A Peek at the Past: Historical Society Strolls through Mokena Homes and Gardens

It's been four years since the last Mokena Area Historical Society Home and Garden tour, but this year's tour was worth the wait, according to society president Doug Heathcock.

“This year we had such a great turnout,” Headcock said. “Really it all depends on the weather and today we just had a beautiful day. We've had full trams all day, it's been great.”

This year's tour featured six Mokena homes and . Patrons of the tour got their start at St. John's, where volunteers were waiting with 150 years worth of facts on the church.

From there, tour goers could either walk to two of the homes on the tour, 11132 Third Street, the home of Dave Kropp, or 19531 Union Street, the home of John and Chriss Maluta. After touring the two homes, attendees could hop aboard one of two covered trams, which took attendees to four other locations within Mokena.

The four other featured homes were:

• 10910 Front Street, the home of Jason and Katie Stetz,
• 10836 Frist Street, the home of John and Paulette Overend, 
• 11001 First Street, the home of Tim and Fyllismarie Caddell, and 
• 19224 Schoolhouse Road, the home and garden of Bill and Sharon Weber

The homes, each with its own tour guides, drew “oohs,” and “ahs,” from attendees and volunteers alike, Heathcock said.

“This thing isn't a fundraiser for us, we don't really make money today,” he said. “We just want to have a fun day, with great homes and share them with the people that appreciate them.”

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