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St John's Cemetery Walking Tour walking amongst giants 10/30/2024

For our second walking tour with guests, we visited Mokena's St. John's Cemetery. Matt brings back to life these characters of our towns past with his stories. Listeners of our podcast will recognize a number of names that you hear Matt talk about, including the Semmlers and Ms. Blaser! We couldn't have asked for better weather! Thanks to everyone who was able to make it out to join us and thank you to St. John's for supporting us doing this and coordinating so we didn't interrupt the services that day!

The Imagination station 27 years of play 10/22/2024

Israel and Matt met up with The Dock restaurant owner, Rick Trafton, to get to know him and his restaurant, which will be making its home on Front Street in the near future! This is the second tour of the property and there have been major changes since our first visit! There will be more updates to come as this historical treasure on Front Street is brought back to life after so many years.

The Dock on Front Street - Update #3 With Gino Picciola 9/20/2024

The Dock on Front Street is Mokena's most anticipated development and after the July 16th tornado's, there was significant damage. Gino, the building owner, tells us about all of the significant changes that have taken place since the last time we walked through the building! MAJOR changes are taking place and significant hurdles are out of the way. Gino also gives us an idea of when construction might be complete!

St. Mary's Cemetery Walking Tour With Mokena's Front Porch 9/17/2024

On a beautiful Saturday September 7th, Matt Galik gave a guided tour of Mokena's historic St. Mary's Cemetery. These grounds are home to some really interesting early Mokenaian's! If you have ever walked these sacred grounds and wanted to know more about the place and those buried there, this is your chance. Be sure to stay tuned through the end for a private tour of the old St. Mary's Church! It is beautiful and a living history of early Mokena! This is the first walking tour we have offered for people to join us but we are excited to be doing another tour in Saturday October 12th, 2024. Check out our website for more details about this and other tours!

2024 Miles For Maddog Weekend 9/3/2024

Last year, Frank and Cyndi Grobmeier sat down with me and shared the story that started the Maddog Strong Foundation. In memory of their daughter, Maddie "Maddog" Grobmeier, they host a Friday evening tree dedication and touching ceremony, where the names of donor hero's is read and memorials are laid in a beautiful park. Saturday morning is race day at Lincolnway North, where Maddog Strong continues to show the real impact of what they are doing and how important it is to be an organ donor. It was a real honor to be part of this weekend as well as be able to record and share it here.

Mokena Garden Walk - A Pollinators Tour With The Butterfly Ladies 8/21/2024

This is our second visit with the Butterfly Ladies, Linda and Kate. When the Chamber of Commerce Garden Walk was cancelled this year, they organized a pollinators tour of a few gardens around town. It was a small group and I (Israel) was lucky enough to be a part of it! The wildflower gardens in town are looking amazing! Thanks to Linda and Kate for including me and for organizing this awesome tour of beautiful Mokena! Enjoy!

Mokena Mayor Frank & Laurie Fleischer 8/12/2024

Since moving to Mokena in 1977, the Fleischer's have been an active part of the Mokena community. Mayor Fleischer and Mrs. Fleischer sat down with Israel and talked about their lives before Mokena, how they came to Mokena and they impact they have both made since. We discuss Mayor Fleischer's political future and what changes he would like to see for Mokena. Enjoy Israel's conversation with Mayor Frank and Laurie Fleischer.

The Fall of the Erickson Barn and The History of Front and Mokena Street 7/31/2024

Matt and Israel talk about the recent storm that came through town and did significant damage down Front Street as well as the collapse of a beloved historic barn, built by the Erickson family in the early 1900's. We also discuss the building that sits on the south east corner of First and Mokena Street. Today the home of Audiologic and the newest addition to Front Street, Hustle & Heart, this site holds a long history as a center of town for generations. Matt shares some great stories of this site that has a long, and at times, troubling, past. This episode is based on Matt's blog post from May 1, 2022 titled, Down on The Corner." You can find that episode here: https://oldmokena.blogspot.com/2022/0...

Retired mokena fire chief howard stephens 7/23/2024

Retired Mokena Fire Chief (21'), Howard Stephens, joins Israel for a conversation on the front porch. He talks about growing up in Mokena and joining the fire department, as well as how he continues to give back to our community. Enjoy my conversation with, fellow Mokena Lion, Chief Howard Stephens.

A Conversation With George Metanias, Mokena Village Trustee 7/16/2024

George Metanias has been a Mokena Village Trustee since 2005. Before he took his seat in the boardroom, he was local football coach and a business owner. George and I (Israel) took a walk around Main Park and talked about how he ended up in Mokena, his path to public life and his future in Village politics.

A Walk Down Front Street - Part 2: Mokena Street to Division Street 6/30/2024

Israel and Matt continue their walk down Front Street, starting where part 1 left off, at the corner of Mokena and Front Streets. This stretch of Front Street contains some of Mokena's oldest buildings along with one of Mokena's newest businesses! These episodes give a walking history of the places many of us go by on a daily basis without knowing its rich history! We hope you enjoy this and look for future episodes as we make our way towards Schoolhouse Road! Enjoy our walk! Israel & Matt Mokena's Front Porch Podcast

Wolf Road Wildflowers & The Butterfly Ladies 6/20/2024

Mokena is growing as a welcoming place for butterflies, as well as other pollinators like bees and hummingbirds, thanks in large part to the work of Linda Malmborg and her very knowledgeable sidekick, Kate Wojtulewicz. Formed as "Butterflies R Us", they are sharing the good news about milkweed! Theses ladies, along with Andrea, Chuck and Gigi gave me (Israel) a tour of the Wolf Road wildflower garden, that has been upgraded BIG TIME this year! Pretty soon we will see those tall yellow sunflowers waving as we drive down Wolf Road! This was a great start to a Sunday morning and I am looking forward to going back to follow the progress!