A Memorable Braidwood Thanksgiving

John Kalec

During my visit to Braidwood to see my Mom earlier this month, we talked about the wonderful family Thanksgiving dinners we enjoyed over the years at home on Division Street. My grandparents would join us, as well as aunts and uncles from both sides of the family. But the most memorable holiday was maybe in 1976, the year I first moved to Chicago.

Thanksgiving 1976 in New York and Braidwood 

For as long as I can remember, as a young boy I had this fascination about New York. I was born in 1950, and one of my fondest memories was getting my first red Schwinn bicycle and being allowed to ride it all the way to Emma Koca’s grocery store in lower Braidwood. What awaited me were packs of baseball cards, and like Tom Kennedy, I would get excited when I would get a pack of cards with a NY Yankee included. 

I would trade the cards in the neighborhood and in particular with my cousin Tim Freckelton. Tim had an older brother Earl, who was good friends with, amongst others, Jesse Field. They collected cards from the early 1950s, and these cards were handed down to my cousin. Very likely some of these early vintage Topps cards also passed through Tom’s hands, as he collected around that time. 

My trades would be targeted for the Mantle, Berra, Ford, Skowron cards,  including other Yankees. I would read the sports pages religiously on a daily basis in the Joliet Herald, which had been coincidentally delivered in his earlier years by our paper boy, (yes, again Tom Kennedy), and the first box score I would look for would be the Yankee results. Through high school and college I would dream of being able to visit New York for the first time, not just because of the Yankee connection, but New York to me was the center of the universe.

Living in Chicago

So now fast forward to 1976 and I am living in Chicago and working for North American Philips, a New York based company. I was sent to New York on a business trip the week before Thanksgiving. At the end of my business trip I thought, wouldn’t it be fun to stay over on Thanksgiving and watch the Macy’s Day parade in person, just as I had done on television every year as a kid at my parents. 

I arrived early for the parade, close to Central Park, and stayed until the end. It was an incredible experience, and taking in the NY skyline and witnessing the throngs of people was so exciting. But then the parade ended around noon and I started to think about Thanksgiving at home in Braidwood; the smells from the kitchen of my Mom’s cooking, and just being together with family. I then thought, wouldn’t it be fun to surprise my parents (I was originally scheduled to return on Friday), so I changed my plane ticket, and flew home from LaGuardia to O’Hare.

I landed in Chicago and only had, (I thought) one logistical challenge. I had kept my car at my friend’s house in Chicago, so I had to take a taxi to retrieve it. But once I arrived, I discovered that they weren’t home. Thankfully I had taken an extra car key and decided it was best to drive to Braidwood and call my friends once I arrived at my parents. 

Surprise!

But…..before I arrived in Braidwood, my friends had returned home, and immediately thought my car had been stolen. They called my parents who were just sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner and broke the news that my car was missing. So my Dad immediately called Eddie and Jo Sullivan, (Eddie was our insurance man in Braidwood), and he began the process of filing a stolen car report. 

And then, 30 minutes later I pulled into the driveaway of my parent’s home In Braidwood, and walked into the house and said “Surprise, Happy Thanksgiving!” My Dad right away said, “How in the h*** did you get here?” And my Mom said, “Oh John, I am so happy you are safe.” And then I told everyone what had happened.

It took my Dad a while to calm down, but after a short while it felt wonderful to be home and enjoy Thanksgiving dinner with everyone, just as I had every year in the past.