Northern Illinois residents will get their eagerly-awaited chance to see the inside of a Lena family's new home next month.
ABC-TV announced last week the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition episode filmed at the Stott home near Lena will be aired at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 15.
Information on public screenings and other activities will be announced this week.
Local residents were among the hundreds of volunteers who helped build a new home for Philip and Joey Stott and their three teenagers from Sept. 9 to 16.
Besides building the new house, the work crew, headed up by Hasken Construction, Freeport, demolished the old farmhouse, which had been damaged in a fire, tore down several farm buildings and built replacements, refurbished a 100-year-old dairy barn, dug out a pond, poured concrete walkways, and landscaped the yard — all in a week.
The work was done after the Stotts were whisked away to California on a vacation.
The filming of the popular TV show so close to home also drew thousands of local spectators to the site.
With U.S. 20 closed for the project, onlookers could reach the farm only by taking a shuttle bus from the Lincoln Mall, Freeport.
The Stott family was selected as an Extreme Makeover: Home Edition family following their nomination for the program by area family friends.
Joey was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in 2003 and was told the only cure was a bone marrow transplant from a matching donor.
An anonymous donor was found in October 2004.
After her recovery, Joey went back to school at Highland Community College, Freeport, in 2006 and graduated summa cum laude with a 4.0 grade point average in 2009.
She is now attending the University of Wisconsin at Platteville and plans to become a science teacher.