By Karen Haave
Things are changing around the Peotone Mill.
The once-elegant structure on Corning Avenue has suffered some setbacks recently, with unexpected damage that left it stripped to its basic core without its sails or grinding gear, as well as the second floor balcony.
On the plus side, though, all that has brought new energy to the Peotone Historical Society’s efforts to restore and preserve the 152-year-old icon that has become a symbol of the village.
That was evidenced on Sunday, as the PHS presented its 22nd annual Old Mill Fall Fest.
“In the past, it seemed the goal was to show off the mill to guests, have a nice small group of vendors, and a bunch of the demonstrators showing what life in the late 1800s/early 1900s was like,” noted PHS President Ed Nelson.
“Hence, we were losing money at our own event. The goal this year was to change that around. With the recent attention given to the mill, now there have been a whole lot of businesses offering to help sponsor the Old Mill Fall Fest. They include Terry’s Ford of Peotone, Suzy’s Saloon, Peotone Car Club, Main Street Dance, 360 Unlimited, Tony’s Pizza, Ashley Toepper at Exclusive Realtors, Game On, Cornerstone Coffee House, Advertising Solutions, and Pearl Dodge. I am simply amazed at the outpouring being given to us.
“I’m very proud of Peotone, the number of businesses and people that are eager to support and save Millie.
“Although we were missing one or two demonstrators, we still had many returning that we feel do a great job teaching history. We’ve added more vendors this year, although still keeping with the theme of hand crafts and homemade items.”
Nelson predicted that visitors would be “really happy with the selection to choose from.” He also was happy with a late entry from Stoub Farms. The family-owned farm in Green Garden Township is popular for its superior sweet corn, but some might be surprised to know that they grow pumpkins, beautiful decorative gourds, and popcorn, as well.
“Since it’s a fall fest, we feel it fits perfectly here at the mill. (We) expect next year to have more farmers market type vendors as well.
PHS officials have said they are grateful for the flurry of publicity that has followed the mill’s troubles, both in local newspapers and electronic media.
“The Peotone Historical Society has had a lot of great publicity lately after the problems we experienced in early August,” Nelson acknowledged.
“Prior to that time we had a little money coming in from merchandise sales and some Sunday visitor donations. But not really that much.
“After the dust settled, so to speak, the idea that the Peotone Mill really needed to be restored instead of just sitting there decaying started to take shape. Although in the past the Village of Peotone was pretty much hands-off of the mill, through board meetings and other conversations with the mayor’s office and with trustees, we want to work more closely together to do what we can to make the renovation/restoration happen.
“We all understand that there’s not a lot of money just sitting around for a big project like this, so it’s going to be a big challenge reaching our goals. After the demolition equipment was done and the grounds were cleaned up and it was safe to walk around, many people were saddened by the way Millie looked, I, as well.
“Then we opened an account at First Community Bank and Trust here in Peotone for anyone wanting to make a donation for the restoration. And shortly after that, a GoFundMe account was started. Both are receiving some donations a few times a week.
“Right after that, some local businesses started asking how they could support us. Cornerstone Coffee House made a donation which helped us purchase T-shirts and koozies to fundraise. Game On! Bar & Grill sponsored a Golf Cart Bingo Bar Crawl with proceeds going towards the mill restoration project.
“Since the media coverage that Millie has received in the past couple of weeks, I’ve been getting a lot of positive feedback from businesses and residents that want to see Millie restored to the point that the sails are put back up,” Nelson continued.
“They all remember when they were on for just a short time in 1997 and tell the story of their quick demise.
“The majority of others that I speak with, including myself, are all feeling very positive about the project going forward and what it could mean for our town. Imagine having this iconic building in Peotone restored, one whose image is on everything from the water tower, to the Police and Public works vehicles, inside Village hall, your vehicle stickers, and even on the Peotone Bowl sign!
“This just feels like it’s our time to step up and make it happen.”
The historical society began planning for The Old Mill Fall Fest at the beginning of the year, lining up vendors and re-enactors/demonstrators.
“The past 5 weeks have definitely jacked up the stress level, but nothing we can’t handle,” Nelson smiled.
In fact, the set-up of the event on Saturday was nothing short of a Herculean task.
“There was Tracy Nelson, Ann Nagel, Nick George, and myself, along with two people we grabbed off the street to help us set up yesterday.
“We’ve had an extremely good turn out today, the weather was perfect, and everyone had a wonderful time seeing the inside of the mill, learning about what life was like in the 1800s from all of our demonstrators.
For those curious about the nickname Millie and how it came about, Nelson has the explanation.
“It basically all started when I joined the Peotone Historical Society two years ago,” he said.
“I started volunteering up at the mill doing some gardening, cleaning up, etc., which led to me spending more and more time at the mill. Then each time I’d go, my wife Tracy would say something to the effect of going to see my ‘girlfriend’. Then it turned into going to see Millie and that caught on with our friends and on social media.”
Elected president of the PHS in March, Nelson has guided his group through the most trying times Millie has experienced, and he is proud of their response.
“With this being my first year as President of the Peotone Historical Society, I’m really proud of how much we’ve accomplished in just a short amount of time,” he said.
“We are all volunteers and our team does a wonderful job. To think that there’s a very strong chance to see it restored, a deck all the way around again where events could be held, and sails spinning on it is very exciting.
Sunday’s warm and mostly sunny weather was “perfect for our fest” and officials were hoping that it would translate into a record amount of visitors.
“Obviously, we love showing off the mill, and this is the perfect opportunity and setting to do that at. And the more people that see it will hopefully tell their friends of our current situation and our projected future of Millie,” Nelson added.
The Peotone Historical Society meets the 1st Thursday of every month and Millie is open every Sunday from 1:00-3:00 pm, May-October.
For more information or would like to volunteer, the email is PeotoneHistoricalSociety@gmail.com or Facebook at Peotone Historical Society.