- John McGivern: I'm in a charming Illinois village that feels very rural, even though I'm 35 miles from downtown Chicago.

[cheerful music]

- Announcer: We thank the underwriters of John McGivern's Main Streets because without them, we couldn't make this show.

[gentle music]

- Yes, Greendale is beautiful on the outside. But it's what's inside that counts. Who doesn't love opening a door to great food? Whether you want to go casual, upscale, or maybe you wanna try something brand new! Come on in! You just gotta see Greendale.

- The Wisconsin Northwoods are calling. One word, one place. Minocqua.

- Your community's best selfie spot is Your-Type!

[upbeat music]

- You'll find your bright spot in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.

- My father taught me that to make great bakery, you have to do it the right way. O&H Danish Bakery, where kringle traditions begin.

- There's no place like Oconomowoc. Explore, play, shop, stay. Visit Oconomowoc.

- Announcer: John McGivern's Main Streets is grateful for additional financial support from Horicon Bank: The Natural Choice, West Bend Insurance Company: The Silver Lining, our nonprofit, the Friends of Main Streets, and from the Friends of PBS Wisconsin. Thanks, underwriters.

'Cause these are our Main Streets
Something 'bout a hometown speaks to me
There's nowhere else I'd rather be
The heart and soul of community's right here
On these Main Streets

[bright music]

- I am in Illinois's first historic district, Long Grove. With a population of about 8,400, it is a northwest suburb of Chicago. It's just a little over an hour from my hometown of Milwaukee, and it sits dead center between the cities of Waukegan to the north, Elgin to the west, and Evanston to the east.

[bright music]

Emmy, how does a community that's in the Chicago metro area stay looking like this?

- Emmy Fink: Their plan was to really maintain the rural charm and countryside character so that this beautiful town always looks like it did back in the early 1900s. So how they've done this, they have limited commercial development. They've maintained a lot of their open space, and they've preserved all these beautiful old buildings. 

- John: What was it like back then?

- It was really a crossroads between Chicago and the surrounding farmland. This was actually the area where a lot of farmers would come and get their supplies.

- And who were those farmers?

- Yankees from New England and German immigrants.

- John: Okay.

- It was actually the Yankees from New England that named this town Long Grove because of the long grove of trees. . .

- John: Oh, nice. 

- . . . in the area. The Germans, they called it Muttersholtz.

- John: Muttersholtz.

- Yes, and it means Mother's Woods.

- Oh, smart.

- Isn't that pretty? And then you fast forward to World War II, and a lot of the farmers, they moved to go serve in the war, leaving behind their farming supplies and their furniture. Well, guess what? At the same time—

- I'm thinking. 

- Yeah, you know.

- Yeah.

- Wealthy people from Chicago, they were just starting this beautiful hobby of—

- Antiquing.

- Antiquing.

- Yeah.

- You got it. So of course, this was one of the earliest antiquing hubs, and it still is.

- Which you reminded me, I have so much shopping to do. I'm going antiquing.

- No, we just started!

- I do, no, it's fine, I'll be back. Good seeing you!

- Oh, he's not coming back! That's a big fat lie!

[bright music]

- Listen to the name of this shop, Vintage Charm Homestead. The name is so perfect.

- Gina Andaas: Yes.

- Because you know what this shop is? It's beautiful, it's pretty.

- Gina: It's everything I love.

- John: Oh, is it?

- It is. [laughs]

- There you go. So this is—

- If I love it, it's here. We have a little bit of old, a little bit of vintage, a little bit of antiques.

- John: What do you think these are?

- Silver-plated vintage flatware. We take old vintage furniture and give it a new look. This china cabinet was like that vintage deep brown color. So we gave it a new coat of paint. It just gives it a nice, pretty look inside.

- Yeah, it's beautiful.

- Gina: Put a color of gray on it. It just gives it new life. If it's gonna make you love it and enjoy it, then you gotta do it.

- John: That's really important too.

- Yeah, yeah, I love to share what we're doing here and teach other people what to do what we love to do. 

- John: Yeah.

- So we're gonna stamp these coasters. What you wanna do is lay it with the textured side down.

- John: Sure.

- Then we're gonna use some ink, a nice even coat on here. You're probably good. No pressure, just a light rolling over it.

- And how do you know when all of the design is done?

- Gina: Eh, you can see it. Okay, I think you're good. You got this. Now, when you're ready, you're gonna lay it down. There you go. So once it's on, you're just gonna tickle around.

- Oh, yeah, yeah, you said tickle it.

- Gina: Tickle, tickle, tickle.

- You ready?

- Oh, I love it.

- I did this one.

- Gina: See, you can be creative. [laughs]

- John: Why don't you have a television show? [both laugh]

[upbeat music]

- Back when we started making John McGivern's Main Streets, if somebody had told me that by the end of season four, I would be visiting two sock monkey museums, I would've said, "There is no such thing as a sock monkey museum." Wrong, the one here in Long Grove, Illinois, is incredible. The Guinness Book of World Records has certified that this place has the largest collection of handmade sock monkeys of anywhere in the whole world.

- Okay, he is my absolute favorite. His name is Luno. He's 92 years old, the oldest sock monkey here. Aw, this one kinda looks sad, but he's got a great butt. Now, she is fancy. I think he'll fit in my car.

- Over 2,000, and not one has the color palette of John McGivern's Main Streets. I think they're missing quite the opportunity.

[bright music]

Long Grove Confectionary Company, this is Mary. Mary, this is, I love her job.

- Mary Prekop: I'm the keeper of the brand. I'm the one who protects and makes sure that the name Long Grove Confectionary is always represented in the best light. We're celebrating 50 years in 2025. Long Grove Confectionary has continuously stayed open here and has continuously represented this town with lots of pride. You should eat this donut right now.

- Thank you, Mary. This is so good. It was good.

- Mary: If you're having a bad day and Elsie's making donuts, it makes everything better. 

- John: So these are apple cider donuts.

- Mary: It's like an apple pie, but it's better.

- It's better. Was there a camera rolling on this? Or do we need to do that again?

- This is the best part of the job are these cases. Somebody said, "Do you ever get sick of it?" And I'm like, "No, I never get sick of that." You could pace yourself, John, silly.

- She don't know me. This is heaven!

- Our myrtle.

- And you can't use the other word because that is—

- You can't; it's trademarked.

- I almost need a nap already. 

- [laughs] I'm gonna take you down here, John. And this is our English toffee. That English toffee is made in copper kettles.

- Oh, my lord!

- I love the creativity.

- Yeah.

- That shows up in chocolate. Part of the confectionary industry is what's new. Our peanut butter melt with salt donuts, brown bag apple pies, jalapeño meltaway. And that was a big thing for a while.

- John: Salted caramel, I'm like—

- Dark chocolate orange peel is one of my very favorite. Clearly, I really love it.

- It's all good!

- I really love my job.

- It's all good, we're like—

- Mary: Representing and being the caretakers of something that I remember as a child. This is the pride of my career, is right here. I have a lot of fun. I am literally a kid in the candy store. I was trying to avoid the clich?—

- But here you are.

- But yeah, I am.

- Emmy, sorry you're not here today.

- No, we'll send a goodie bag home for Emmy. So Emmy, don't let them eat it on the way home.

[John laughing]

- Long Grove is known for its events and its festivals, like Strawberry Fest and Chocolate Fest and Vintage Days. So even though only 8,400 people live here, because of those events and festivals, guess how many people visit here every year?

[playful music]

- Last year, over 109,000 people made their way to Long Grove for their different annual events. Well, next year, make it 109,001, 'cause I'm in.

[gentle music]

- I walked in here thinking, "So if this was my shop--"

- Rachel Perkal: Yeah?

- How do you do this?

- Oh, my gosh.

- Like, how does this happen?

- This, well, this is a labor of love.

- John: Absolutely.

- Rachel: Okay? But every single thing in the store has a reason for being here, so everything has a soul and a story. 

- John: And is that soul and story connected to you always?

- Rachel: Well, the connection to me is that I meet every single artist.

- No, really?

- Every single maker. I know everybody by name.

- John: A connection to something is always the best.

- Rachel: Absolutely, to have something that is handmade and unique and is different from the one to the left and different from the one to the right, that's a rare thing, and that every week something new is coming into the store so they'll never be disappointed by not finding something new or feeling like, "I think I've seen it all." Not in this store, not in this store. These are all message-driven. You have wonderful artwork, but you read these, so.

- In life, it's not where you go, it's who you travel with. Bats.

- Rachel: Bats.

- John: We have to talk about 'em. 

- Because our bats have become kind of a signature item for us. Our wind sculptures are works of art. Come out here on a day that's breezy, and it's like a firework display out here.

- John: A lot of movement.

- Rachel: What really sets us apart is the relationships. I always say that people come in the door as customers and they leave as friends.

- John: Nice.

- We hug a lot in this store.

- Do ya? [laughs]

- Yeah, people should be warned.

[bright music]

- The Robert Parker Coffin Bridge, take a look at this. It's been an icon here in Long Grove since 1906. So it would be really great if cars would stop running into it, like driving into it. They put the bridge covering on back in the '70s, and since then, box trucks and buses, they literally crash into it, so much so that they had to take it down and reinforce it back in 2020. But since then, there's still been over 50 crashes. In fact, right as we got here, there was a sheriff and a big box truck. Do you see that piece of wood hanging? Yeah, that was his doing. Read the sign, people, 8'6", no more.

- John: So it's the oldest tavern in the state of Illinois.

- Nicole Jarvis-Wallace: In continuous operation.

- Elaine Jarvis: Operation. 

- Nicole: There we go, yeah.

- John: That's so great.

- Elaine: Yeah.

- Nicole: Yeah. This building was always a tavern. 1847, I believe, is when it started. We're the only, the fifth family to own this place.

- This place is so charming. We walked in, and we were just, we fell in love with it. We are happy to have you here, and I am here to seat you. 

- This room right here was an addition onto the original structure. We kept a lot of the pictures from what Long Grove looked like back in the 1800s.

- The Long Grove baseball team. It looks like it was after a loss though.

[Nicole laughs]

Yeah. I'm looking for Scott!

- Scott Wallace: Hey, I'm over here.

- Can I have an apron?

- Of course.

- We're cooking. Eight ounces.

- Eight ounces, yes, so—

- John: They're good?

- Put this on here. It's about 350 degrees.

- John: Here's your skirt steak.

- Get that going as well.

- John: Nice. What can you not change since you took over?

- Nicole: Been using the same fish fry recipe for over a hundred years.

- John: Is that right?

- Nicole: Yeah.

- John: Doesn't it smell good?

- Scott: It does.

- It's almost food time. So your dad works here?

- Nicole: My dad works here.

- John: Your husband works here?

- Nicole: My husband works here. 

- John: Your mom works here.

- Nicole: Mom works here. We are a family business.

- Look at that. We're having lunch. That's delicious.

- Scott: Good burger, isn't it?

- Mm-hmm.

- Good job.

- I know that you just opened up something downstairs.

- Nicole: Yes, a pool hall. I met my husband at a pool hall, and my parents actually met at a pool hall, so.

- Elaine: In college.

- Hey, guys, this place is very cool.

- Will Jarvis: Instead of just having people come to dinner, we would love to have 'em come down and play pool.

- John: Spend a little more time.

- Will: Exactly.

- John: So do you have pool leagues?

- Will: We do, we have—

- John: And will this place be packed when the leagues meet?

- Will: Yes, yes.

- John: Yeah. Can I take a shot?

- Will: Sure! He just gave me a look. [Will laughs]

- And here we go. 

- Yeah.

[balls clack]

Kinda like that. I believe you've played this game—

- I'm Wisconsin's bank—

[both laughing]

- I think he's played before.

- I believe he played this game before.

- Got 'em! [both laughing]

- John: Family, this has been a joy.

- Will: Thank you for having us.

- John: Thank you so much.

- This flagpole has been here since 1954. But before that, it stood at the Long Grove residence of terrible Terry Druggan. He was a Chicagoland gangster. Now, why would a gang leader need a big flagpole, you ask? Well, it was not to fly his Cubby flag. No, it was used as a signal to Terry. If the flag was up, it meant everything was good in the neighborhood, but if the flag was down, it meant someone was looking for him, and he should probably just keep driving. Now, he may have been terrible, right? But he sounds like a pretty smart gangster to me, and flag is up, so Terry, come on back.

- John: So that's a true story?

- John Kopecky: It's a, yeah.

- So you know these stories because obviously you were raised here?

- Yes, I had my first drink in The Village Tavern.

- What are we standing in front of?

- John K: This house is the Wagner House. They call it The Farmhouse. And this house dates from the 1840s, and it is just the way it was.

- This is now a part of the historical society?

- It is, this is where the historical society meets in the basement. 

- John: And has this town had its ups and its downs?

- John K: Oh, sure, yeah.

- John: Yeah. And where are we today?

- John K: I think we're on the way up. We had business owners throw in, and then we created merchant organizations. The one now is working really well.

- John: We're only, like, 35 miles from Chicago, yes?

- John K: Yes, it's an open spaces kind of a mandate. It's, I think, in the charter of our town. Our park district is well-funded, which is great. And it's all volunteer, like our village is all volunteer.

- John: Yeah, it's a small town, but with a kind of a big wide reputation, isn't it? - John K: It's just a fun spirit in town. Well, I think people come out here to be themselves, and that's pretty much what you get. It's a special place.

- John: Yeah.

- Isn't this church just darling? I bet you wouldn't believe it's 176 years old. Let's rewind all the way back to 1840s when the German settlers came and they formed this congregation and they built this beautiful church. They named it the German United Evangelical Lutheran Reform Church of Long Grove. My guess is that every parishioner got to pick a word, and they threw it in a hat and then mixed it all together. Well, somewhere along the line, they shortened the name to Long Grove Community Church. It's still very active. They have weekly services, and it's one of the most in-demand wedding venues. And I do see why.

[upbeat music]

- John: We're at a place called Brothers Field.

- Jesse DeSoto: All this area here was the Red Oaks Furniture Company in Long Grove for about 70 years.

- John: What's Brothers Field?

- Well, Brothers Field is kind of what we call a COVID baby. None of this was here. We had just demolished all that building. It was just field, and my brother and I, we would sit here with a fire pit and some music, and people just started coming. I think my brother had the idea to run a community movie on the side of that green barn with that massive screen, and after the response was so positive from that, we just, we've been growing ever since.

- John: It's good people are showing up.

- Jesse: That's right, people are showing up, and we're seeing it continue to grow. When things changed in '08 and '12, the furniture company didn't fare as well with how people changed their shopping, and they closed down, and we ended up picking up the property. I wanted that building for the dance studio, 'cause it's got these cathedral ceilings, high.

- John: Gorgeous.

- I remember I walked in, and it's all furniture scattered. And I go, "This is a dance studio. It just doesn't know it yet."

- John: Right. First of all, there's something incredibly intimidating about all of that.

- The ballroom dancing?

- Oh, my God.

- Yeah. 

- It's like, "No, I'm not doing that, you know!" He's gotta be crazy thinking I'm gonna dance. I'm not dancing. Emmy's gonna dance. Good luck, girl!

- This hand here is gonna go right under my shoulder. I'm gonna put my hand right on your shoulder.

- Oh, under your shoulder.

- Just like that.

- Okay.

- So far so good?

- Yeah.

- Okay. I got started with the dance industry in March of '99, so just over 25 years.

- In Milwaukee?

- Jesse: In Milwaukee.

- John: That's not when you started dancing though.

- Jesse: Yeah, actually it is.

- John: In '99.

- I took my first rumba box step in March of 1999. It was probably about two years in that I decided this was where I was gonna put my time and focus.

- So is Fred Astaire all about ballroom?

- Jesse: Ballroom, it's waltzes, tangos, cha-chas, swings, Latin dances, country dances, polkas, anything you can think of.

- John: That has a partner.

- That has a partner working, with them in it, yep. As soon you get the mind—

- Yeah, I'm trying to pretend I'm Julianne Hough.

- You're doing a great job, just great job at that. It's scary for people to begin. I say the hardest thing in learning to dance is the first step, but once you're there and you get the right people, people say, "I can't believe I waited so long."

- Oh, that's so fancy, Jesse!

- You're turning. [laughing]

- John: Lemme tell you, the movement and watching this, like, how do you learn to be just so beautiful?

- Jesse: Well, again, you know, you start with one step.

- I'm out of breath.

[Jesse laughing]

- No joke.

- Whatever it might be, these are skills. If you break 'em down into repetitive actions, and you do it over and over again. Great job.

- This is so fun!

- You're picking up quick, you're picking up quick. Some people are into it more for the dance, like the art, and I do love the dance and the art, but I really, I'm about what it does for people. People make friends here, and the business owners here are what makes this place as connected as it is. Creating a nightlife, creating entertainment, creating activities that are engaging where people have to show up, community conversations and making friends and meeting new people.

- John: It's a community.

- Jesse: It's a wonderful community.

- Whew, water break!

[dramatic music]

[Jesse laughs]

- John: We are at Buffalo Creek Brewing. This place excites me; why? Well, I've been in recovery for 34 years, and this place has a large selection of craft sodas. Do you know what bubblegum flavor is? I bet you don't. Banana, cherry, strawberry makes bubblegum. I hope there are some open cup holders in our crew van. That's what I'm hoping.

[gentle music]

You started this place in '82.

- Marian Ward: I did, yeah, 1982, mm-hmm.

- You look terrific.

- Oh, shoot. [laughs]

- You do!

- Oh, thanks.

- Is it what it was today what it was then?

- Oh, no.

- No. 

- No, everything was different. You have to change with the times, so I think my taste is pretty universal, is what I've found.

- John: Very good.

- Marian: So it feels like if I like it, the majority of people like it. It seems to work. So if you look around, you can see we always have great candle lines and pillows and home decor. We seasonally change.

- So what is this?

- So this is just this wonderful line. It's called Nora Fleming. Every piece, we call these base pieces, has a hole. 

- John: And all together, how many pieces are there?

- Marian: I think there's about 200 minis.

- John: Okay.

- Marian: And then she probably has about 30 base pieces.

- Do you have these at home?

- Oh, you, yes!

- You do?

- Of course, I love it.

- Okay, why'd you gimme that look, like "Why wouldn't I?"

- Because of course I would, yes.

- So upstairs, it's all about baby.

- All about baby, and it's grown. So we're kind of a destination for baby. There's not a lot of baby boutiques anymore. So we tend to service a lot of communities. People come from all over for our baby. So this is baby land up here.

- It certainly is.

- Yeah, we specialize up to about newborn to two years old, but we do go up to 5T. This is our little junior pro shop over here, all the golf and tennis clothes for babies.

- John: Junior pro shop. [laughs]

- So this little sweater—

- Yes!

- We've carried this sweater for over 20 years, and it's probably one of our most popular. Feel how soft it is.

- Do you know if they make adult?

- I wish they did.

- Size 34x34 pants?

- Yeah. [laughs] I wish they did, yeah. That would be nice, huh?

- John: Is it a lot of locals who shop here?

- Marian: Mm-hmm, that was kind of my goal. I wanted to be the neighborhood gift shop. And I have great customers. That's what's kept me going all these years. They know they can find something good here.

- 'Cause that's what you provide.

- 'Cause that's what we provide, yeah.

- Yeah, it's a beautiful shop.

- Marina: Thank you. 

- John: Yeah. Forty-two years says it all.

- Marian: Forty-two years, yeah.

- John: Yeah. Do you know what Hollywood star grew up in Long Grove, Illinois? Yeah, come here, closer. I'll give you a hint. She made a big splash in the '80s. Good hint.

[playful music]

- Don't you remember the mermaid who saves Tom Hanks? Now you got it, Daryl Hannah. She grew up right here in Long Grove. Some of her other movies, Kill Bill, Blade Runner, and Steel Magnolias. And if I was in charge, I'd put her Hollywood star right here.

[gentle music]

- Gerri Gwarnicki: So the whole idea is very British.

- Gerri, we're making tea, yes?

- We are making tea.

- John: How did you get into this?

- Gerri: My culture, my—

- John: Your culture.

- Gerri: Grew up with this.

- John: So nice.

- Gerri: In the parlor every Sunday afternoon. Very British, British tradition, although I am Irish. And then we stir this, and that is our tea. Shall we move to the lovely table—

- John: Sure, please.

- And, hello, Emmy, nice to meet you.

- Say hello.

- Nice to meet you, Gerri. It's a pleasure to meet you.

- Thank you. When people come in here, how long do they typically stay? Is it like an hour?

- An hour and a half to two. Yes, because it is an experience. Look at what we're doing, yes. And you have a lovely, beautiful English cup. No clinking, none of this. [spoon clinking]

- Oh, none of that.

- You must stir it without making any noise in the china. And this is just a little etiquette of tea time. And here is how we hold our teacup. We must never put our finger through the loop of the teacup.

- Okay.

- What?

- Pinky in, pinky out. [laughs] Now we sip the tea.

- I'm very nervous. 

- We did good.

- I wanna put my finger through that hole. I wanna slurp, and I wanna make some noise.

- It's not funny.

- John: So what has to be at a high tea?

- Gerri: Oh, what has to be at a high tea is a scone.

- A scone.

- And the cucumber sandwiches and a variety of finger sandwiches, all the lovely accoutrements that make up the setting. You would be surprised how many people do this. [spoon clanking] We must not do this, so—

- We wouldn't dream of it.

- No clinking, no clinking. 

- Do you tell everybody that when they come in here, or are you just—

- They pretty much know.

- John: And everything that comes out and that is on the table, you make here yourselves.

- Gerri: Everything made in-house.

- John: So great.

- Gerri: Everything. Very proper, very English. It's meant to be this. It's meant to be like an experience.

- Yes, very nice.

- And you take that little bite. You trust me, John.

- Gerri, fantastic instruction.

- And a little sip of tea—

- Beautiful scone.

- Together with the dryness of the scone, and you'll get the whole idea of how all this works together. Now what should we have? Do you want to try the cucumber?

- John: Please.

- Emmy: Yes. Can we use the—

- Can we try? Who thought of a cucumber sandwich?

- Isn't it?

- Delicious, yeah.

- Gerri: I wanna be authentically British. I wanna do what is the way it should be done. And it's really a pleasure to see the joy in people and to make people happy. 

- That's good, yeah.

- My goodness, and where is John's hat? See, it's on you, where is—

- Don't worry about it, Gerri.

[Emmy laughs]

- Enjoy.

- Howdy, pardner.

- Gerri: He's so funny. Let's not lose our manners. We won't be invited back to the Queen.

[Emmy laughs]

- If you're thinking Long Grove would be a wonderful place for a Christmas movie, lemme tell you, this village has already figured that out. There have been four Christmas movies filmed here. In fact, the last one, starring Mario Lopez, wrapped two weeks ago. So if you're a film producer thinking of shooting a Christmas movie in this town and in the cast is a TV host, I'm your guy. I'm waiting for your call.

[upbeat music]

- Did you enjoy your time in Long Grove?

- I did, but I learned something.

- What?

- I learned that next time I come here, I'm gonna bring a cart or some sort of wagon. And could you do me a favor? 

- What?

- You're one of the best. Would you go get my car?

- Ugh.

- Yeah, thank you, co-host.

- Wow.

- Oh, she is so good. I love her. 

- Emmy: You're welcome.

- Get the car!

There's nowhere else I'd rather be

The heart and soul of community's right here

- Ah, this is not a good start.

- Oh. [groans]

- Nice high-lifted bootie. [laughs]

Dum, D-U-M.

- What's with the attitude? Are you-- [laughs]

- Yeah, over here.

- Where's the mark? Get outta here!

[upbeat music]

- Announcer: We thank the underwriters of John McGivern's Main Streets because without them, we couldn't make this show.

[gentle music]

- Yes, Greendale is beautiful on the outside. But it's what's inside that counts. Who doesn't love opening a door to great food? Whether you want to go casual, upscale, or maybe you wanna try something brand new! Come on in! You just gotta see Greendale. 

- The Wisconsin Northwoods are calling. One word, one place. Minocqua.

- Your community's best selfie spot is Your-Type!

[upbeat music]

- You'll find your bright spot in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.

- My father taught me that to make great bakery, you have to do it the right way. O&H Danish Bakery, where kringle traditions begin.

- There's no place like Oconomowoc. Explore, play, shop, stay. Visit Oconomowoc.

- Announcer: John McGivern's Main Streets is grateful for additional financial support from Horicon Bank: The Natural Choice, West Bend Insurance Company: The Silver Lining, our nonprofit, the Friends of Main Streets, and from the Friends of PBS Wisconsin. Thanks, underwriters.

- Let's go. [imitates British accent] We'll be seated now.

- Yeah, yeah.

- Come on, sir.

- Who's the lady in red? Looks like my uncle. [both laugh]