Michelle Heurung-Davis - President
Michelle made her home along with her husband and two sons, in Mokena, Illinois for thirty years and was the owner and operator of a daycare and preschool until relocating to Galena in 2016. After making several trips there over the previous 30 years, she was overjoyed to be able to buy an Italianate house built in 1870 and establish the Lamberson Guest House, a bed & breakfast that is now run by the present owners. When walking the streets, she often wished there was more information available on the magnificent old homes she would see around town.
After selling her Bed and Breakfast in 2020, she was able to make her wish come true, joining together the board members of Galena’s Living History Alliance, with the Historic Plaque project as their first goal.
Michelle loves her work with GLHA, especially communicating with homeowners and learning the history of their homes. She takes great pride in the camaraderie and team spirit of the GLHA board members and historians.
Michelle is now married to fellow board member, Norm Davis. Together they share 5 wonderful children and 10 grandchildren, and she is grateful every day to be living in such a beautiful and welcoming town.
Eva Ott Kromphardt - Vice President
Eva grew up in the small town of Lockport, Illinois. She lived in an old historic home that was built in 1895. Her parents were both involved in local historical groups and the house was filled with antiques and carpentry styles typical of homes of that era. That is where she learned about the significance and value of historical homes.
Eva graduated from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois with a degree in Industrial Engineering. She then accepted a job with the local power company, Central Illinois Light Company. She spent her entire career there, working in industrial and environmental engineering, materials management, and electric substation operations. She retired at the end of 2019 after 37 years of service, as a Division Superintendent of substation maintenance and construction.
Eva is married to fellow GLHA Board member Kirk Kromphardt. They were married in 1995 and became grandparents for the first time in 2023 when their son Kerek became a first-time father.
Eva and Kirk started coming to Galena to visit Eva’s long-time friend and fellow GLHA Board member Michelle Heurung Davis. They made many return trips and fell in love with the historic charm of Galena. Eva joined GLHA to assist with owner research and plaque installations.
Eva and Kirk recently purchased one of Galena’s historic homes – the Thomas Casserly house built in 1889. Peoria will remain their primary residence, but they plan to spend a lot of time in Galena working on their second home and working with the GLHA group.
Jeff Braunreiter - Treasurer
Jeff was born in Waukesha, Wisconsin, but grew up in Janesville, Wisconsin. He lived in the Janesville area until moving to Galena with his wife Stefanie and twin daughters in 2020. Jeff works in a Global Sales role for a large industrial food processing manufacturer. He has been with the company for 15 years. He was able to transition into a remote position, which opened up the opportunity to move to Galena.
Galena drew Jeff and his family in because of the history, beautiful homes, fun activities, and truly nice people.
Jeff enjoys helping the community as part of the GLHA and hopes that in the future, they can do more to help others. Jeff enjoys golfing, fixing up their home, and spending time with friends.
Bill Speer - Secretary
Bill is an Illinois native with ancestors on both his paternal (Speer) and maternal (Virtue) sides coming to the Galena area from Ireland in the early 1830’s. In fact, Bill’s namesake—his great-grandfather, William Speer—was born in transit from Ireland to Galena. Bill was born in Dekalb to parents who were raised in Hanover and Rodden and fondly remembers many happy summers spent on the Orville Virtue farm on Black School Road, as well as numerous trips to this area to visit family—some still residing in the area to this day.
Bill met his wife, Marge, while they were in high school. If it wasn’t love at first sight, it was certainly a case of love at every sight thereafter. After 48 glorious years of marriage, Bill lost Marge in 2015, yet she remains a guiding light and inspiration.
Bill graduated with a degree in mathematics from Northern Illinois University and anticipated a life in teaching with his first position as a high school teacher in South Beloit, Illinois. He did want to learn more about mathematics, and so he continued to study at Northern Illinois University and at Kent State University in Ohio, earning his Master’s in 1971 and PhD in 1976.
He taught at Bowling Green State University for 20 years and was awarded an Emeritus Professorship at Bowling Green State University in 1996. He also served as the Dean of the College of Education at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, and was awarded Emeritus Professor of Mathematics Education at UNLV in 2022. He was recently honored as the recipient of the coveted Lifetime Achievement Award of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
Bill has had the good fortune to have served as an ambassador of sorts for mathematics education through consultancies and presentations in over 100 countries on six continents during his career. Still, when the question of retirement (finally) came after 53 years in the classroom, the question of where to go barely deserved a question mark, as it became evident that novelist Thomas Wolfe has been misinterpreted in his famous quote; you actually CAN go home again. Galena was the natural choice. To invoke another novelist, Frank Baum, there is no place like home.
Norm Davis
A 5th-generation Galenian whose family roots in town stretch back to 1850, Norm has worked for more than 35 years as a master carpenter and builder, as well as a general contractor. His enthusiasm for period carpentry and restoration work is a testament to his admiration of old structures. He enjoys working on historic properties, coming up with ideas alongside homeowners, and witnessing their happiness when their restorations are complete.
As the liaison between our organization and the Westwick Foundry, Norm orders the steel needed for the posts and has overseen the painting, sanding, welding, and installation of each plaque.
It is no wonder he would be on the board of GLHA, as he is an old soul at heart. As a numismatist, Norm has amassed more than 400 antique toys and Civil War memorabilia. In nice weather, you’ll see him around town behind the wheel of his 1940 Dodge.
Recently married, Norm and his wife, Michelle, are the owners of two historic properties in Galena, and between them have five children and TEN grandchildren.
Stephanie Braunreiter
Although Stefanie was born in Janesville, Wisconsin, she spent the most of her adult life growing up in Milton, a nearby small town. Prior to relocating to Galena in 2020, Stefanie's professional experience was in corporate accounting.
Before moving to Galena, Stefanie and her husband Jeff would travel here three to four times a year. They were always guests at the beautiful 1870 Lamberson Guest House. This is where Stefanie’s attraction to Galena began. The architecture of the homes in Galena, as well as the unique downtown, great restaurants, and amazing people, really drew her in.
When the opportunity arose for Jeff to work remotely, they jumped at the chance to move to Galena. GLHA is the second organization she has been a part of, with historic preservation as its main purpose.
History and learning about where things come from are passions of hers. One of the most special things Stefanie does for our organization is hand-painting every single plaque before it’s installed. It’s a detail that could easily go unnoticed, but it’s one that adds so much care and craftsmanship to our work
Mike Jones
Mike was born in Washington, Iowa, but grew up in Davenport. For much of his life, he has been a “river rat,” living alongside the mighty Mississippi in the Quad Cities as a kid, then Bellevue, Iowa—across the river from Galena—for 18 years. Mike swapped lakes for rivers for 25 years while working for the University of Wisconsin-Extension. He’s happy to be back on the Galena and Mississippi rivers again.
Mike’s work background has been in education, tourism, marketing, community development, and writing. In an earlier life, he was the executive director of the Galena/Jo Daviess County Chamber of Commerce. These days, he works part-time at The Galena Gazette.
He and his wife, Milly, moved to Galena in 2017. They live in the proudly-signed Temple House, aka Spare House, circa 1845. Like legions of others, Mike and Milly have a love affair with Galena: its historic architecture, history, hills, valleys, crags, and bluffs. Galena is an old city, but it never gets old living here.
Mike and Milly have 4 children and 10 grandchildren. They enjoy walking and biking in Galena and the Driftless Area. Mike is an avid genealogist and reader, particularly histories: “so many books, so little time.”
Milly Jones
Milly lives in Galena with her husband Mike in an historic home on Dodge Street. Milly grew up on a farm outside of Independence, Iowa, where her family raised Angus beef cattle and Quarter Horses.
Following college, she lived in Maquoketa, Iowa, for twelve years. She moved to West Branch, Iowa for three years to direct the Eastern Iowa Tourism Association. Her love of tourism promotion and appreciation of the wonderful history of the eastern Iowa and Driftless regions of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin was developed there.
Then came a stint of 22 years with the University of Wisconsin-Extension in Madison, working in a unit that provided distance learning technologies for UW campuses and State of Wisconsin agencies. Most of this work revolved around marketing and developing training resources for distance learning systems.
Milly and Mike have always loved Galena because of their love of history and the quality of small-town life Galena provides. Many trips to Galena (including getting married here) convinced them that Galena should be their forever home, so in 2017 they took the leap. Between them, they have four children and ten grandkids.
Milly enjoys history, gardening, traveling, biking, and hiking and is excited to help the GLHA in any way she can.
Amy Laskye
Amy May Laskye was born in Detroit, Michigan, and later earned her Microbiology degree from Louisiana Tech.
Before diving into photography, she built an impressive career in Lab Management and as a Quality Manager for several companies. These days, she’s all about creativity, community, and history in Galena.
As a Certified Professional Photographer and the owner of Amy May Photography, Amy specializes in transformative portrait and boudoir photography. Her passion for connecting people doesn’t stop in the studio, though. As the Executive Director of the Scenic Art Loop, she’s all about bringing local artists and businesses together to build a vibrant creative community.
Amy’s love for Galena’s history shines in her work with GLHA. She initially joined to photograph the beautiful homes with historic plaques but quickly became a vital part of the team. From documenting installations to helping with website updates and community outreach, her talent and enthusiasm have left a lasting mark on the organization and the preservation of Galena’s story.
Amy and her husband, Ben, have been living in Stockton, IL, since 2002. In her free time, she loves traveling and spending time with her grown son, Matt, and his wonderful wife, Darzy.
Kirk Kromphardt
Kirk was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, but grew up in Peoria, Illinois, where he has lived his entire life. Witnessing the city’s evolution from the early 1960s to today has given him a deep appreciation for its history and the transformations that have shaped it over the years.
A graduate of Richwoods High School in Peoria, Kirk began his career with the local cable company as an installer. Over the years, he advanced to line construction and eventually became a Construction Specialist.
After an impressive 43 years of service, Kirk retired from Comcast in January 2021.
Kirk has been married to Eva Kromphardt, a fellow GLHA Board member, since 1995. In 2023, they celebrated the arrival of their first grandchild, born to their son, Kerek.
The couple’s connection to Galena began through visits to Eva’s long-time friend and fellow GLHA Board member, Michelle Heurung-Davis. They quickly fell in love with Galena’s historic charm and made frequent trips to the area. Kirk joined GLHA to contribute to plaque installations, a role he finds particularly rewarding thanks to the gratitude of the homeowners.
Recently, Kirk and Eva purchased a historic home in Galena—the Thomas Casserly House, built in 1889. While Peoria remains their primary residence, they plan to spend much of their time in Galena, working on their second home and staying actively involved with GLHA.