Special to PN
By Barbara Hower
Lots has been said about the negative side of social media, such as causing distraction in daily routines and reducing face-to-face communication. On the plus side, though, it lends itself to quickly finding information, and it lets you stay connected with family and friends.
For me, I used Facebook to research and find contacts that helped me solve a family furniture mystery and connect with the folks who had ties with the piece of furniture.
Back in 2019, the History Detective, Bryan Ogg, wrote a piece for PN about a platform rocking chair I inherited from my mother. The chair had a rich history. It originally belonged to Bishop Samuel P. Spreng, a Naperville Bishop in the Evangelical Church. Bishop Spreng (1853-1946) and his wife, Margaret (1850-1939) lived at 146 N Columbia Street in Naperville.
According to the 1940 census, he is widowed and living with a son Edmund, daughter-in-law Clara, and daughter L. Ethel. My assumption is that after his death, his daughter had the rocker.
Sometime in the late 1960s, my mother, Evelyn Hower, received the chair. I believe she got it from family friend Ruth Gamertsfelder, who was a niece of the Bishop and cousin to Ethel Spreng. The chair was well loved, and Mom would say that on days where she felt that her halo had slipped a bit, she would sit in the rocker and hope that some of the Bishop’s goodness would rub off on her.
Several months ago, I found a great granddaughter of Bishop Spreng on Facebook and we started chatting. I asked if she or someone else in the family would like the prodigal rocking chair back, and they said yes.
Two Spreng great granddaughters – Judy and Anne – and their nephew, Mike, made the trek to Naperville to fetch the chair. It now resides with their brother, Rich, in Michigan.
I think there was always some doubt as to whether the story about the Spreng connection to this chair was accurate. That doubt has been put to rest as Judy found some old pictures from her father’s collection. There was a picture of Bishop Spreng’s Naperville house on Columbia Street, and in the foreground was the chair. There is another photo of the Sprengs celebrating their wedding anniversary with Mrs. Spreng seated in the rocking chair.
It’s good to know the rocker is back in the family fold.
(Photos courtesy Barbara Hower)
