jankola, also of Joliet. The kept a well-rounded store in our village, and still under the Royal Blue banner, they offered “groceries, fresh and smoked meats, vegetables and frozen foods.” In January of 1948, a Mokenian could buy three cans of Campbells tomato soup for 29 cents, 46 ounces of grapefruit juice for 19 cents, and a pound of butter for 85 cents. After eight years of successful business on Front Street, the Grobarciks had their store completely remodeled, setting up a new frozen food cabinet, a vegetable cooler and new shelving, and topping it off, the biggest improvement being an addition to the main structure, a new space 45 by 16 feet on the west side of the building.
A scene in the Grobarcik store in Mokena, circa 1950. Left to right are Vicky Grobarcik, Jean and Joan Cooney, Eleanor Muehler holding Rick Muehler, unknown, and Joe Grobarcik. In the foreground is Patty, Rick Muehler's dog. (Image courtesy of Richard Quinn)
Still lovingly remembered in the village to this day, Joe and Vicky Grobarcik are universally described as nice people, good neighbors and hard workers; Mokena is a better place for their having been a part of it. In the rural community of their day, just about everyone in town was a customer soon or later. The Royal Blue store was also able to compete with The Shopping Bag, a modern supermarket that opened on Wolf Road in 1955, and later Ordman’s Park and Shop. The Grobarciks’ was a very homey, one-of-a-kind place. A jar of pickled pigs’ feet greeted customers, and the signs in the store were all homemade, written in black crayon. At the end of every night, it was common to see Joe or Vicky scrubbing down the butcher block with a wire brush. A makeshift kitchen, made up of three walls, existed in the back of the store, fashioned out of empty cartons and boxes. The Royal Blue existed in a time where a Mokenian could call the store, place an order for groceries, and have them ready upon arrival. Adding machines didn’t come until much later in the Grobarcik’s tenure, and as such, all bills were written out by hand on a pad with carbon paper. Fresh donuts were delivered daily to the store, and cost five cents each. However, one had to be there early to get one, as they went quick. The Grobarcik store on Front Street is fondly remembered by countless Mokenians as the place in town for penny candy; not only for the wide selection that could be had there, but also for the shopkeepers’ sunny disposition towards local children, who allowed them behind the counter to make the selections his or herself. Popsicles, fudgesicles, dreamsicles, and even drumstick ice cream cones could also be had, all for a nickel.
Vicky and Joe Grobarcik in their Mokena store, 1978.
After nearly 31 years in business in the same spot, Joe and Vicky Grobarcik retired and closed up shop in February 1978. So admired were they, that the village presented the couple with a certificate of appreciation upon the store’s closing, and soon thereafter, the Mokena Chamber of Commerce bestowed upon Joe the Outstanding Citizen Award. Down the line, the building was the home of Baker Interiors, and a faithful restoration of the building’s historic façade, restoring elements that had been obliterated for decades, was carried out not too long after the turn of the 21st century.
In the spring of 2002, the property suffered a disastrous fire, the conflagration being so intense that it melted the store space’s original tin ceiling into a heap of charred wreckage. The place’s future was in serious question, but luckily for the community and for future Mokenians, this time-honored spot was able to be saved. It has been a part of our village for decades, gracing Front Street for at least 151 years. May it stand for 151 more.
Excellent article on an iconic street!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the kind words, Phil!
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