Historical society gets rare coal-burning stove

MORRIS – A coal-burning stove that once warmed the parlor of a wealthy Illinois resident moved Monday to its newest home – the Grundy County Historical Museum.

The rare antique stove, a Royal Acorn No. 47, was donated by Jerry and Kathy Sidenstick of Diamond in memory of their daughter Geri Lynn, who died in 2011 from leukemia.

“My father was a hard working man. He took the stove apart and cleaned it and had it renickled,” Jerry Sidenstick said of his father, Howard, who in his will left his son the stove.

Little is known about the stove, which is valued at $6,000, other than it was originally sold for less than $100 and would have been used as a showpiece in a wealthier person’s parlor when guests came to visit.

“It was built to impress,” local historian Debbie Steffes said. “Having it in our museum as a focal point is like having the Hope Diamond here.”

Howard Sidenstick was an avid collector of antiques, from coins to furniture to the decorative stove.

After it was restored in the 1960s, it remained in pieces for years, in several boxes.

In 2012, a year after he lost his daughter, Jerry Sidenstick had the ornate top rebrassed so it could be put together in memory of her.

“The stove was left in boxes in (Howard’s) will to Jerry,” Kathy Sidenstick said. “Thankfully, Jerry has good logic.”

He used his logic and began to piece together the intricate puzzle, trying to figure out where each piece went and how it was used.

When he finished the stove, it stood tall and shining and weighed more than 400 pounds.

Jerry Sidenstick didn’t want to keep the treasure all to himself, however, so he decided since Grundy County had such a rich history in coal mining, the museum would be a good home for the item.

“Since it was coal burning, and with coal burning being predominant in the county, this would make a good home,” Kathy Sidenstick said.

The stove has been placed in the one-room schoolhouse portion of the museum, since it doesn’t have a proper parlor, and the one-room schoolhouse was heated by wood-burning or coal-burning stoves.

Before receiving the Royal Acorn, a makeshift cardboard wood-burning stove was in place to help students who come for tours understand what it would be like to stoke a stove in order to stay warm.

Last year, 1,647 visitors stopped at the museum from throughout the United States. Staff hopes the addition of the stove will bring more people who are interested in seeing the rare antique.