ROBERT J. HASTERT 1936-2010
One of the top attractions and places to eat along all of Route 66 is White Fence Farm near Romeoville, Illinois, and it is so because of the efforts of Robert Hastert who took his father's business and expanded it until now they can seat 1100 people in 12 dining rooms.
He died June 30, 2010.
He was born in Aurora, Illinois and worked in his father Robert C. Hastert's poultry business delivering chickens to local restaurants. In 1953, his father bought the 450-acre estate of coal tycoon Stuyvesant Peabody on the old Route 66. Peabody had already converted the farmhouse into a hamburger joint.
His father saw the possibility of drawing crowds from the Chicagoland area even though the area was still rural.
His daughter Laura Hastert-Gardner said, "He liked to make sure people were happy and that they got fed good."
We have been by White Fence Farm many times, but have never eaten here because they are always closed when we do. But some day we hope to get a meal there. We've already eaten at the nearby Del Rhea's Chicken Basket and understand there is quite a rivalry between the two.
More to Come. --Cooter
From July 9th Chicago Tribune.
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