honey bear farm

[lilly]

Does anyone know what happened to the old honey bear farm...a friend of mine changed it into a house and then sold it...I heard that it flooded and was destroyed....

[m susan]

Just google Honey Bear Farm, and you will find lots of comments from people who loved the place.
It was not a house -- it was a restaurant with many shop buildings spread over several acres.

[Jim Kent]

Nope, it's still there.. Its a house now and the land has been sub-divided a bit but the main house (restaurant) building is still there.

[m susan]

If the house you are talking about is a red brick two-story building, that was the home of the Honey Bear Farm owner, Mrs. Krafft -- I don't believe she ever used it for a restaurant or any other public building -- and was located at the top of the rise from the lake and to the right. The original restaurant was a converted barn with brick facing -- you can see the barn roof in the postcards -- lying beyond the curve in the road quite a distance from the lake. That building burned, and Carson Pirie Scott Company (which bought the farm from Mrs. Krafft) built a new restaurant closer to the lake. Honey Bear Farm was never one building -- it contained about 10 buildings.

[C Garrett]

Thats right the new resturant overlooked part of Powers Lake. My Grandmother worked there as part of Carson Pirie Scotts Management, and i spent many a summer "working" at the farm. The farm consisted of many barns convereted into shops, from clothing and toys to candy, gifts and antiques. Across the street by the parking lot was the smokehouse and bakery that sold cheese, hamssausgaes, breads, and assorted imported things like jams and candies. Part of my Grandmothers job was also traveling to check on the "outlet" Honey Bear stores that were like Hickory farms stores in vatious malls in Ill, In and Wisc. I have many many fond memories of the Farm and all the people i grew to call family there over the years. Although she retired a long while ago and has since passed i know she spoke often of it, and i still have many of the things
from her collection Honey Bear things. While most of my time was spent on the horse carts, the popcorn wagon or even operating the merry go round when it was there, and though it will show my age to those who remeber Firepot the donkey, and mascot of the Farm, it was a magical place
that i consider myself lucky to have gottento enjoy. Its been about 15 years since ive been back there, and if you go by it and the original cottages are still across from the main gate the first one on the hill was my Grandmothers homes, and a very special place for a little girl to spend her summer vacation.

[heres the dirt]

Many years ago, a Chicago alderman named Ed Burke, who has held power in Chicago's City Council for over 40 years (a record), "helped" Carson, Pirie Scott with some tax or zoning problem. In exchange, he was given or purchased, EXTREMELY BELOW market value, Honey Bear Farm. He still maintains a large parcel of the property with a huge home on a dead end road, but has greatly profited by selling off many other parcels for BIG money. And now the filthy corrupt Chicago politicians want to host the Olympics! Heaven help us!!!