Salem and Paddock Lake officials remember Dad

Today we celebrate and remember our father or father figure. Not everyone was blessed to have his or her biological father to guide and be an influence in their life. Possibly an uncle, teacher or another man may have taken on that role. Whatever the circumstance, take time to reflect.
This was the last picture taken of Linda Valentine and DAD.

This was the last picture taken of Linda Valentine and DAD.

Two officials in Kenosha County have shared their fondest memories of Dad. Salem Town Chairman Linda Valentine and Paddock Lake Village President Marlene Goodson no longer have their fathers with them physically, but each remain with them in spirit.

When asked about her father, Valentine said, “There isn’t  just one memory. There are many. Snippets. Moving fast across the memory screen!”

She remembers watching him open up his war chest after many years of being packed away in the garage – touching each item – hat, diary, ribbons, and photos. And the careful turning of the scrapbook pages of a time in England, “Just Like in Memphis Belle, Lin,”  he would say! “We were all lucky that we could make it home!” And he was lucky, Valentine recalls, returning after 35 missions and completing his last three over Normandy on D-Day.

“My mind’s eye is quick! Listening to the stories of the times he spent
with presidents of the United States when they visited Chicago,
looking at another scrapbook of hand shaking moments before official
pomp and circumstance. Polishing the Harley as it was readied for a
parade detail, or the polishing of the boots and leathers associated
with full dress,” Valentine remembers.

Her dad brought home one of the first hula hoops for the block kids and, “you kids – 7 of you.”  Then he tried and succeeded in keeping it moving around his middle. Hula Hoop contests ran well into the night!

She remembers her dad running a race down the sidewalk with the youngest of the siblings and pretending to lose. He created a city block long
fireworks party on July 4th using all sorts of colors, “illuminating the night so much that it was like daylight! Even though it was a smoky daylight,” she recalls.

He would bring home watermelons, and every kid on the block would be summoned. “Hurry, watermelon party in 5 minutes – Come ready to slurp!” Dad would yell.

She learned a lot about how to self sustain. Valentine was taught how to remove wallpaper with a steamer, how to hit a baseball, shoot marbles, cut grass with a push mower, clip edges with a hand clipper, how to be a go-fer for various building efforts and how to clean up after those efforts.

Her dad taught the skill of loading bearings with clean grease, catching and gutting fish, learning to swim and dive and how to ride a two wheeler. She remembers visiting Midway Airport in Chicago and watching the “jet -jobs” that were outstanding and new compared to the old fashioned “prop-jobs,“ slurping ice cream while watching the jets land right over them at O’Hare Airport, teaching some of his children how to drive, and asking, “Just what are you going to do with your life?” as if anyone had a real clue as to how life would turn out.

“The moments are quick, becoming a sort of shorthand version of the
actual activity as time goes by. Photos and video fill in the blanks,
reminding me of what I once knew,” Valentine said.

Goodson recalls a very special Christmas. Although there was tragedy, her

Marlene Goodson's dad, August Migliore.

Marlene Goodson's dad, August Migliore.

dad made the holiday extra special.

“The memory that most sticks out in my mind is when we had to move into my Aunt Katie’s house a few days before Christmas because our home was flooded so bad, and we were not allowed back in except for a few personal items. But my father made it all seem OK! Not great, but OK!

“I was 7 years old at the time, and I had just been recovering from the measles that put me in a coma for 3 days. I didn’t feel well, and I was scared of sleeping in a different bed. Plus, now I had to share it with my sister, so I didn’t feel special anymore. I had to share everything with her.

“It was just a few days before Christmas, and I was staring out the window hoping Santa would be able to find me. With being in a new home just days before Christmas, I was not sure Santa could get my letter in time. So my father saw me downstairs looking out the window for any sign that my letter reached the North Pole. He put his arm around me and asked me who was I waiting for.

“ I told him I hoped that Santa would come, and I wasn’t sure if he knew we moved. My father asked me what would be so bad if Santa couldn’t find me. Would that mean he didn’t love you? I said, no! My father said, ‘Don’t you think he would try and look for you?‘ I asked my dad, do you think he would look for me? And with tears in his eyes, my father assured me that I was worth looking for, and that I should never feel that anyone – especially Santa – would ever forget me.

“That hug was the best hug ever! I truly felt that I was special enough not to be over looked……………………..but then my big sister, Lyn, came downstairs!!!

“My father, August Migliore, is gone now, but I find him in my children’s eyes every time they smile. My sister Lyn died just 9 months before my father’s passing in 1997. The loss of my mother was just the year before. Although they are not with us on earth, they left behind beautiful grandchildren and great-grandchildren to leave their footprints in the sand.”

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2 Comments

  1. linda valentine says:

    I was just asked about this story…
    Yes, “residents” should read as Presidents.
    My father was in the position to know several….. often enough to be invited to the White House.

  2. Thanks for pointing that out, Linda. I changed it just now.

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