Foreword

About a year ago, I was sitting at a picnic table in South Elgin along the Fox River in the middle of Kane County Illinois listening to a lady describe her love for America and her United States Marine Corps in which she had served for twenty years. Her gratitude and purpose made me feel so good that it was a joy to listen to and connect with this strong, good, tattooed stranger.

Later, I heard friends who I had known for many decades tell me eerily similar stories (that I had never known about them) of escaping as little boys from Communist bloc countries. Their wonder and appreciation for new lives started by parents' courage and lovingly passed on to their children swelled my heart.

These are not mythical heroes, like Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln, they're our friends and neighbors in Kane County. Men and women who you can't help but like and appreciate, who live next door.

More recently, I was fortunate to be invited by longtime friend Jim Gibson to have breakfast and coffee with feature columnist Denise Crosby to discuss gathering these local stories. I was especially struck by the sympathy and distress in her eyes when she pondered, "In the current hyper-partisan and destructive political climate, how can we imagine celebrating 250 years of the miracle of America?"

The answer resides in these stories, in these decent people. Perhaps it's like trying to find any real treasure . . . we have to look for it.

The last time we faced such civil discord and rancor, it was Lincoln who appealed to us: "I am loathe to close. We are not enemies, but friends . . . the mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield, and patriot grave, to every living heart and hearthstone . . . will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."

I hope that you enjoy reading these love letters to America on her 250th birthday as much as I've enjoyed gathering them with friends.

Chris Lauzen

July 4, 2026

Love Letters to America

Bela Suhayda

We crossed over the Austrian/Hungarian border having successfully evaded Soviet border guards, snipers, and land mines a little more than a month before our arrival into New York harbor on Jan. 7th, 1957. We traveled two weeks crossing over the small pond called the Atlantic…a body of water insulating America from a very troubled Europe and the revolution we escaped in our homeland of Hungary. We gazed upon the Statue of Liberty as we floated into New York Harbors’, and I c

William Badal

I was born in Baghdad, Iraq, in 1949, in a land known as the cradle of civilization. Iraq was rich with history, reaching back thousands of years to the ancient Assyrian and Babylonian empires. But for my family, it was also a land of uncertainty, upheaval, and change. My father, John Badal, knew hardship early. At eighteen, he fled Iran because of persecution and came to Iraq looking for a new beginning. He found work in the oil fields with British and American companies a

John O'Donnell

On the west side of Chicago in the late 1930's, a young schoolgirl stands at her desk. She's nervous, anxious and not sure what the future holds. The tuition is due at St. Thomas Aquinas grade school. It comes to $5.00 per month. Neither she nor her family can afford it. Years later this woman recalls the event and says she is forever indebted to the school and the nuns in charge for not sending her away. She remained a student, got an education. and would pay the tuition

Lynn Lowder

About the Author: Lynn Lowder grew up in Sullivan, Illinois. A Marine Corps special operations officer, he led 24 long-range reconnaissance patrols in Vietnam and was awarded the Silver Star, the Bronze Star with Combat "V," and the Purple Heart. After the Marines he spent nearly three decades as a trial attorney and senior executive, working across law, business, and veteran advocacy. At 77 he opened Rosie's Home Cookin', a 1950s diner in Naperville celebrating veterans and

Dr. Chiann Fan Gibson

Dear America, I love you not because you are perfect, but because you made my life possible. At seventeen years old, I became a citizen of the United States in 1986. In that moment, I gained more than a passport—I gained a future. My parents had come here with less than two hundred dollars, carrying faith, courage, and a belief that this country could offer something greater. Because of their sacrifice, and because of you, I was given the opportunity to dream without limits.

Tom Skilling

We are fast approaching our country's 250th birthday which has many of us reflecting on just how extraordinary our country is! You ask as you do this, where do I begin in putting the amazing nature of our country into words? This is a country which has done so much to foster its citizens hopes and dreams. Those who have come before us have laid the foundation for the freedom we love and cherish. We can dream here—dream about where we want to take our lives and actually have a

John Kador

Exodus at Midnight: A Child’s Journey from Hungary to America John Kador, a former resident of Kane County, fled Hungary on Christmas Eve 1956, crossing the border into Austria and eventually to the United States and freedom. He recounts his refugee story in a children’s book, Exodus at Midnight. The following is an excerpt from the book. The book is available for free as a Kindle Books download. It was a lovely Christmas Eve with lots of gifts and sweets. John was dreami

Len Wass

Dear America: Growing up we always had someone to dinner, so they could later watch my father work on their car until midnight—a daily event. Dad always worked hard to support the family; after all he only had an 8th grade education like Mom. Our annual vacation was going to Wisconsin to work on Grandpa Wass's dairy farm, like mowing hay and milking cows. In 8th grade dad leased a garage and gas station where I started working—seven days/week, 365 days/year—after school u

Meredith VanKampen Krantz

A Country Still Becoming, One House at a Time There is a house on Downer Place that has been standing longer than anyone alive can remember. It was built in 1894, the same decade Ellis Island opened its arms, a country still becoming. A judge built it, a native son of Aurora named Russell B. Goodwin, who studied at the local seminary, read law by lamplight, and rose to serve as Assistant Attorney General under two presidents. He put up a turret and ornate gables, building t

Jo Fredell Higgins

I spent my early years at Ferry Farm on the Rappahannock River in Virginia. My name is George Washington. I especially liked the subjects of geometry, trigonometry and mapmaking. Before I was sixteen, I copied 110 maxims in my notebook dealing with etiquette. One of which was "Every action done in company ought to be done with respect to those who are present." When I was 16 in 1743, I was appointed surveyor for Culpeper County. In the next few years, I completed 200 surv

Arlene Hawks

From the first musket shot, to the promises of peace and equality, we have always lived in an America where we have cherished our freedoms because of the brave men and women who have come before us, Every individual who stands up for the ideals of this country has poured their lives into this land hoping for a better future. For the past 52 years I have had the honor and pleasure of being married to a Vietnam Veteran who makes a difference in my life each and every day. Alt

Linda Hulsizer

Happy 250th Birthday America, I love America and all that it represents. There are so many good memories in my mind about my life in the USA. I grew up when you began your school day by saluting the flag, pledging allegiance to our flag, and to our country. After reciting the pledge, we sang, "My country tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing…" I remember carrying our flag in the Memorial Day parade when I was a Brownie Scout. What a privilege to carry ou

Bruno Hilgart

Growing up in Kane County, specifically, St. Charles, was such an incredible experience that honestly, as I was growing up, I didn't realize until I got older and in High School. I realized that I was blessed to grow up here, such that I always knew that if I had the chance, I would raise my family here. My career allowed me to stay local and I raised my 3 kids, with my wife Mary, in Geneva. As my kids are all now adults, they too have come to realize what a blessing it was

Carol Fowler

An Eye for An Eye I just wanted to be a U. S. Marine. That was in 1971. I was 20-years-old and had never succeeded at anything in my life. I didn't know how bad I wanted to be a Marine until I was told that I had an incurable defect in one of my eyes. One that was unacceptable for the Marine Corps. It happened after I had a physical at the Armed Forces Entrance and Examination Station in Chicago. I was turned down for an enlistment. That's when I discovered that I had a st

Hans Lauzen

After being away from home on a deployment with the Naval Special Warfare this last year, I had an opportunity to reflect on what I love about America as I landed back in the States. It's not the beautiful places of America, although we've got them—Big Sur along the California coast, the extraterrestrial rock formations in the Utah deserts, the pristine turquoise waters of the Gulf Coast, and the hazy expanses of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It's not the massive skyscrapers and