Holiday Inn 1975

In 1975, I needed something to do. I was working full-time at Kelly Manufacturing Company first as the Purchasing Department secretary and then I was promoted as a Junior Buyer. Dad had retired from the Air Force and we had moved from McGuire AFB in New Jersey in 1972. We were moving back to Brookfield where Mom and Dad had bought a very old home in Brookfield. I stayed for awhile but then decided to move to Jacksonville, Florida to venture out on my own. I thoroughly enjoyed that experience but eventually moved back to Brookfield to heal from a broken heart. (That is a whole other story in itself).

Upon my return, I was hired at KMC, but not knowing anyone and having no young men my age at church, my dating options were somewhat limited. So, I took a job working as a desk clerk at the Holiday Inn a few nights a week for something to do and an additional way to earn some more money. It wound up being a decision that would make major changes in my life.  (The picture shows me hard at work one night).

This is Don Henderson who used to work with me in the evenings.  I loved this man.  He made my work so much fun.  Don unfortunately died in June of 2010.

Back in those days, we had no internet which enabled people to make reservations at hotels. Holiday Inn had a reservation system called Holidex that allowed you to make reservations for anyone anywhere in the world. Sometimes when it was late at night and there were very few guests arriving, my co-workers and I would send messages to various places in the world, say hello, and see if anyone would respond back to us. I sent a message to a Holiday Inn in Plymouth, England that responded to me one night and we began sending messages back and forth over a period of time.

One night when I returned to work, there was a message for me from a guy named John McLean who worked at the Holiday Inn in Newcastle, England. He had heard about me from a friend of his who worked at the Plymouth Holiday Inn.

We started sending lots of messages back and forth, which lead to letters, pictures were exchanged, which lead to letters and phone calls. After several months of this, John sent me a message one day saying that he was coming to visit me here in the states and stay for about three weeks.














And he did come.  He spent three weeks here in the U.S. and stayed at the house in Brookfield.  I picked up at the airport in Jacksonville and we spent several days doing typical tourist trips.  First stop...

Sightseeing in St. Augustine, Florida at the old fort...

Still suffering from jet lag...

It's Disneyworld...

Kennedy Space Center...

Then it was on up to Georgia and spending time at Six Flags Over Georgia...

On top of Stone Mountain...

And this was my Mach I Mustang that he really enjoyed driving.

When we returned home and I had to go back to work, Mom and Nancy, played host to him and took him on day trips and picnics.  We would go out on dates at night when I got off work.

Before he returned home, it was decided that I would come to England as soon as possible and meet his parents.  Yes, we were in love with each other and he wanted me to meet his parents.  He had even given me an engagement ring, as well as a Celtic cross necklace that had been in his family for many, many years.  I did go to England four months later and that, too, is a whole other story.