Kankakee woman has 70-year-old Christmas card tradition

KANKAKEE, Ill. (AP) - In 1946, three pennies was all it cost for Janet Blanchette, 85, of Kankakee, to buy the Christmas card she would send to her future sister-in-law, Mary Katherine Cain, in White Oaks, N.C. It would be impossible for either to know the tradition would last 70 years.

“I bought the card at a store in Kankakee. I think it was what they called the Franklin Press,” Janet said. “When I saw it, I thought it was just perfect for her.”

Janet decided to send Mary a Christmas card before even meeting her, much to the disapproval of her mother.

“My mother really thought she would be mad to get this card. I said if she gets mad over this, she doesn’t belong in our family. She always thought the card was cute though,” Janet recalled.

Mary and Janet continued mailing the Christmas card back and forth until Mary passed away in 2006 at the age of 87. Now, Janet exchanges the card with Mary’s daughter, Roberta Dupuis-Devlin, 58, of Chicago.

“It’s something that has to do with our own family, but it’s amazing how many times it’s been through the mail. It’s always made it back and forth. We put it up someplace special. During the rest of the year, my sister-in-law used to keep it in her bible,” Janet explained.

Janet currently has the card.

“I have a little box that I keep certain things in. I’ll put it away for safekeeping and send it to her next year, or, maybe, she’ll (motioning to her own daughter, Michelle) be sending it to Roberta,” she said.

“It started out as just my mom to my aunt, then it became my mom to my aunt and uncle. Then it became my mom and dad to my aunt and uncle, and then the family started growing,” Michelle said. “It’s something we all know about in the family, and it’s the 70th year.”

“When I exchange the card, I think about my folks, who are both gone. I certainly think of all the memories of Christmas when I was growing up, and seeing my mom receive the card and seeing how excited she was,” Roberta said.

Roberta recalls taking the card to the post office to make sure it was mailed.

“It’s become pretty bittersweet over the years.”

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Source: The (Kankakee) Daily Journal, https://bit.ly/2hVHmYa

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Information from: The Daily Journal, https://www.daily-journal.com