Learn how the 1918 flu pandemic affected St Charles with local historian dailyherald.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dailyherald.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Earl Meeske, namesake of iconic Mount Prospect grocery store, dies Earl Meeske
Updated 1/6/2021 10:31 AM
The last namesake of an iconic business that anchored downtown Mount Prospect for nearly 60 years has died.
Earl Meeske, who ran the village s first grocery store, Meeske s Market, with his brother Fred, passed away Dec. 5. He was 88.
Though the brothers sold the market in 1973, it retained the family name until it closed in 1984. The distinctive Busse Building where the market originated stood at the corner of Busse Street and Northwest Highway. It was a village landmark until a fire tore through it in 2014.
For many years, Meeske s Market was the only grocery store in Mount Prospect, and was famous for its extensive butcher shop and the family s celebration of the community s German roots.
Note: This column has been updated to correct the spelling of Judy Hasenjaeger s name.
With the 2020 pandemic scuttling the Mount Prospect Historical Society s 33rd Annual Holiday Housewalk, the group is using a new idea and toys from the past to save its biggest fundraiser of the year. It was my first idea, right out of the gate, says Emily Dattilo, 27, a Mount Prospect native hired in July as the society s new director. Forced to scrap the idea of hordes of strangers paying $28 to take a December walking tour through historically significant homes in the village, she turned to the society s collection of antique dollhouses.