Benita (McGinnis) McCormick (1889 – 1984)
Phillip C. McCormick (1892 – 1981)
Newlyweds Phil and Benita McCormick took the train out west to Southern California for a month-long honeymoon. One of the many places they visited was Santa Catalina Island, just off the coast. The island became a favorite place of theirs, as much for its beauty as for the memories they made during their sojourn there. Half a century later, they used this photograph, taken in the island town of Avalon, as the cover of the invitation to their golden wedding anniversary celebration.
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Honeymooners Benita (McGinnis) and Phillip McCormick linger on an oceanside bench in the town of Avalon, on Catalina Island, October 1921. |
On October 10, 1921, while staying at the famed Beaux-Arts Rosslyn Hotel in Los Angeles, Benita received a letter from an unidentified correspondent from Chicago. It read,
Dear Madam,
I am shipping to you today one keg of beer and hope it reaches you in nice shape. Wish you were here.
Yours etc.
Sears, Roebuck & Co.
While it would be nice to learn who sent the note, it would be even more interesting to know whether the sender actually sent, or intended to send, a keg of beer across the country at the height of the Prohibition era.
Never at a loss for words, my great-aunt Benita immediately dashed off a reply:
Dear Mr. Sears,
If you really sent me a K.O.B. I know damn well I’ll be in nice shape. Thanking you for your beer I am
Kegfully yours,
Mrs. P.C. McCormick
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Copyright © 2014 Linda Huesca Tully
What a scream! Wonder if she ever uncovered the identity of that practical joker…
Maybe…but for us it will remain a mystery…