City is sweet on Caroline
Caroline Kennedy, daughter of former President John F. Kennedy, was signing copies of her holiday-themed book, "A Family Christmas."
"She is a phenomenal woman who continues to do great things," Karen Volkmer of Warrenville said. "It would have been great to hear her give a talk."
But Kennedy was just signing books at the store. Two lines moved seamlessly through the store. One line snaked through the racks toward the counter to buy copies of the book, while the second started at the registers and wound through the aisles to Kennedy's table.
Gail Wetta, an events coordinator for Anderson's, said everything went smoothly because the large crowd was expected. Kennedy signed more than 1,000 books for 550 people after nearly two hours at the table.
"People were able to have brief encounters with her," Wetta said. "There was one woman who wanted her to sign the book with a pen she brought with her that (Kennedy's) father had used to sign something."
The book was the perfect stocking stuffer for a number of people who spent the afternoon in line.
"We bought several copies to give as gifts, but we thought of someone else while we were in the signing line and so my wife went back to buy another copy," said Roger Hendrickson of Naperville. "I voted for her father, so I'm absolutely intrigued with Caroline Kennedy and the good she has done and continues to do."
This is Kennedy's second visit to Naperville in two years. In 2005, she spoke to several local junior high school students and signed copies of a book of children's poetry she had compiled.
Thursday was a busy day for Anderson's staffers, who orchestrated the Kennedy appearance in the daytime and a talk and signing at North Central College in the evening by former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw.
Brokaw was in town to promote his new book, "Boom! Voices of the Sixties."
It was going to be a busy day for Plainfield resident Carolyn Domark, who picked Thursday as the first time to go hunting for authors' signatures.
"Caroline Kennedy's book is for me and the Tom Brokaw book is for my new future son-in-law," she said. "I've never done this before, I've never really thought about doing it before, but so far I'm having fun."