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“It was a grand time.”

– Ed Logan

In 2005 I was asked to contribute writing to the book Remembering Robeson*s: Champaign’s Department Store, the majority of which was written by Cal Acosta, a thoughtful and creative guy. One of my write-ups highlighted Christmas gatherings among a sector of staff members at Robeson’s Department Store and their associates. The person I chatted with to get more information on these December festivities was Ed Logan, a longtime former resident of Champaign. After talking on the phone with Ed, here’s what I wrote on pages 227 and 228 of the book:

At 64 years old, Champaign resident Ed Logan remembered his friendship with F.K. Robeson Jr. in November 2006 in vivid and joyful detail. During the mid-1960s, Logan delivered Pepsi to the Robeson warehouse (just south of the old News-Gazette building at the beginning of Taylor Street in Champaign), stocked the store’s Pepsi vending machines, and delivered to the luncheonette. He was a faithful customer of Robeson’s for many years.

Logan’s once-a-month deliveries to the Robeson warehouse didn’t go unnoticed by Roby, or by the warehouse managers, Bob Davis, whom Logan described as a “kind, gentle, soft-spoken man who always had nice things to say to everyone.” For several consecutive Christmases, Roby extended his appreciation to Logan by inviting him to a low-key holiday dinner at the large Robeson warehouse. All he had to bring was himself and a case of Pepsi.

Frank Costa, who helped Roby in various custodial duties, cooked the meals for the warehouse dinner each year. And what elaborate feasts they were! Costa’s specialty was Italian cuisine, and Logan remembered heaping his plate with mounds of spaghetti and meatballs, various other pasta dishes, succulent bread, delicious cheeses, and adding a salad on the side. No one dressed up for the occasion, and it was always a laid-back evening held around a big table. Roby brought bottles of wine for the six to ten people in attendance, and a good time was had by all each year.

“It was a real close, personable group of guys,” said Logan. “Mr. Robeson was the special guest, of course. We all looked forward to him coming in. He seemed to enjoy it very much too. It was a grand time.”   

Ed’s memories fit in warmly with numerous other recollections in the book, but they are brief flashpoints in time before the next ones are shared. Truthfully, these holiday gatherings probably don’t mean much to most people nowadays except to those who participated in them – and likely most of those folks are elderly or have passed away, just like Ed.

But Ed’s thoughts mean a lot to me, and I’ll explain why.

Remembering Robeson*s was finally published toward the end of 2010. When the book became available, I was excited to buy a copy because of my close association with Robeson’s Department Store (my dad was the former president of Robeson’s, and I worked there as a teenager). My wife, Jill, was also looking forward to reading the book, or at least one section of it: the part with Ed Logan.

Because Ed was her dad, and he was my father-in-law.

But Ed was not my father-in-law when we talked on the phone.

Jill and I purchased Remembering Robeson*s together, got in the car, and I found the section on Ed to read aloud. As I started reading, it dawned on me that Ed, whom I talked to several years ago, was now my father-in-law, and I was married to his daughter! So much time had passed between our interview and the book’s release that I’d completely forgotten the name Ed Logan.

It was one of the weirdest feelings of my life that I’ll chalk up to divine intervention.

Ed, who died in 2013, is still greatly missed by his family and those who knew him well. To me, it seems like his loss is the most difficult thing Jill has had to accept since I’ve known her, and selfishly, I feel shortchanged that I only knew Ed for a short time after getting married to Jill in October of 2010.

Ed was a guy who loved to laugh and have a good time, but he also had his serious, no-nonsense moments. He was deeply religious and loved his Elvis and Johnny Cash records. Ed’s all-day Fourth of July parties were far from run-of-the-mill affairs in the heat of summer. I recall pinatas in the driveway that the kids could whack, a live band one time, and always too much food eaten by new family members I grew to love, as well as some of Ed’s friends who came by.

I miss Ed Logan, and I feel bad that Jill has had to live without him for more than ten years now. To this day, I can recall his voice on the phone as we talked for the first time. Ed sounded like he was smiling, and he didn’t hold back on the laughs.

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Top photo from the Champaign County Historical Archives; second photo by Sam Logan; third photo provided by Jill Nudo.

Thanks to the Robeson family for granting permission to reprint a portion of Remembering Robeson*s.