The House That Keeps on Giving

 

Some houses are destined for history because they are architectural standouts. Some are memorable because of the famous people who have lived in them. That is not the case for a humble dwelling in Peoria’s North Side at 711 North Monroe. In 1912, it was sold by John and Annie Reber of Tremont to the Apostolic Christian Church to be used as a shelter for elderly maiden ladies who had no place to call home. Many of these women were first or second-generation Germans who came to the Peoria area because of friends or relatives affiliated with the Apostolic Christian Church. They primarily worked as domestics, living with the wealthy families who employed them.  But when they became too old to do this work, they found themselves having no place to call home.

 

Before the Apostolic Church was built on Sheridan Road, it was housed in a plain two-story red brick building on Green Street, in stark contrast to the soaring St. Mary’s Cathedral which stood next to it. When the church elders realized a need to house the elderly “sisters”, as female members were called, they chose the house at 711 N. Monroe. Less than a block from Green Street Church, it seemed the perfect place. The purchase price was $3500.

 

The home was an unadorned building in a working-class neighborhood. Upon purchase, a cement block addition back and to the back, and updating of the original house commenced. A new heating system and modernized plumbing were first on the list. Then followed cement walks, porches, a cellar, screens, china, linens, and furniture. These enhancements came to a total of $8,964.31, all paid for by church members.

 

Women with no funds were given preference for residency, but those who had some money were asked to contribute $3 per week. No men were allowed to reside at the home. There were rules. In the rule book, written in German, it was stated that when God created mankind he gave him a sound mind and that whisperings, turmoil, disputing, and strife would not be tolerated.

 

The first floor consisted of a sitting room, a dining room, and a kitchen. The bedrooms and the one bathroom were on the second floor. Laundry was in the cellar. The ladies took their meals upstairs, carried by two superintendents. Later a dumb waiter was installed. The dining room was used on Sundays when members from outlying churches came to visit and stayed for a roast beef dinner which was cooked by volunteers.

 

Carrie Steigle was the first superintendent in 1912, overseeing two residents.  In 1940 Leah and Lillie Hohulin were appointed. These ladies cared for the residents, cooked, cleaned, baked, gardened, mowed the lawn, and changed the storm and screen windows. The latter they did by carrying the extremely large and heavy storm windows up a ladder to the second story. There was no car so they either walked or stayed home. They grew much of their own food, although a nearby grocery store also delivered supplies. Apple slices were dried on the roof.  A resident of Princeville whom I interviewed for this story remembers coming into town with her mother in the early 1950s, bringing their abundant garden produce and homemade noodles to share. (This family had eight children, yet they still had food to share.) 

                                                                                                                                               

Guests used the back stairs to visit the ladies upstairs. In summer the laundry was hung outside. In winter it was hung in the attic. The doors to the attic were lined with felt to keep the bats out. If a resident needed to go downstairs, and couldn’t do it on her own, Leah and Lillie would put her in a chair and they would carry her down, Leah in back and Lillie in front. Leah went to church in the morning and Lillie went in the afternoon. That way the residents were never left alone.

 

After 1954, the state required that people in charge of home management have a grade school diploma. So, Leah and Lillie studied and got the required GED. Several years later a high school diploma was required.  Again, the ladies studied and met the requirements.

 

On September 23, 1962, the home celebrated its fiftieth anniversary attended by 208 people from the churches of Princeville, Eureka, Goodfield, Gridley, Fairbury, Morton, Roanoke, and Peoria. Sandwiches, fruit, cookies, and a three-tiered cake were served. Flowers from the members’ gardens adorned the tables.

 

In 1965 Lillie left the home and was married at age 57. She moved to Morris, Minnesota, and lived to be 105. Leah retired at the same time, returned to her birthplace in Fairbury, Illinois, and lived to be 88. She never married.

 

 In 1966 a new home for the elderly had been built on Skyline Drive, so it was time to close up the home at 711, a place that had comforted and sheltered so many. Again, church members stepped forward to help with the move. Because the stairs were too narrow to easily carry things down, it was decided that they would be thrown out the windows where someone was standing in a pickup truck below to catch them. Furniture was lowered down with a rope. Inasmuch as possessions were few, it only took two pickup loads to move the eight remaining ladies and their belongings.

 

Following the departure of the ladies, the home changed hands a few times. From 2008 to 2012 it housed the Human Service Center. It is now owned by the South Side Office of Concern. Called Veterans’ Haven, it is a place for homeless veterans to reside.

 

For over 111 years the building at 711 North Monroe has given refuge to many who have appreciated and loved the old brick place in return. How many mansions can boast of such a legacy?

 

Written and researched by Sue Swanson, 2023

Sources:

Coming Together for 100 Years:  A History with Memories of Apostolic Christian Skylines 1912-2012

Interview with Ricky and Sid Stahl in 2023