Did JFK visit Belleville?
Local Urban Legend?
Did JFK kiss a bride in Belleville?
Q. I believe that John F. Kennedy visited Belleville during his run for the presidency, speaking from the steps of the old courthouse on Public Square. I seem to recall hearing somewhere that, while traveling to or from the square, Kennedy's motorcade stopped in front of St. Mary's Church on West Main Street. A wedding was taking place there, and Kennedy left his limousine to kiss the bride. Can you please verify whether this happened?
-- Dave A. of Belleville
A. JFK may have kissed a lot of babies during that memorable campaign in 1960, but I can tell you with almost absolute certainty that he did not plant a smooch on any blushing bride in Belleville.
I say "almost" because I can't find anyone who can tell me flatly that they know it didn't happen. But, like Ivory soap, it's a 99 and 44/100 percent likelihood that you've been told some obscure local urban legend that my sources have never heard.
For starters, JFK made his whirlwind tour of the state on Oct. 3 -- a Monday. Now there may be exceptions, but if people are going to tie the knot on Mondays, they do it in the county courthouse, not in fancy weddings in a Catholic church.
The timeline also works against your story. Because of heavy rain early that day, JFK left much later than planned from the Chase Hotel in St. Louis. By the time he made numerous appearances in Alton, Granite City, East St. Louis and other towns along the way, he was two hours behind schedule.
So, it would have been unbelievably serendipitous had he just happened to be passing by St. Mary's when a wedding was going on. And, the 20 cars and two press buses in the motorcade would have had to pull over and find parking as well, stealing many precious minutes.
As it was, he canceled a rest break so he could hit the Belleville square at 1 p.m. -- only 75 minutes late. From there, he went immediately to the old Augustine's restaurant for a brief lunch with area politicos before traveling on to Carbondale and Springfield.
"No, I would have known about it, because we'd have covered it," said News-Democrat photographer emeritus Bill DeMestri, who has been taking pictures of Belleville events almost since George Blair donated an acre of land for the Public Square.
"We never heard anything about it, and we would have heard about that. I'd take that with a grain of salt."
Father John Myler, the pastor of St. Mary's, says he knows of no such event at the church. And, while noting unexpected stops by Kennedy at a filling station and café to grab a soda, an account in the old East St. Louis Journal makes no mention of it, either.
Instead, JFK stayed on topic, blasting his opponent, Richard Nixon, for voting against public housing and health bills, while, in Alton, comparing the Communist menace to the evils of slavery a century earlier.
Interestingly, Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev was visiting New York the same day, calling for major changes in the United Nations. He complained that the New York weather was not as invigorating as Moscow's, but said he might stick around to watch a pro football game that weekend.
Too bad the Cincinnati Reds' season was over.
Not at all!
BELLEVILLE - The morning was rainy, the photographer was late, and the traffic was horrendous.
But those memories pale in comparison to the moment presidential hopeful John F. Kennedy kissed Carol Schlosser on her wedding day 46 years ago in Belleville.
"He had these bright green eyes," the Swansea woman said of her unexpected close encounter with the nation's soon-to-be 35th chief executive on Oct. 3, 1960.
"He must have been wearing green contacts. That's the only thing I can think of. They were really green-green. I don't think anybody could have that color eyes."
Her e-mail and subsequent phone call Monday set the record straight on the memorable event that occurred during Kennedy's one-day campaign sweep through Southern Illinois.
Based on information provided, an Answer Man column had concluded Monday that the smooch probably was an urban legend. But even without seeing The Associated Press photos in her wedding album, you only have to hear the emotion in her voice to know this was no hoax.
Her wedding day started on a frustrating note. It was a dreary, stormy morning, and her photographer missed taking pictures before the ceremony at St. Teresa's Church. A post-wedding celebration at the old Bismarck cafe did not improve her mood.
"My boss gave me a meal -- my wedding breakfast," said the former Carol Starms, who was 18 and working at the Bismarck when she married Robert Appel. "But I was upset because there was so much traffic. It was really hard to get to the restaurant."
As it turned out, fate was conspiring in the young bride's favor. After the meal, the couple had to drive to the old Academy of Notre Dame for the photos missed earlier. And, because of the bad weather and crowds, Kennedy was more than an hour behind schedule.
As a result, the newlyweds were at Schlosser's in-laws at 60th and West Main for still more photos when they heard sirens in the distance. Still dressed in their wedding finery, the couple saw the approaching motorcade and made their way onto the grassy median that once divided West Main Street.
The odd entourage in the middle of Main prompted Kennedy to make another unexpected campaign stop.
"He was very nice. He said, 'Where did you get married?'" said Schlosser, trying to mimic Kennedy's distinctive Bah-stonian accent. "After he shook hands with us, my husband said, 'Hey, Jack, you want to kiss the bride?' So, he picked me up and then they got the pictures. He was sitting on the back of the front seat, and he just leaned over.
"It was fun. The front of my dress got all kind of wet from the car. I wasn't happy about that, and I wasn't happy about the crowd, but other than that it was exciting."
Soon, she was receiving published pictures of her brush with celebrity from all over the country. One person even told her of seeing it tacked up in the White House amid a collection of campaign pictures.
"It's just too bad it didn't last," she said of the marriage, which ended in 1969.
Still, Schlosser, who works at Cedarleaf Photography and does senior outreach ministry for Faith Family Church, tells the story with fondness at least once a year, said her son, David Appel, a history teacher at Belleville East High School.
Appel shows off the photos himself each year when he lectures students about the 1960 Kennedy-Nixon race. And, this summer, Schlosser, 63, can start telling the story to a brand new generation when her first great-grandchild joins her family of five children and 10 grandchildren.
But the next Democratic presidential candidate shouldn't think that Kennedy's kiss changed her voting habits.
"I'm a staunch Republican girl," she said, "and my dad was a Republican and everybody was Republican."
See the amazing photo
Did JFK kiss a bride in Belleville?
Q. I believe that John F. Kennedy visited Belleville during his run for the presidency, speaking from the steps of the old courthouse on Public Square. I seem to recall hearing somewhere that, while traveling to or from the square, Kennedy's motorcade stopped in front of St. Mary's Church on West Main Street. A wedding was taking place there, and Kennedy left his limousine to kiss the bride. Can you please verify whether this happened?
-- Dave A. of Belleville
A. JFK may have kissed a lot of babies during that memorable campaign in 1960, but I can tell you with almost absolute certainty that he did not plant a smooch on any blushing bride in Belleville.
I say "almost" because I can't find anyone who can tell me flatly that they know it didn't happen. But, like Ivory soap, it's a 99 and 44/100 percent likelihood that you've been told some obscure local urban legend that my sources have never heard.
For starters, JFK made his whirlwind tour of the state on Oct. 3 -- a Monday. Now there may be exceptions, but if people are going to tie the knot on Mondays, they do it in the county courthouse, not in fancy weddings in a Catholic church.
The timeline also works against your story. Because of heavy rain early that day, JFK left much later than planned from the Chase Hotel in St. Louis. By the time he made numerous appearances in Alton, Granite City, East St. Louis and other towns along the way, he was two hours behind schedule.
So, it would have been unbelievably serendipitous had he just happened to be passing by St. Mary's when a wedding was going on. And, the 20 cars and two press buses in the motorcade would have had to pull over and find parking as well, stealing many precious minutes.
As it was, he canceled a rest break so he could hit the Belleville square at 1 p.m. -- only 75 minutes late. From there, he went immediately to the old Augustine's restaurant for a brief lunch with area politicos before traveling on to Carbondale and Springfield.
"No, I would have known about it, because we'd have covered it," said News-Democrat photographer emeritus Bill DeMestri, who has been taking pictures of Belleville events almost since George Blair donated an acre of land for the Public Square.
"We never heard anything about it, and we would have heard about that. I'd take that with a grain of salt."
Father John Myler, the pastor of St. Mary's, says he knows of no such event at the church. And, while noting unexpected stops by Kennedy at a filling station and café to grab a soda, an account in the old East St. Louis Journal makes no mention of it, either.
Instead, JFK stayed on topic, blasting his opponent, Richard Nixon, for voting against public housing and health bills, while, in Alton, comparing the Communist menace to the evils of slavery a century earlier.
Interestingly, Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev was visiting New York the same day, calling for major changes in the United Nations. He complained that the New York weather was not as invigorating as Moscow's, but said he might stick around to watch a pro football game that weekend.
Too bad the Cincinnati Reds' season was over.
Not at all!
BELLEVILLE - The morning was rainy, the photographer was late, and the traffic was horrendous.
But those memories pale in comparison to the moment presidential hopeful John F. Kennedy kissed Carol Schlosser on her wedding day 46 years ago in Belleville.
"He had these bright green eyes," the Swansea woman said of her unexpected close encounter with the nation's soon-to-be 35th chief executive on Oct. 3, 1960.
"He must have been wearing green contacts. That's the only thing I can think of. They were really green-green. I don't think anybody could have that color eyes."
Her e-mail and subsequent phone call Monday set the record straight on the memorable event that occurred during Kennedy's one-day campaign sweep through Southern Illinois.
Based on information provided, an Answer Man column had concluded Monday that the smooch probably was an urban legend. But even without seeing The Associated Press photos in her wedding album, you only have to hear the emotion in her voice to know this was no hoax.
Her wedding day started on a frustrating note. It was a dreary, stormy morning, and her photographer missed taking pictures before the ceremony at St. Teresa's Church. A post-wedding celebration at the old Bismarck cafe did not improve her mood.
"My boss gave me a meal -- my wedding breakfast," said the former Carol Starms, who was 18 and working at the Bismarck when she married Robert Appel. "But I was upset because there was so much traffic. It was really hard to get to the restaurant."
As it turned out, fate was conspiring in the young bride's favor. After the meal, the couple had to drive to the old Academy of Notre Dame for the photos missed earlier. And, because of the bad weather and crowds, Kennedy was more than an hour behind schedule.
As a result, the newlyweds were at Schlosser's in-laws at 60th and West Main for still more photos when they heard sirens in the distance. Still dressed in their wedding finery, the couple saw the approaching motorcade and made their way onto the grassy median that once divided West Main Street.
The odd entourage in the middle of Main prompted Kennedy to make another unexpected campaign stop.
"He was very nice. He said, 'Where did you get married?'" said Schlosser, trying to mimic Kennedy's distinctive Bah-stonian accent. "After he shook hands with us, my husband said, 'Hey, Jack, you want to kiss the bride?' So, he picked me up and then they got the pictures. He was sitting on the back of the front seat, and he just leaned over.
"It was fun. The front of my dress got all kind of wet from the car. I wasn't happy about that, and I wasn't happy about the crowd, but other than that it was exciting."
Soon, she was receiving published pictures of her brush with celebrity from all over the country. One person even told her of seeing it tacked up in the White House amid a collection of campaign pictures.
"It's just too bad it didn't last," she said of the marriage, which ended in 1969.
Still, Schlosser, who works at Cedarleaf Photography and does senior outreach ministry for Faith Family Church, tells the story with fondness at least once a year, said her son, David Appel, a history teacher at Belleville East High School.
Appel shows off the photos himself each year when he lectures students about the 1960 Kennedy-Nixon race. And, this summer, Schlosser, 63, can start telling the story to a brand new generation when her first great-grandchild joins her family of five children and 10 grandchildren.
But the next Democratic presidential candidate shouldn't think that Kennedy's kiss changed her voting habits.
"I'm a staunch Republican girl," she said, "and my dad was a Republican and everybody was Republican."
See the amazing photo
posted by Lisa at 3:55 PM
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