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24 | March 19, 2020 | the mokena messenger life & arts
mokenamessengerdaily.com
Matt’s Old Mokena
And in the 20th century, Mokena said ‘Let there be light’
Matt galik
Contributing Columnist
As you read this
newspaper,
chances are it’s by
electric light. The wonder
of electricity is such an
intrinsic part of our lives,
that it’s impossible to
imagine our days without
it. As with all things, this
technological advancement
wasn’t always with
us, and it too had a triumphant
birth and arrival into
the lives of our forebears.
Beginning in 1886,
only six years after Mokena
was incorporated,
the village was a world
whose streets were lit
only by soft, flickering
kerosene lights that came
from lamps mounted on
posts. The later arrival of
electricity was the biggest
boost our community
had seen in years, at least
since the first telephone
exchange was installed in
1898.
Talk of bringing the
juice to town was in the
air as early as 1909, but
these first plans never got
off the ground. Finally, in
the summer of 1912, as
Mokena boasted a population
just short of 400, the
village board under Mayor
Ona McGovney finalized
a plan with upstate’s
Public Service Company
to light up the town.
The historical record
indicates that townsfolk
were gung-ho about electricity,
with early enthusiasts
being brothers Julius
and Charles Hirsch, who
were excited to have their
stock farm and residence
north of town wired, as
well as the Mokena Men’s
Club, who were looking
into having their dance
pavilion off what is today
Wolf Road illuminated.
An electric pump was
installed in town to stream
water into the municipal
tower on Front Street.
Meanwhile, a private electric
light plant was set up
at Bowman Dairy’s bottling
plant, and the lights
there were switched on for
the first time on Sept. 17,
1912.
After much work and a
few headaches, the juice
was turned on for the 35
new street lights on New
Year’s Eve, 1912, and
glimmering electric light
shown from the 14 lamps
on Front Street. They
would burn from dusk
every night until 1 a.m.,
all taken care of by an
electric timer.
Once the electrification
of the streets was
finished, the current was
slowly brought to the rest
of the town, also coming
to private residences,
the first of which was
the Front Street domicile
of local livestock dealer
Emil Krapp.
Things didn’t go off
without any hiccups,
however, as at the end of
that April a malfunction
caused the lights to shine
too dimly on the streets
and in the buildings, and
old oil lamps had to be
dusted off for use at home.
Most disappointingly,
the movie nights at Mokena
Hall were canceled
as a result. Early on, the
timer used for the streetlights
also proved to be a
pebble in the proverbial
shoes of the town dads.
Within two days of the
lights first turning on, the
timer was malfunctioning,
leaving the streets alternately
in the dark or lit
up around the clock. This
issue became the catalyst
for a short, but sharp,
war of words waged in
the pages of the Joliet
News between two young
correspondents: William
Semmler, of Mokena, and
Nellie Haley, of Marley.
On Jan. 8, 1913, the
plucky Haley snarled that
“our neighbor, Mokena, is
getting quite chesty over
their new electric lights,
in fact they feel so proud
of them that so far, they
have been kept burning all
of the time, day as well as
nights. Well, we all know
they have them now, so
they might as well shut
them off and save juice.”
Our own Semmler
responded three days later
that “Marley has taken a
fling at our extravagance”
and thought he had the
last word by writing that
“Here we wish to say
that Mokena believes in
advertising and making
the other little jerk water
stations sit up and take
notice that their big neighbor
is still on the map and
progressing.”
After another attack in
her column — in which
Nellie Haley hissed “Put
this in your pipe, William”
and vaguely hinting
that “it wasn’t civic pride
alone that kept those new
electric lights going all
the time at Mokena” —
Semmler quickly retorted
“Just for Your Sake, Dear
Old Marley… they were
caused to burn simply
so Marley could have a
chance to see a bright
illuminating spot in the
neighborhood, a highly
advanced community
where all go to bed early
and the cats never bark at
strangers.” Thus, the sniping
continued ad nauseum.
The dust of the quarrel
eventually settled, and
after more than a century,
Mokena is still lit by
beacons of electric light.
For this we can thank the
foresightedness of our
ancestors, whose hard
work continues to make
our lives easier.
STAY UP TO DATE
ON 22CM EVENTS
IN YOUR AREA.
For more info visit
22ndcenturymedia.com/events
coin
From Page 21
The couple’s total collection
ended up being
valued at around
$105,000, Beckstrom
said.
For those who think
they might be sitting on
a fortune, but end up with
less than they thought,
Beckstrom said he tries
to let them down easy and
give some of the history
of the coins so that they
at least get something rewarding
for their efforts.
“Sometimes that’s more
valuable than the item
itself,” he said. “People
appreciate the history
behind the item, too. So,
they don’t leave emptyhanded;
they at least leave
with the information and
historical story behind the
item that maybe grandpa
had saved.”
He offered some advice
for aspiring numismatists,
or coin collectors.
“One thing you look for
is knowledgeable, ethical
assistance for what they
have,” he said. “A lot of
people will go online and
they’ll try to do some research
on what they have,
which I would probably
do, too. … But the information
you get online,
boy it’s hard to sift out the
fat from the fallacy.”
Beckstrom said collectors
should be wary of
disreputable dealers who
may be trying to part people
from their collections
at a cheap price.
The best solution?
Beckstrom said to seek
out referrals from other
coin collectors or banks.
He recommended people
check out the American
Numismatic Association,
a nonprofit organization
of about 25,000 members.
Its website is money.org.
For more information
on Golden Rule Coins,
visit mycoinguy.com.
munchies
From Page 23
Banana Pancakes.
Our newest addition is
Joel’s Cinnamon Oatcakes.
Why oatcakes? We’ve
discovered that he feels
better not eating gluten
— not that he is severely
celiac, but more that he
has an intolerance. So
we’ve been tweaking
our meals to avoid not
only additives but also
gluten.
The four of us agree
that this new recipe is
just as good, if not better
and heartier than,
flour-based pancakes. So
maybe try it out just for
some variety even if you
aren’t gluten-free.
If you need to be
strict about gluten,
make sure to use oats
that are labeled glutenfree.
Better yet, also
look for the non-GMO
label, too.
Not that we’re planning
on actually running
a bed and breakfast, but
it’s funny how often
we toss the idea around
when we come across a
really tasty recipe. And
aren’t you lucky, because
the majority of them
have shown up in this
column.