Chicago Honeymoon

It was 1947, they were young and in love.  It wasn't a time of lavish, over-the-top weddings, instead they were married in the courthouse by the local judge.  She was supported by her sister and he had his best friend at his side.  She wore a lovely rose suit borrowed from another sister while he was tall and proud in his blue pinstripe.  He had adoringly presented her with a small corsage but was too shy to pin it on, allowing her sister to do the honors.  The ceremony only took a few minutes and they were back on the sidewalk as Mr. and Mrs., ready to begin their new life.

They didn't have much money but he had worked and saved what little he could to give her a honeymoon she would remember.  They only had a few days, but he had planned it carefully.  They caught the local train and were soon on their way to the "Windy City".  To a couple growing up in a small rural town it must have seemed as exotic as Paris or Tokyo--Chicago, the biggest city in the Midwest.  Filled with lights, excitement, and unheard of delights, all theirs to enjoy for two whole days.

They caught a cab from the train station, another adventure for the small town couple, pulling up in front of the stately Palmer House Hotel.  They stared in awe at the beautiful structure, already a grand lady having served the Chicago elite for 76 years.  She hesitated, tugging gently at his sleeve, "Are you sure....?"  He patted her hand and smiled reassuringly, "It's our honeymoon.  I want you to have the best."  She hugged his arm and they walked up to the registration desk. 

The clerk smiled a warm welcome and in just a few minutes they were signing the guest register for the first time as Mr. and Mrs.  "That will be $11 per night for two nights and for 75 cents a day more we will put a radio in your room for your enjoyment."  "Oh, no!", she gasped, "that's too much!".  He again quietly patted the hand clinging to his arm, "It's our honeymoon, I want you to have a honeymoon to remember."

And remember it she did for the next 65 years.

"Mom!  You'll never guess where I'll be staying while on a business trip to Chicago?" the man laughed as he watched his aging mother carefully mix biscuits in the kitchen.  "The Palmer House. Isn't that where you and dad spent your honeymoon?"  With a soft smile on her face she nodded, "Somewhere I think I even have the old receipt from that stay."  After lunch they took a trip through memory lane while she fingered through old mementos in the flowered box she pulled from the closet. Sure enough she had the receipt for the amount of $11 per night plus 75 cents for the radio. 

On an impulse, the man took a copy of the receipt with him on his trip.  While checking in, he mentioned that his parents had stayed here on their honeymoon 65 years ago for a much lower rate than today's prices.  The clerk looked at the receipt wide eyed and immediately asked if he would wait a minute to talk to the manager. It seems that the hotel is currently compiling a history of it's long years of serving the Chicago area, would his mother be willing to part with the original receipt?  In return, the hotel would treat her and a guest to a night at $11 and throw in the radio for free.

Which is how 65 years later she traveled again to Chicago, this time with a granddaughter, to stay once again at the stately Palmer House Hotel.  She was greeted by the manager and whisked to her room with champagne and a cheese tray awaiting her.

Her only wish, she said, was that her much missed husband of 57 years had lived to share the adventure with her again.