Trained as a surgical nurse, his focus and attention to detail have lead him to unearth extraordinary details of the life of Mr. Allen. Having grown up in the Allen home in Joliet, he has communicated with members of the Allen family and followed Allen’s story across the country and across the ‘pond’. Join us as Cean details the life of this innovator from his birth in Knox, Illinois, through his work in Ottawa, Streator and Chicago prior to settling in Joliet, then being recruited to help develop the Pasadena and Altadena areas. Learn how his innovations in school design shaped the way students learn to this day and his influence on education and design in the Gilded Age.
Cean has published Historic Impressions Volume II, the second year of articles from Seth’s popular Herald News series of the same name. He is also working on republishing an advertising book of Mr. Allen’s from 1904 and a history of Joliet schools. Cean is an active member of Write On Joliet and the Downer’s Grove Writer’s Workshop and has contributed to the Write On Joliet Anthology, Write Where We Are, for the past three years.

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