Decorated for the holidays: Tradition and history come alive in annual house walk
The Busse name has long been synonymous with Mount Prospect. William Busse was its first mayor and he also served as president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners for a time, while his brother George Busse was one of the Realtors/developers who transformed local farmland into residences.
So, it seems fitting that Busse family homes have often been featured on the Mount Prospect Historical Society’s annual Holiday Housewalk. This year, another of those gracious homes is being opened to the public on the evening of Dec. 6.
The 2010-constructed Cape Cod Colonial home at 1211 W. Lincoln St. is the home of George and Suzanne Busse. It backs up to the 8th hole of the scenic Mt. Prospect Golf Course, owned by the Mount Prospect Park District. Two large ranch homes were razed in 2007 and an easement purchased to make way for this and three other custom homes, built by The Smart Group.
“We loved the casual setting here along the golf course,” said George. “It is so beautiful and peaceful.”
Kimberly Allen of the North Dunton Design Group, a friend of Suzanne’s, worked closely with the couple on the home’s interior design. Traditional in nature, the interior features white woodwork and doors, a coffered family room ceiling and plenty of other Colonial-style touches.
But the Busses’ furniture is much more transitional, giving a lovely, blended feeling to the home.
The first-floor den is the one exception to the rule. It features dark walls and woodwork and custom cherry bookcases for an “Old World” feel. This is a gracious, quiet space where George and Suzanne enjoy the books in their collection, as well as the piano handed down by Suzanne’s mother, a jazz pianist who played in a Big Band in Detroit in the late 1930s and early 1940s.
Those touring the home will enjoy interesting touches like Suzanne’s use of heavy wrapping paper as festive runners on both her dining room and breakfast room tables; a large wooden bowl in the kitchen filled with vintage Christmas tree ornaments; Suzanne’s nutcracker collection; quilts made by George’s great-grandmother, Louise Rohlwing; and assorted embroidery pieces and paintings created by Suzanne’s mother and grandmother.
Another fascinating touch is a photo in the living room of George in his Navy uniform when he worked as a social aide at the White House under President Ronald Reagan during the 1980s.
A copper, silver and gold “sparkle Christmas tree” adorns the living room while the family ornaments and those from George and Suzanne’s travels are shown on a second tree upstairs on the landing in front of the arched window above the staircase.
Opposite the lovely landing is Suzanne’s craft room where “I enjoy archiving family photos and mementos,” she said.
George’s large office is also upstairs and it serves as a Busse museum of sorts, chock-full of framed family photos and other memorabilia, including a replica of a stained-glass window in the old George Busse farmhouse on Maple Street in downtown Mount Prospect and a Victrola given to George’s father by his uncle, Frank Biermann, owner of Mount Prospect’s Busse-Biermann Hardware.
Six homes on house walk
Mount Prospect’s 36th annual Holiday Housewalk will highlight six private homes, built between 1962 and 2016, in the We-Go Park and Bobby Lane neighborhoods north of the Mt. Prospect Country Club. It will be held from 3:30 to 9 p.m., Friday, Dec. 6.
In addition to the Busse home, the tour will feature the interiors of: 210 S. Bobby Lane, owned by Kristen Almerigi and Vincent Haufle; 305 S. Lancaster St., owned by Kristin and Jeff Michalczk; 201 S. Lancaster St., owned by Kristen and Michael Favia; 200 S. We-Go Trail, owned by Kristin and BJ Lindstrom; and 204 S. We-Go Trail, owned by Nayia and Joe Sivulka.
All of the homes will be exciting to tour in their own ways, whether because of the lovely decorating, the new construction or renovation work that has been done, according to JP Karlov, Holiday Housewalk co-chairperson. And both the We-Go Park and Bobby Lane neighborhoods are expected to be festively lit with residents’ holiday light displays.
As usual, this walking tour will be accented by beautifully lit luminaria. Parking will be available along neighborhood streets.
The tour will begin in a tent at Kenilworth Avenue and Pendleton Place, where last-minute tickets will be sold, refreshments will be offered and watercolors of the featured houses will be displayed. Museum store items and tickets for a raffle also will be sold there. The “will call” table for tour tickets ordered online at www.mtphist.org will be located in the tent.
Nonrefundable tickets also will be sold for $30 each through Dec. 5 at the Mount Prospect Village Hall, 50 S. Emerson St.; River Trails’ Weiss Center, 1500 E. Euclid Ave.; the Central Community Center, 1000 W. Central Road; Millie’s Hallmark, 1024 S. Elmhurst Road; and the Dietrich Friedrichs House museum, 101 S. Maple St.
Last-minute decision-makers may also purchase tickets on the day of the walk, beginning at 3 p.m. at the headquarters tent, but the cost will be $35 per person at that time.
“The Housewalk is the (Historical) Society’s largest fundraiser of the year,” Karlov explained. “Its proceeds support the many educational endeavors of the society and help to pay for upkeep on our museum. We urge the public to support our effort to preserve local history through enjoying the house walk and our other activities throughout the year.”
Call the Mount Prospect Historical Society at (847) 392-9006 for more information or visit www.mtphist.org.