Does MPHS have photographs: Yes
Address in Mount Prospect:
Birth Date: March 24, 1893
Death Date: December 1986
Marriage
Date: January 26, 1917
Spouse: Velda (Knigge) Wille
Children: June, Marvella, R’Dell, Ruth, and Beverly Ann
Interesting information on life, career, accomplishments
Adolph Wille was the son of William Wille, one of Mount Prospect’s founding fathers. He is best known for running Wille’s Tavern for many years. He took over the business that was started by his father. During prohibition, he made it into a lunch counter, called Wille’s Buffet, and made supplemental income by working as Mount Prospect’s first licensed barber and also helping his brothers Edwin and Chris in the Wille Construction Company. Below is a selection from an oral history interview with Adolph Wille from the 1970s.
Adolph Willie; Interviewed by Helen Becker; December 6, 1977
Complete transcript available at the Mount Prospect Public Library.
AW: “I was born here in Mount Prospect, March 24, 1893. There were no streets, only roads: Central Road north of town and Elmhurst Road west of town, and two short roads in town — one road from the depot to Elmhurst Road and the other road from the railroad to Central Road. We lived on the road from the depot to Elmhurst Road in an old [creamery] which my dad owned. The farmers sold him the milk and he would make butter and cheese and take it into Chicago with a team and wagon. In the spring when the roads were muddy he would often get stuck in a mud hole. Then he would have to unload enough butter and cheese until the team would be able to pull the wagon out of the hole, and then he would reload the load again. He got tired of doing it so often so he closed the creamery and quit the business. My dad also did carpenter work, so he went into the building business. For years we built a lot of homes in Mount Prospect. The early residents that I remember were Moehling, Meyn, Busse and John Bauer, the first tavern in town, and the farmers in town were the Pohlman farm on the east side of town, the Schaeffer farm on the south side of town, the Hertl farm on the west side of town, and the Katz farm on the north side of town. Our children are all living in Mount Prospect: Mrs. June Schaeffer at 217 North Maple Street, Mrs. Marvella Moore at 211 North Maple Street, Mr. Ardell A. Wille at 101 North Pine Street, and Mrs. Ruth Cullen at 105 North Pine Street.”