Charlie grew up in Rome. If you are from this area, you are probably familiar with the street sign in Rome on Route 29 that says, “Layne Crossing.” The house on that corner is where he and his six siblings grew up. He went to Mossville grade school and graduated in 1961 from Chillicothe Township High School. During his high school years, he dated a girl from Pekin named Mary, but after graduation they went their separate ways. Charlie has always been a patriotic guy and decided he wanted to join the army and serve his country. He enlisted and went for his physical, but he didn’t pass the eye exam and sadly was sent home.

In 1964 Charlie was having back problems and had an extensive spinal surgery. After healing, although he was still in pain most of the time, he decided to go to Las Vegas and try to get a job there. He met a woman, they married and had two sons, Kevin and Tim. In Las Vegas he ended up working security for Harrah’s Casino for over 20 years. After his wife passed away, he then decided to move back to Illinois. He looked up Mary, the girl he had dated in high school. They began seeing each other, then later married. In Illinois Charlie got a job as an auctioneer and made a living doing that for 25 years.

As time marched on, Charlie became disabled. He said he had always been an active guy, and he couldn’t just sit around and do nothing. So, he had an idea to make and send patriotic cards to his veteran friends. Charlie now spends his days working on cards and envelopes. Each card is handcrafted with a matching envelope. They  look like cards that you would buy from an expensive store. All the cards have a verse or poem in them; some Charlie writes himself and in some of them he uses poems or verses that he has found that he likes the sentiment in.

Asked how he makes the cards he related, “Out of calendars. I cut pictures out of all kinds of calendars. The calendars are given to me by friends and a lot of people from my church, the Congregational Church, in Pekin where I now live. I also get donations for postage and paper from my church and many others.”  He says he begins by cutting out the pictures, then lays the pictures on a template and begins to craft and fold them into cards and envelopes.

Charlie sends out the cards to veteran friends he knows or has been referred to. On Memorial Day he sent out over 200 cards to the veterans. Each year he sends out around 1,000 cards to brighten the day of veterans that have served our country. He says they all enjoy getting these cards and it puts a smile on their faces. Every holiday—Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, Memorial Day and on some anniversaries if he knows it—he sends a card. For a death of a veteran, he sends cards to their families.

“I take pride in what I do, and I want them to know someone cares about them. It makes me happy to know I’m adding a little bit of cheer into their lives.”

Charlie knows that even in the twilight of his life he is still useful by crafting and making cards to show others that someone still cares about them and appreciates their service to this country.

Thank you Charlie, for all the effort and love you put into each and every card you make. God uses people like you to bless heroes that still walk this earth.