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"This is what I'm going to be buried in, right here." says Ed Kelly, of the Marine Corps blanket on the sofa behind him. Kelly was a gunner on a Navy Helldiver during World War II.
"Let me show you a few things. Muhammad gave me this here," he says, pointing to a clenched bronze hand. "This is his fist. He gave me that years ago. I was like a father to him. The twins are my nieces. We were close. I've got pictures of him in the basement."
That he does. Many pictures. Being close to Ali, the greatest athlete of the 20th century, is the sort of thing a man can take pride in. As are photographs with the powerful and famous. Kelly, 100, former Democratic Party slate-maker and czar of the Chicago Park District, in that order, has much to be proud of.
Readers might recall we chatted for Kelly's 90th birthday, when he rewarded my interest by firmly planting a harpoon into the side of then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
"Rahm's not a Chicago guy," Kelly said then. "He'll never be a Chicago guy."
Troublemaker that I am, my fondest hope for this visit is a reprise. I baited hooks with the two mayors since. Nary a nibble.
Kelly's centennial was in August — he waved off media inquiries, then. But longtime press agent Bernie DiMeo persuaded him to open up.
"This is Richard J., fishing with me." Kelly says, of a photo with the first Mayor Daley. "He called me. He said, 'Get a boat; let's go fishing.'"
Not that the past is all hanging with mayors — tragedy will find even the most connected insider.
"This is my grandson, killed in Texas," he said. "Three Niles motorcycle police officers were trying to raise money. This is my Joey."
Sgt. Joseph Lazo, 39. His photo is everywhere — in frames, on pillows.
"A drunk driver ..." Kelly says. "He was like a son to me. We raised him. I've been going to the grave for four and a half years, for Joey and my wife. I go every Monday."
Marilyn Kelly, 94; 76 years of marriage.
"I lose Joey, then two years later I lose my wife," he says.
What's it like to be 100?
"Hard to believe I've reached 100," Kelly says. "Everywhere I go, I have doctors and nurses asking, 'What did you do?' I can't say I've lived different. I'm not a food guy. I've never been a drinker. Never smoked."
We go into the basement. The bar seats six. One hundred photos are framed on the wall if there is one, and we pause before many.
"Here's Papa and with Janie," he says, pointing to a photo of Bears founder George Halas and Jane Byrne. "Here's Stevie Zucker. Here's Gale Sayers. Jesse White — I've known Jesse since he was 15 years old."
I point out an impossibly young Paul Simon, the former senator.
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Wow. I had no idea this man is still with us. Any park district job worth having was beyond the work-a-day schmoe. To even ride a gang mower on one of the golf courses you needed a sponsor and clearance from this fellow. Everyone had a story. If your neighbor knew Howie Carrol or his guy Sam Burk, or if your nephew's cousin's brother's uncle's butcher had a friend who did Esther Saperstein's hair. Then maybe a little summer work for your kid. I recall a prize job being Ice Skating Rink Attendant or anything at Lincoln Park Zoo.
ReplyDeleteOn the day I was born, Ed Kelly was celebrating his 23rd birthday. Lived in the 47th Ward from 1986 to 1990, when it was still Kelly's Kingdom. If you had good connections, and cast your vote for the right people, you might actually have a chance for a shot at a good city job. Maybe.
DeleteEven so, you still had to find a way to "kiss his mistletoe"...as Daley the Elder liked to call it. Had no clout whatsoever, no sponsor, and was just another nobody who knew nobody. So I remained a work-a-day shmuck, riding the Ravenswood "L" to a downtown office job that paid less than peanuts.
But the precinct captain still banged on our door in '89 and made sure we were voting for Richie Daley. Which I did. To do otherwise might have resulted in who-knows-what. First and only time I ever voted for a Daley. The following year, we moved back to Evanston.
Was a muffie in my mid-forties by then. A park district patronage job would have been sweet. Would have gladly stayed in the city, and kissed anybody's mistletoe, for a plum like that. Just another sell-out, easily bought off.
Jimmy Carter and Ed Kelly were both born in the same year, and both became centenarians. Any similarity begins and ends there. One was a statesman and a humanitarian, and the other was a hack politician who dispensed favors like candy, and who knew and met dozens of famous people. The only reason Ed Kelly is still alive is because he hasn't died yet.
I lived in the 47th. The only time I ever saw Ed was on Election Day when he could be seen delivering van loads of Senior citizens to the polls, making sure there was an election judge available to “help” them while in the voting booth.
DeleteCould that be Sedgwick and Elm?
ReplyDeleteOuch. Yes. Thank you. Fixed now. To write is to err.
DeleteWe Don't Want Nobody Nobody Sent: An Oral History of the Daley Years. Written by Milton Rakove, who used to shoot craps with my father in the alleys on the west side of Chicago. The expression has come to symbolize Chicago's machine politics and dates back to 1948 and Abner Mikva, the original nobody.
ReplyDeletemachine politician. no DEI going on back then. park district entered into a decent decree with the justice department under his watch. when Harold got elected he resigned.
ReplyDeleteI love the grace that you bestowed upon Mr. Kelly. The Yeats was a gut punch. Life is flimsy and friends are guardrails, At 100, his gallery of heroes and rogues is evidence that he created a sturdy hive. You did not judge him, and you celebrated his glory. A lovely gift, for him and us.
ReplyDeleteI didn't judge him in print. I walked out of there hoping against hope that when I'm 100 I'm not ballyhooing my long ago brushes with celebrity. Not that I have many. Speaking of which, did you notice my shout-out to Steve in my Cooperstown column? Now being in the Baseball Hall of Fame is something to be proud of.
DeleteSaying..."I didn't judge him in print"...sounds like a tell, as to what you thought of him. All he has left are his images of his long-ago glad-handing of dozens of machers.
DeleteHoping you're not doing that at 100? Hell, I hope I'm not already putting people to sleep with my back-in-the-day stories at almost 80. But as most regulars here already know, I did piss next to Mike Royko once. He recognized me, and grunted at me, That oughta count for something.
I never do know.
ReplyDeleteIs this how it should be, or should we move away from this?
I do feel as though we are all a rudderless ship... drifting through the future with no plan to guide us, no map to follow, no stars to navigate by...
Now is the time of me. not you. me. and no one else. mine.
What kind of society is that?
I'm impressed that Ed Kelly can immediately recall all the names in his past. I'm also struck by how many of them were described as "very good friends".... I got to thinking about what qualifies as a friend vs an acquaintance, and what defines a "close" friendship. I've been blessed to have close friends, but nowhere near as many as Ed Kelly!
ReplyDeleteHe's clearly had a very full and rich life, and it's impressive that he's still in good health to show you around on a reminiscence tour. Yet, from my current position of working to clear my home of decades of stuff that is significant only to me, seeing that amount of framed photos gives me a shudder. What of the poor relative who has the chore of cleaning out that home when he is gone? Throwing out photos - especially of a loved one - is harder even than tossing out books. But no one else wants all those when they have significance only to him, so what to do?
ReplyDeleteSomeone with their own full life will have to take all those down, pull them out of the frames, label with names if possible, dispose of the frames somehow, then digitize? It will be such an enormous time-sucking task.
Love Ed Kelly! Spent many happy days with him at Greenbriar Park District on the Northside of Chicago ( 3 on 3 Basketball). Ed was in charge. Wish him always the very best! Mickey Hoffman
ReplyDeleteThese photos are our history as well.
ReplyDeleteI hope they are well-documented and preserved and will be available to the public someday.
What a life Mr. Kelly has lived. Like many others, I feel lucky to have met many celebrities in the arts and beyond. About 20 years ago, while preparing for an exhibit at the Renaissance Gallery in the Chicago Cultural Center, I was admonished by the director who said, "Mel, pick your names up off the floor, you're dropping them." She was right, except for one thing, that has been my history and it reminds me how lucky I have been to be in this place at this time. After I'm gone and as it should be, no one else will give a damn.
ReplyDeletesorry folks. i'm a 78 year old life long chicagoan and i spent a lot of those years in and around politics and unions. ed kelly was a jerk who shouldn't be romanticised. i'd be willing to bet that very few of those people were actually friends, nothing more than transactional acquaintances. the best thing to happen to the park district was his departure.
ReplyDeleteSorry bud, but Ed Kelly was a great guy. You obviously didn't know the guy.
DeleteThe article you wrote was well written and brought me back to the "Fighting 47th Ward" days. Mr. Kelly was a good man, he played politics as well as he played basketball, boxed or shot at enemies as a 'gunnie'.
ReplyDeleteI had the privilege of being a Precinct Captain for Mr. Kelly. The organization was full of characters Horace Lindsay, Bruce Farley, Jim "Blackie" Madison, Tommy Allen, Tony Toramino, Andy Ortalano, Herman Krantz and so many more. Mr. Kelly was a fair man, he did his job and like it or not, he delivered votes, as expected. We, the Precinct Captains were expected to deliver for him. Many were rewarded by getting jobs for a kid from a family of 5 or 6 kids. A Park District job as lifeguard or Cafe Brauer at the lakefront. He was not a bad guy, he was very giving and kind. I remember him coming to my son's baptism party. While I get it, things have changed and there are many that came here from the burbs or from other states and wanted to change politics in Chicago. I just wish some of these new aged politicians would take some notes and treat people like Mr. Kelly did and call them "friend" instead of making everyone an enemy.
Nice job Neil