See Molly Zelko's Shoes Yourself: 'I Think They're Mythological'

JOLIET, IL — In preparation for the 65th anniversary presentation on the disappearance and presumed murder of Joliet newspaper editor Molly Zelko by the mob, Joliet Area Historical Museum executive director Greg Peerbolte showed Joliet Patch several noteworthy artifacts from Zelko's life that everyone can see on Saturday.

The first of its kind Molly Zelko presentation goes from 10 a.m. to noon at the downtown museum, 204 North Ottawa Street. The museum is bracing for up to 200 guests. Saturday will be a regular $8 admission fee for guests, and it's free for those who have a museum membership. Students and senior citizens get discounts.

Zelko's high-heeled shoes will be on full display for everyone, Peerbolte said. People can also see Zelko's passport as well as her fur coat.

Zelko was 47 years old when she vanished. She is believed to have been taken out by the mob. Editor of Joliet's now-defunct newspaper called The Spectator, Zelko had been investigating organized crime in Joliet at the time of her kidnapping. She was single and lived by herself.

And people around Joliet, including the police, did not learn of her abduction until the next day.

As for Zelko's shoes, "To my knowledge, it's the first time they've been displayed on public, certainly at the museum, 100 percent, I'm sure. I think they're mythological," Peerbolte remarked Thursday. "Everyone in Joliet knows that part of the story."

Retired newspaper editor Lonny Cain will be the main speaker for Saturday's 65th anniversary event. While working in Joliet at The Herald-News, Cain teamed up with the late John Whiteside to produce a major investigative series in the late 1970s, reexamining Molly Zelko's disappearance.

Late at night on Sept. 24, 1957, the editor of The Spectator newspaper vanished from her driveway at 413 Buell Ave. During her abduction, Zelko kicked off both of her high-heel shoes, and she was never seen alive again. Her shoes were found in her driveway the next day.

A key focus of Saturday's presentation will be the disclosure of never previously shared information surrounding Cain's belief that Zelko was killed and buried on Stryker Avenue.

"Lonny has some compelling new evidence for Stryker Avenue," Peerbolte said. "When you have the details corroborated by multiple sources, that's what struck me."

On Thursday, Peerbolte showed Joliet Patch's editor several of the artifacts that visitors to the museum can see on Saturday, including the most famous shoes in the history of Joliet.

Peerbolte said he's hoping that momentum from Saturday's event will lead the city of Joliet to finally dig up a section of Stryker Avenue, to find out, once and for all, whether Zelko's skeletal remains were buried there.

Peerbolte said she's one of only three known Illinois journalists who were believed to be murdered because of their professional careers in newspapers.

"I think this story does matter," Peerbolte said. "Three journalists in Illinois, presumably killed. That alone is pretty powerful, and that warrants why you have to solve this thing."

Related Patch story:

Molly Zelko Update: Is Joliet's Enduring Mystery About To Be Solved?