The village of Crete is home to at least 34 Sears houses — an impressive number for a small town. Among them, two stand side by side in the heart of downtown: a Sears Avalon and a Sears Crescent.
The Sears Avalon
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| 1298 Wood St., Crete. |
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Sears Avalon, from the 1923 Modern Homes catalog
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The Sears Avalon is a classic California-style bungalow with a prominent wraparound porch. Notably, this Avalon lacks the front chimney seen in the catalog illustration (remember that Sears homes were customizable).
The house measures roughly 1,250 square feet.
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| The bright, open living room features hardwood floors and a fireplace. |
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| The kitchen was in the rear. The Modern Homes catalog said that "the kitchen is entirely out of sight from the living room and dining room." Funny how that would not be a selling point today. |
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| The Avalon came with three bedrooms. |
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| The first-floor bath. |
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| The attic is partially finished and has space for a couple more bedrooms. |
Property records indicate that the Avalon was built around 1926.
In 1928, it was owned by John J. “Jack” Batill and his wife Lillian. Jack worked as a foreman for a roofing company.
By the early 1940s, life had taken a difficult turn for the Batills. Jack was hospitalized for tuberculosis, first in a veterans’ hospital in Milwaukee, then at the Lutheran Sanitarium in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. During that time, Lillian lived with her mother in Crete and rented out the Avalon. By 1950, both Jack and Lillian were living in a home in Colorado, closing a chapter on their Crete years.
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| William Batill (left) and Eileen Batill (right) on the street in front of their Avalon around 1927, based on the ages of the children. The Sears Crescent is in the foreground, and we will talk about that next! Photo from Crete Township Pictures, Illinois. |
The Sears Crescent
Next door to the Avalon is a Sears Crescent, a model that is a favorite in the Chicago area.
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| 1302 Wood St., Crete. |
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| A Colonial Bungalow with a formal, columned front porch, the Crescent was sold for over a decade. It was marketed as “a home for folks who like a touch of individuality.” |
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| Crescents with three porch columns indicate the larger floorplan option offered by Sears — a subtle architectural clue. This one in Crete retains its original siding and windows. |
John and Dora Stoeven purchased the home in October 1927 for $9,000. Their daughter, Ida, had married Edward Bruns, and by the time of the 1930 census, the two generations were living together in the new home. Edward worked as an electrician and he also did watch repair out of his home workshop.
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| In a closer view, you can see the original trellises and the medallion above the front door. Photo from Crete Township Pictures, Illinois. |
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| This is likely John and Dora Stoeven. They were both around 62 years old. Dora died a few years later in 1931. Photo from Crete Township Pictures, Illinois. |
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| Edward Bruns with his work truck, circa late 1930s. The panel truck was emblazoned with the name of his business, Edward Bruns House Wiring, Crete, Ill. Bruns served the Crete community for decades. Photo from Crete Township Pictures, Illinois. |
The Stoevens passed on, and then Edward and Ida were living alone. Ida died in 1972, and Edward remarried. Edward died in 1983, and his second wife continued living in the home until 1987 — marking sixty years of continuous family ownership.
Side by Side for Nearly a Century
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| Photo from Crete Township Pictures, Illinois. |
In this vintage winter scene, the two Sears houses on Wood Street sit beneath a heavy blanket of snow — the Crescent on the left with its stately porch columns and the Avalon on the right, its broad eaves and dormer roofline peeking through the bare trees. For nearly a century, these two Sears homes have stood together like old friends, watching the seasons go by.
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