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PUBLICATION • FALL/WINTER2019

ALSO INSIDE ...

It’s a marriage of design and talent for the couple behind a custom-built business

A couple’s love lives on in Savanna, where a man and wife’s home is a castle

Savanna High School graduate finds success on stage, in front of the camera, and behind the scenes Barbecue is the driving force behind a pair of Shannon businesses

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109 E. Carroll St., Lanark IL 815-493-6838 ordder online at www.crookedrooof.coom

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Publisher Don T. Bricker

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General Manager/ Advertising Director Jennifer Heintzelman

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Magazine Editors Kathleen Schultz & Rusty Schrader

‘Always us’

Page Design Rusty Schrader Published by Sauk Valley Media 3200 E. Lincolnway Sterling, IL 61081 815-625-3600

A couple’s love lives on in Savanna, where a man and wife’s home is a castle

Articles and advertisements are the property of Sauk Valley Media. No portion of Carroll County Living Magazine may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. Ad content is not the responsibility of Sauk Valley Media. The information in this magazine is believed to be accurate; however, Sauk Valley Media cannot and does not guarantee its accuracy.

Sauk Valley Media cannot and will not be held liable for the quality or performance of goods and services provided by advertisers listed in any portion of this magazine.

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More inside A marriage of design and talent

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Playing his parts

Meanwhile, back at the ranch ... A husband and wife turn ideas into reality at their custom furniture and decor business

Savanna High School graduate finds success on stage, in front of the camera, and behind the scenes

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wheels Barbecue is the driving force behind a pair of Shannon businesses that hit the road and hitch a ride to take their recipes on the road

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hannon is becoming something of a hotspot for barbecue – but if you can’t make it there to spice up your diet, don’t worry. The cooks will bring the food to you.

3-Headed Monster Barbecue and Northside BarbaQ are fanning out across the Sauk Valley to bring their Shannon-based barbecue to parking lots and other spots where there’s a hankering for hot stuff.

Continued on page 6

STORY PHILLIP HARTMAN PHOTOS MICHAEL KRABBENHOEFT | FOR CARROLL COUNTY LIVING

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Rhett Roethe’s 3-Headed Monster sends his food trucks to Dixon, Freeport and Sterling on different days of the week and he also does catering. Northside BarbaQ, run by Aaron and Katie VanRaalte, hauls its trailer mostly to Ogle and Stephenson counties, but with some stops in Carroll County, too.

3-Headed Monster

Roethe, 43, said he started cooking professional barbecue in 2004, began catering in 2008, and got behind the wheel of his first seasonal food truck in 2010.

The truck and trailer stops from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Mondays and Thursdays at the CVS parking lot, 721 W. South St., Freeport; Tuesdays and Fridays at the Behr-Bloomz parking lot, 2503 N. Locust St., Sterling; and Wednesdays at the Ace Hardware parking lot, 900 N. Galena Ave., Dixon.

“It runs from spring when it gets above freezing, to fall until it starts getting below freezing,” Roethe said.

He also has a second trailer that serves as a lunch stand, open from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Tuesdays through Fridays at 118 N. Stanton St. in Shannon. 3-Headed Monster has two fulltime and six part-time employees.

“There are 25 different meats that we offer.

We really have three divisions of the business –

Rhett Roethe, owner of 3-Headed Monster BBQ, got his start cooking professional barbecue in 2004, began catering in 2008, and got behind the wheel of his first seasonal food truck in 2010. food trucks, catering, and prepared meat sales out of the smokehouse shop. People can call or order online through Facebook,” Roethe said.

As for the business’ name, well, if two heads are better than one, then three heads are even better – like the three heads on its logo: a pig, cow and

chicken – a tasty trifecta for barbecue lovers.

Roethe is working on building a new website; you also can search for 3-Headed Monster BBQ on Facebook or call 815-297-2278 to order or for more information.

Continued on page 7

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Continued from page 6

Northside BarbaQ

Northside BarbaQ is a newer operation, started after the VanRaaltes recently relocated to Oregon. After getting their start in barbecue competitions, they launched their food trailer and catering business in September 2018.

“It’s something I always liked to do. My dad and grandpa barbecued,” said Aaron, 25.

The VanRaaltes started in barbecue competitions in 2015. They focus on brisket, ribs and pulled pork, as well as dishes such as brisket tacos.

“Our best side dish is buffalo chicken macaroni and cheese for catering,” Aaron said.

“We have a food trailer and we cater. We’ll serve from 10 to 300 people, for graduation parties, Christmas, anything and everything,” he said.

The VanRaaltes get some help from their family, but other than that, it’s a 2-person show.

They announce on Facebook where and when their food truck will be; find Northside Barbaq on Facebook.

As for why there’s a growing meat fleet in Shannon, Roethe said, “Barbecue is becoming a very popular food, not only in our area but across the country. With vending and food trucks, it’s something that’s being tapped into.

There’s room for all of us.” n

Katie and Aaron VanRaalte invite you to sample some of their smoked meat specialties and other treats from Northside BarbaQ.

MORE INFORMATION

Northside BarbaQ Online: Find it on Facebook Contact: 815-973-4387 or northsidebarbaq@gmail.com 3-Headed Monster BBQ Online: Find it on Facebook Contact: 815-297-2278 (BBQ8) or 3hmbbq@gmail.com

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Havencrest Castle, in Savanna.

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STORY PHILLIP HARTMAN

PHOTOS MICHAEL KRABBENHOEFT | FOR CARROLL COUNTY LIVING

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hen a Savanna couple set out to celebrate their fairy-tale romance, they took it to a whole other level.

They turned their home into a castle.

Ensconced atop a bluff in the riverside town, Havencrest Castle truly is a labor of love, not only the love shared by the couple who turned a mansion into a masterpiece, but for their love of a time of opulence and elegance, a time of American aristocrats who donned their finest evening wear to host lavish soirees with help G N I L I V from Emily Post.

For Alan and Adrianne St. George it y r was home, a romantic refuge from the sto modern world that became their little slice of haven on Earth.

Today that lavish lifestyle lives on inside sculpted castle walls and beneath ceilings adorned with art, and though Adrianne died in 2006, Alan is working to show that love really is eternal as he continues to work on the castle, and share its celebration of romance with the public. “I feel it is my job to finish what we started here,� he said.

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At left and right, these plaster sculptures were modeled after Adrianne and Alan St. George.

The pieces are just a few of the countless works of art on display at Havencrest Castle.

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Havencrest history

What the St. Georges started began more than 40 years ago, when they began work on their mission to live life like the American aristocracy – a lifestyle the Havencrest’s original owners, Simon and Frances Jane Greenleaf, embraced.

“Our mission statement was not only to recreate the house, but the lifestyle of the American aristocracy,” Alan said.

Today, they Greenleafs’ home, which they called Hillside, serves as a visitor center for Havencrest Castle, which is located behind locked gates at the end of a driveway accessed via a one-lane road from the street below.

Simon owned the Savanna Times newspaper, and later the Savanna Journal with his son, Francis, and the papers eventually merged into today’s Times-Journal.

The Greenleafs died in 1944, and Hillcrest passed through several owners’ hands before the St. Georges moved to Savanna in 1976 from Oak Park. Alan had launched a costume and mascot-making company, now known as Facemakers, after finding success as a student at the Chicago University of the Arts.

Continued on page 11

Alan St. George shows a display that features information on Havencrest property’s original owners, Simon and Frances Jane Greenleaf.

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Continued from page 10

“In 1972, he was hired to promote the horror movie ‘Frogs,’ and wore a frog costume while handing out jumping frogs,” Nancy Willis, Facemakers’ general manager, said. “He didn’t like the costume, so his friends helped him make his own.”

That costume became St. George’s hopping stone into costuming. He sold the frog’s head to a costume shop owner in Chicago, and eventually started creating and selling costumes. Today, a movie poster from the film hangs in the company’s office, now located at an old grade school on Chicago Avenue, where it moved after being housed at Havencrest for its first 23 years.

Facemakers’ success enabled the St. Georges to expand Hillcrest’s original 22 rooms to 63, with lavish decorations reflecting Alan and Adrianne’s interests and appreciation of other cultures.

Before visitors even enter the home, they’ll see some of the features the couple added as they walk up the drive. A statue of the Roman god Neptune riding a lion sits atop the front steps, while turrets and towers peer out from above the lush foliage that surround the home.

The St. Georges hosted dinner parties and holiday events through the years, hiring a staff to help them.

Adrianne owned a large collection of etiquette books, among them all of Emily Post’s works.

The Kali-Ma Room (right) features a life-sized statue of the Kali-Ma (above), holding many earthly delights in her hands, sculpted by Alan St. George. The room’s ceiling is tented with vintage saris (inset at top).

Photos on pages 12-13. Story continued on page 14

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A tour of Havencrest reveals countless treasures, not the least of which are the many pieces of art dedicated to the enduring power of love. The mansion features pieces celebrating romance and honoring Alan St. George’s late wife, Adrianne. Many of the pieces were painted or sculpted by Alan himself.

Alan’s painting of he and his wife hangs in the Flemish Renaissance Dining Room.

Alan recently completed this portrait of he and Adrianne. Once it’s framed the painting will be hung in the ballroom, which is still under construction.

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ABOVE: Alan shows the ceiling painting, “Eternal Love,” in the Salle d’Amour room at Havencrest Castle; it was the first painting Alan did for the home and it depicts he and Adrianne. The room is done in a romantic motif; among its features are wall sculptures depicting the stages of courtship, which also can seen in the photo above.

TOP RIGHT: The stained glass window in the Venetian Dressing Room features an image of Adrianne.

BOTTOM RIGHT: No detail is too small for an expression of love at Havecrest, such as this door knocker depicting two lovers kissing, which can be found on the entry to the La Chambre Royale.

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The Medieval Hall at Havencrest is an 80-foot hallway that provides access to the ballroom, East Wing and the Gentleman’s Tower.

Continued from page 13

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“She loved doing events in the Victorian and Edwardian style. She’d have a button she’d push to have the servants bring the next course,” Alan said.

The mansion’s staff is down to about half a dozen people today, with some of them third-generation employees of the St. Georges.

The couple also gave back to Carroll County, with Adrianne serving as the founding director of the county’s Humane Society.

Opulence and variety

Havencrest features Alan’s skills both as a sculptor and a painter, with his art adorning walls and ceilings.

Many rooms in the original part of the castle are redecorated in traditional Victorian designs. Other rooms feature Chinese, Persian, Egyptian, and Indian themes, as well as a medieval hall, and a conservatory with Chicago-style architecture. Many of these rooms are open on the tours, with the rest remaining Alan’s private residence.

The front hall features a 135-pound sculpture of a cherub with a light fixture, replicating a design from the Titanic, reflecting Alan’s interest in the doomed ocean liner. Also on display is a trophy presented to Harry Houdini in 1908. The “peacock room” is covered with peacock feathers, while Alan’s dressing room contains a variety of canes and a gold-covered tooth from an Albertosaurus dinosaur.

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Story continued on page 15

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Elsewhere, cherubs can be found in many rooms, since they were a favorite of Adrianne’s. Alan said he met Adrianne when he was 13, and from the time she was young, she collected cherubs.

While walking through the home, it’s hard to miss the St. Georges’ love for each other. A large photo of Alan and Adrianne costumed as royalty hangs HOW TO VISIT over one of the staircases. Their personal seal, marked with their Havencrest Castle, 140 N. Fifth St., 815motto “Semper Nos” – “Always 273-3900 Us” in Latin – is incorporated Online: havencrestinto a stained glass window in the castle.com medieval hall and elsewhere in the This year, Havencrest mansion. In the Indian-themed will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. room, paintings portray Alan as a Fridays and Saturdays maharajah, or Indian high king, in October. Tickets and Adrianne as his queen. are for $20 for adults and $15 for children 18 and under and veterans.

Go to havencrestcastle.com/tickets to purchase tickets and for more information.

Love lives on

When Adrianne died, Alan spent the next 5 years mourning her loss and turning his energies toward working on sculptures, creating some pieces for celebrities, among them Las Vegas magicians Siegfried and Roy and actor Neil Patrick Harris.

Later, Alan turned his attention back to Havencrest, beginning work on the grand ballroom, a project still underway today. Alan said his wife envisioned the room being open to the public for weddings.

ABOVE: Don’t worry, he doesn’t bite, and he never did. This lion, in Alan St. George’s Eastern Dressing Room, was made by his company Facemakers. LEFT: St. George shows his collection of canes inside teh Eastern Dressing Room.

Photos on page 16. Story continued on page 17

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RIGHT: The Ivory Tower Chapel, located in the “floating tower” at Havencrest, contains an urn with Adrianne St. George’s ashes.

BELOW: A custom dinner set at Havencrest features the St. Georges’ crest and motto, “Semper Nos,” which translates to “Always Us.”

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Continued from page 15

“It would’ve been a temple of love,” with weddings in the garden just beyond, Alan said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

He opened part of the mansion – 23 rooms – for public tours in 2013, but the tours eventually ended.

However, Alan decided to restart the tours as self-guided visits in October, and so far the demand has been strong.

“We had 3,000 people tour here in October 2018. One day, we had 439 people. They came from the Quad Cities, Chicago, Iowa City, Wisconsin, Utah, Nebraska, and Canada,” he recalled. Alan said he plans to continue the tours, opening Havencrest every October (see the “Havencrest tours” on Page 15 for more information).

As for what the future holds, Alan is working to make sure love lives on.

“I have created a living trust which names current employees and friends (including some of those third-generation employees) to take over when I am no longer capable, or upon my death, “ he said. “A public life for Havencrest is part of the plan, and based on the success we’ve seen so far, I have great confidence that will only increase in the years ahead.” n

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This year marked Darren Mangler’s eighth summer visit to Timber Lake Playhouse STORY PHILLIP HARTMAN PHOTOS ALEX T. PASCHAL | FOR CARROLL COUNTY LIVING

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parts Playing his

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Savanna High School graduate finds success on stage, in front of the camera, and behind the scenes

arren Mangler found the path to show business at an early age.

“When I was in grade school, our choir teacher would always have skits to go along with the songs.

He would always cast me in the skits,” Mangler, 47, said during a telephone interview from Timber Lake Playhouse.

This year marked Mangler’s eighth summer visit to the playhouse. Originally from Savanna, he’s no stranger to TLP, where as a teen, he played bass guitar for the musical “Baby.”

Then, “I got a role in ‘1776,’ and it just steamrolled from there,” Mangler said.

Some of his other TLP performances include “Taking Steps” and “Phantom of the Opera.”

More recently, he played Bill Austin during this summer’s TLP production of “Mamma Mia,” and appeared in its 2018 production of “The Full Monty.”

His post-high school studies helped prepare him for acting.

The Savanna High School graduate – and son of Connie and Jim Legel of Bullhead City, Arizona – took a double major for acting and directing, and a minor in psychology at Western Illinois University.

“Psychology was the perfect minor,” he said. “Actors are very eclectic. There are introverts who like to perform and extroverts who get very quiet,” Mangler said.

Continued on page 21

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FR I E ND LY. HELPFUL . N EAR.

Mangler’s studies also help him adapt to different roles when he acts. He said, for example, that a role in “The Glass Menagerie” is much different than one in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.”

“Looking into the soul of a character really works,” Mangler said.

After graduating from WIU, Mangler’s first nationwide tour was as Barney Cashman in “Last of the Red Hot Lovers,” starting in the fall of 1994. The three-act play is about Cashman’s attempts to have affairs with three different women.

Stage acting is just part of Mangler’s resume. He’ll have a role in the zombie comedy film “Witness Infection,” from Petrie Entertainment, scheduled to come out some time later this year.

Mangler’s also working behind the camera, currently as an associate producer for Discovery Channel’s “Bering Sea Gold” series.

“It’s about men and women who own dredges in the Bering Sea. The dredges suck up the silt, and have trays that filter out gold flakes. The water is actually very cold, but Alaska is warm during the summer,” Mangler said.

Mangler has field producers out in Alaska right now, and he’ll start putting the dredgers’ stories together when he returns to Los Angeles.

“My job is in Burbank. It’s our studio and postproduction house. Our editing bays are there. I’m pretty much just a local and stay local. I’ll go (to Alaska) if they need me,” Mangler said.

Darren Mangler considers his return visits to Timber Lake like a working vacation.

He gets to reconnect with friends and family, and he enjoys being back in the playhouse’s spotlight.

Mangler treats his visits to Timber Lake more like a working vacation. When he’s back in the area, he gets to see family – “The entire Mangler clan lives in Sabula, Iowa, only about a 15-minute drive,” he said – and he enjoys being back in the spotlight.

“If you love what you do,” he said, “it’s never a job.” n

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We’re part of your community.

Our Carroll County primary healthcare providers help patients of all ages make their best healthcare choices. Pictured above are Daniel Woods, MD; Angie Conklin, FNP-BC; David Reese, MD; and Marla Bagge, MS, FHP-BC, CNM. These FHN healthcare professionals are welcoming new patients.

We are now offering additional women’s healthcare services at the FHN Family Healthcare Centers in Savanna and Mt. Carroll. Take a second to learn more about all these providers by visiting us at www.fhn.org or by contacting the local office to schedule an appointment today!

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John and Ashley Richter are the design duo behind Richter Ranch Designs, which builds and sells custom furniture and decor.

hen Ashley and John Richter got married, they knew they’d be building a life together.

What they didn’t know was all the other things they’d be building.

The Richters are the duo behind Richter Ranch Designs, which sells made-to-order custom furniture and home decor.

They’ve been at it nearly 5 years and they’ve managed to smooth out all the rough edges of owning and operating a small business, but not too smooth – and that’s by design. Many of their customers want the rustic look.

Barn door buffet tables, cabinets with plumbing pieces for hardware, a table with roughhewn lumber sanded to a silky smooth finish – it’s all a bit of classy country. While the Richters get most of their materials from lumberyards, they have used wood reclaimed from barns – but with such material, it comes down to how usable the wood is.

Photos on pages 25 & 26. Story continued on page 27

STORY PHILLIP HARTMAN PHOTOS MICHAEL KRABBENHOEFT | FOR CARROLL COUNTY LIVING

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John Richter runs a board through a jointer as he works on a piece of furniture at Richter Ranch Designs.

Among some of his handiwork: A coffee table and end table set (top), and a day bed/trundle bed (bottom).

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The Richters’ eye for design extends into the workshop, where this miter saw station features wooden drawer fronts and pipe drawer pulls, similar to the designs incorporated into some of the Richters’ custom furniture pieces. Below, the door to the workshop is styled after a barn door, a fitting look considering the workshop is located on John’s family’s farm, in an old livestock shed John renovated.

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But rustic isn’t all they do; they’ve also made pieces with a more modern design, too.

When the Richters started their first projects, they didn’t anticipate how far their business would grow.

“We started in 2015. My husband was going to school for his physical therapy degree and passed his board (exams). He has the background in carpentry. We made a project for someone, and I posted pictures on Facebook. It just kind of kept growing,” Ashley Richter, who’s also the development director at the YMCA of the Sauk Valley, said.

“He’s kind of found his passion working with people,” she said.

John, 32, and Ashley, 28, do a lot of projects locally, but they’ve also had customers in the suburbs, and throughout the Midwest.

“We’ve made deliveries to Lincoln, Nebraska, and this summer, Michigan and Indiana. We are kind of able to make it work and get it out to them,” Ashley said.

They don’t have to look far to find inspiration for their projects.

MORE The Richters’ shop at 1866 Ogle Road INFORMATION in Polo, near the border of Carroll and Ogle counties, is on John’s family’s farm.

Richter Ranch Designs 1866 Ogle Road in Polo “We have an old livestock shed he reno(The Richters will meet vated over the past year and a half. We’re customers there by aphoping to expand and add a storefront pointment) down the road,” Ashley said.

815-499-3654 Customers often will come to the RichOnline: Find Richter Ranch Designs on ters with little more than just an idea for a Facebook. Ashley said project, or one they found online and the they also have a wall on couple will do their best to bring it to life.

Instagram, and are workThe Richters have worked on kitchen ing on a website. islands, dining room tables, end tables, bed frames and other custom projects.

“We made a Murphy bed that tucks into the wall. We worked with a massage therapist to create a frame around her massage table and drapings for privacy,” Ashley said.

Projects big and small, the Richters have enjoyed their journey so far – “it has been an amazing adventure,” Ashley has said, and the couple never forgets what brought them to where they are today: support from their customers.

On the business’ Facebook page, Ashley said she and John are big advocates of supporting local businesses. “When you support small businesses you help empower people to chase their dreams and do what they love.”

For the Richters, they’ve caught up to their dream, and if the past is any indication of the future, the couple is custom-made for success. n

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