Tuesday, August 8, 2017

The Krauss Building, 209 W. High St, Freeburg, Illinois.

Located at 209 West High Street, this building was built by Andreas (Andrew) Krauss. Andrew opened a General Store in this building on November 1, 1878.
He came to Freeburg in 1852 at the age of 19, and had operated a store someplace else in Freeburg, but that location is unknown.

Andrew operated his new store on the west side of the building and the Post Office was located on the East side of the building. He lived on the second floor with his family and the third floor would be used as a meeting place for various organizations in town.

Business was good for Andrew in Freeburg and soon he wrote home (Germany) for other members of the family to come to America. His nephew, Philip Krauss arrived in Freeburg in 1865 at the age of 16, and began work in his Uncle's General Store.
Andrew retired in 1890 and turned the store over to Philip, who operated this business until 1915, when he too retired and sold the entire stock to Robert Browning & Arthur Reinheimer. They named the business The Freeburg Mercantile Company.

In January 1908, A. Rosinsky of Mascoutah, Illinois, moved his clothing business into the east side of the building after the Post Office moved to a new location in town. This business was called The St. Louis Shoe & Clothing Company. Later the name was changed to The Leader Clothing Store, and sometime later the business moved to the William Schiek building at the corner of Richland and High Street.

The space on the east side of the Krauss building was soon occupied by Gus Rauth, who on July 2, 1909, opened a saloon in the vacant space. On the west side of the building, Mr. Reinheimer had purchased the business interest of Mr. Browning and together with his sister, Mrs. Freda Reuter, operated the store. In March, 1917, a new sanitary counter was installed to ensure the keeping of meat. One of the biggest problems in the early years of grocery stores was keeping the flies and insects out of the meat cases, especially since AC was not yet invented.

In March, 1919, August G. Koesterer purchased the Krauss building from the heirs of Andrew Krauss. August was one of Freeburg's most successful retailers. After an extensive remodeling, he moved his stock of goods from his existing store into his new building and called his business The A.G. Koesterer & Company. One main changes he made to this structure was to remove the wall that divided the main floor into two sections. Sadly, in the fall of 1921, August Koesterer became seriously ill and died on November 26th from Meningitis at the age of 34. His brother Albert J. Koesterer, who had worked in the store, took over the business changing the name to A.J. Koesterer & Company.

By this time, the style of shopping had greatly changed. Instead of giving the clerk a list for your items, shelves and aisles were arranged so the customer could actually get their own product. The introduction of canned goods began to replace dry goods.

In December, 1929, A.J. announced he would be closing due to lack in sales. J.E. Atkins, manager of the Stovall Sales Company of St. Louis arrived in Freeburg to conduct a three day liquidation sale in which all stock and goods were sold.

In August, 1930, the Freeburg Commercial Club (later known as the Chamber of Commerce), purchased the building for the sum of $3,600 in an effort to attract a new business in town. In July, 1931, the George Newton Garment Factory of St. Louis moved into the building, sending George Kumbera to act as manager. He would later buy controlling interest in this company. This company first started out as a Rayon Factory but soon switched to a Dress Factory.

In June, 1935, a large addition was made to the building, adding more cutting tables, sewing machines and other machinery. At the height of this company's operation in 1938, there were more than 200 people, mostly Freeburg ladies, employed by the Freeburg plant. In May, 1940, Mr. Kumbera, manager of the Freeburg factory, sold his interest to his partner, Richard B. Croneheim of St. Louis. Mr. Croneheim soon made an announcement that the factory would be closing due to lack of sales.

Immediately the Forest City Dress Company purchased the building and business and all of its equipment, including the 130 sewing machines. A few changes were made to the structure and work continued. By 1944, a garment workers union had been formed with Ms. Angeline Zipfel serving as the first president. She was employed at the plant. Sadly, in 1956, and without much notice, the factory simply pulled out of the building. Large trucks were seen moving all of the machinery out of the building.

The Freeburg Chamber of Commerce quickly regained control of the building and in 1957, Ted Rehmer of Fayetteville, Illinois, would operate a tavern on the main floor of the building. Over the years, the Chamber would make several attempts to sell this building or to get another factory to show interest.

In September, 1964, Jacob Brinkman of Waterloo, Illinois, purchased the building for $12,000 with the intent of opening a hardware store. E. M Wiegman Company had been using much of the space for storage.

Once again, the building was extensively remodeled and a Western Auto Store moved into this structure. Jerry Miller, of Waterloo, Illinois, was the manager. Mr. Brinkman was an associate of the Western Auto Company. In 1966, the Western Auto was changed to a True Value Hardware Store still managed by Jerry Miller. This store would close in 1977.
In May, 1978, this building was purchased by Dave Favre, Ray Swyear and Howard Prater as a business venture. Nothing came out of this purchase. In June, 1979, John & Alice Rudy purchased the building and again after an extensive remodel, opened the Freeburg Bi-rite Grocery Store. Other businesses to occupy the building were: Watters Trading Post, opened in October, 1986, closed in April 1988. An arcade was operated here for a short time in a room behind the trading post.

Color & Create opened in April 1989 and is currently located in this building. Other business to operate here was Venezia Pizzeria, which opened December, 1988 and closed in June, 1999, and Jack & Jill's Cut. Freeburg Chiropractic opened in 2003 and is currently located in the east side of the building.

Compiled by Neil Gale, Ph.D.

Sunday, August 6, 2017

The History of Chicago Sidewalk Nameplates (Stamps and Plaques).

Sidewalk stamps can be found on the streets of small and large American cities. These ubiquitous inscriptions are the proud commemorations of a job well done and a practical and long-term form of advertising. They are also explicitly required by law.
CITY OF CHICAGO RULES
RULES REGARDING CONSTRUCTION IN THE PUBLIC WAY UNDER
2‐102‐030(L); 2‐102‐040; 10‐20‐210
LAST UPDATED JANUARY 2014
Before the top or finishing of concrete walks has set, the contractor or person building the walk shall place in such walk in front of each lot or parcel of property a stamp or plate giving the name and address of the contractor or person building the walk and the year in which the work was done. The top of said plate or stamp, which must not cover more than 54 square inches of surface, shall be flush and even with the top of the finished walk, and must be of a permanent character plainly stamped or firmly bedded in the concrete in such a manner that it cannot become loose or be easily removed or defaced. Wherever one contractor or person has laid walks in front of three or more adjoining lots or parcels of property in one continuous stretch, one of the above named stamps placed in the walk at each end of said stretch of walk will be sufficient. (Prior code § 33-38; Amend Coun. J. 1-14-97, p. 37762, § 44)
The city code was adopted to hold the contractor responsible for their work should anything be defective in the concrete sidewalk they laid.

There are two different types of Nameplates, stamps, and plaques, and they serve two purposes — identification and advertisement.

The most common type of sidewalk marker is stamped into newly poured concrete. It becomes an indelible feature of the sidewalk, sharing the same space as children’s footprints and lovers’ inscriptions.
Stamps most often bear the name of the construction firm that laid the sidewalk, and the year the work was done. Additional information can include the company’s location and telephone number. Sometimes a stamp will carry broader information, such as the name of a subdivision and its developer.
The less common form is a precast brass plaque set into wet concrete. These are not “stamps” as such, although they are used similarly. 
Stamps and plaques are “permanent” in different ways. Stamps are part of the sidewalk and rarely filled in or removed. However, they are easily and often lost when a portion of the sidewalk is reconstructed. There are rare examples where an old stamp is integrated into a new sidewalk, but this is an exceptional occurrence. 

Brass plaques can be more easily removed from a sidewalk, although they are also most often removed when the sidewalk is reconstructed. They do have a better chance of surviving as individual artifacts.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

Friday, August 4, 2017

Racists Miss the Point of this Billboard in Justice, Illinois; September of 1991.

A controversial billboard on the Tri-State Tollway designed to focus attention on racism on golf courses has been vandalized and will come down only six days after it was put up.
After the billboard was spray-painted with racist messages and a swastika over the weekend, artist Mark Heckman and the billboard company decided the time had come to take it down, even though it was supposed to stay a month.

"The billboard has served its purpose, and I don't want anyone getting hurt," said Heckman, who has parlayed the controversy into morning national talk show appearances for later this week. "So I don't have a problem with the sign being removed."

Tom Carroll, an official of Gannett Outdoor Chicago, the billboard company, said the sign, which advertises the fictitious Afro Country Club, "Where only the ball is white," is slated to come down barring high winds or rain. The billboard, located just north of 83rd Street in south suburban Justice, is visible to northbound tollway traffic.

Heckman, 28, of Grand Rapids, Mich., said he has produced two dozen political billboards in recent years, but this one sparked the strongest reaction by far. "I want to stimulate people with my work, but not to violence." he said.

Since the billboard was put up last Thursday, owners of the public warehouse near the sign, as well as Heckman, have received a steady stream of harassing and threatening telephone calls. Many of the complaints to the billboard company were callers who believed that the country club actually existed, Carroll said.

The vandalism apparently occurred late Saturday night or early Sunday, with the culprits perhaps providing their own ladder to climb the eight feet up to the walkway ladder that is used by workmen to mount the billboard signs, said Justice Police Chief Paul Washich.
In addition to the swastika and the letters KKK, the billboard also was spray-painted with the initials J and M.

By early Monday, work crews from Gannett Outdoor had removed the graffiti and repainted part of the sign.

"It's difficult for me to believe that this could still happen, but that was the whole point of the billboard," Heckman said. "I hope it makes some people think about racism."

Despite the complaints, Heckman and Carroll said they have received many calls from people praising the billboard. Heckman said the work was paid for by an anonymous benefactor in Michigan and placed on the Tri-State, also known as Interstate Highway 294, because a location in downtown Chicago was too expensive.

The tollway billboard cost $3,500 a month. Heckman will receive a rebate for the unused time.
Among Heckma's better known billboards was an AIDS awareness sign displayed in Chicago in 1989. That work featured 2,001 condoms dipped in paint and thrown against a canvas.

Carroll said a "generic" and noncontroversial billboard would go up in place of Heckman's.

Compiled by Neil Gale, Ph.D.