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January 28, 2007
By Steve Metsch Staff writer
Who knew bagpipes provided the soundtrack of love?
Dave and Kitty McKee certainly did. Their story of meeting more
than 40 years ago when Kitty was looking for a bagpipes teacher
for her brother was the reader-favorite in our "Meant to Be"
series.
Between May and December, we interviewed one couple every week
about how they met. At the end of the year, we asked readers to
tell us who had the most romantic story.
Dave and Kitty received 160 votes, almost 20 percent of the 816
cast.
"You hope to win, but, yes, we were surprised," Kitty said,
speaking from the dining room of the 102-year-old home in
Chicago's Beverly community that she shares with Dave.
The prize: dinner for two at Chef Paul's Steak and Chophouse in
Mokena.
A close second-place finish was posted by Tom and Jean Cohoon,
of Chicago's Clearing community. Their tale of falling in love
through the letters they exchanged during World War II (and
becoming engaged after having seen each other just twice) also
struck a chord with many readers.
But each story we told touched someone, and all received votes.
Dave McKee Jr. said he thought it was his parents' "unique
story" that people found appealing.
"And they do have tons of friends in the neighborhood who
support them. It's definitely a close-knit community," he said.
The McKees' romance started in 1964, when Kitty Kirk took her
brother Frank, 16 years her junior, to a Chicago Stock Yards
Kilty Band practice. She was looking for a teacher for him --
and found a lifelong love for herself.
Still, it wasn't an immediate love connection. The couple dated
briefly after meeting, but Kitty was busy with her teaching
career and the fledgling romance stalled.
Fate -- and those bagpipes, again -- changed things in December
1967. Kitty and a friend attended a festival at the Conrad
Hilton hotel, where she knew Dave and his band would be playing.
And, yes, she had been thinking about him.
"Three months later, we were engaged," Kitty said.
The pair married Sept. 14, 1968, and soon filled their house
with four active boys.
"They're nice kids who married nice girls," Kitty said. "Part of
it, too, is that the boys all belonged to the band. So they got
to see their father as a friend as well as ..."
"... the boss," Dave interrupted with a wink.
Dave McKee Jr., 37, is a Chicago police officer. He and wife
Karen have three children, Grace, 8; David, 7; and Marty, 3.
They live just five houses away from his parents.
Danny, 36, is an electrical engineer. He is married to Katie,
with whom he has 2-year-old twins, Molly and Hugh. They live in
Chicago's Canaryville community.
Matt, 34, is an operating engineer whose wife is Sue and
1-year-old daughter is Moira. They live in Evergreen Park.
Youngest son Luke, 32, is also a Chicago police officer. He's
married to Julie, and their sons are Luke, 2, and Sean, 6
months. They live in Beverly.
The boys learned the secrets of a happy marriage from observing
their parents, Danny said.
"They just know each other's space," he said. "They understand
each other. My mom is a special kind of person to have bagpipe
students in her house every Tuesday for 30 years."
Danny met Katie -- sounds like another "Meant to Be" story -- at
his family's dining room table. She was one of Dave's bagpipe
students.
"She fell in love with my dad before me," Danny said. "She
didn't want to take bagpipe lessons, her aunt talked her into
it. She heard it was a good way to meet men."
It sure was.
Matt, who played with his wife when both were kids, wasn't
surprised his parents won the contest.
"It's a good story. They're going on 39 years of marriage, and
it's still almost like they are dating," Matt said. "They still
have a lot of fun with each other. They definitely still enjoy
each other's company."
Dave, unable to shake the habit of rising early, wakes every day
at 6:30 a.m. He and Kitty go 8:30 a.m. Mass at Christ the King
Church, and then out for breakfast.
"We go to Top Notch for breakfast with 'The Romeos.' That's all
the old farts who are my friends," Dave said.
"I guess that makes me the Juliet," Kitty said.
Dave still plays the pipes with his band, as do his sons. After
about 30 years, he passed his title of pipe major to Matt.
They're gearing up for "the busy season" -- all those parties
and fests centered around St. Patrick's Day, including the South
Side Irish Parade.
Unlike many senior Chicagoans, Dave and Kitty have no plans to
become snow birds and move to a warmer clime like Arizona or
Florida.
"Why would we leave here? It's like a small town in the city,
with all the conveniences," Kitty said.
"We've been here so long. We started out as newlyweds, and our
kids all grew up here. Then, it seemed like there were no kids
for a while. Now, we are the senior citizens on the block and
all the kids are having kids and coming back."
The couple claim they have no secret to a happy, successful
marriage, but do have a bit of advice.
They key thing to remember, Kitty said, is marriage is never a
50-50 proposition.
"It's 90-10 sometimes. When the boys were little, I'd take them
to Dave's band practice. Bottles and diapers would go with us.
You have to be there for your husband," Kitty said.
Early in his 35 years working for Budweiser, Dave often put in
long nights, chatting up customers who owned bars and
restaurants.
"You really raised the kids," Dave said told Kitty. "I had Rush
Street for quite some time, and (I'd) spend hours there, getting
home at 10 or 11 at night. You never complained a bit about me
having to get a different job."
And the boys appreciate their parents' special qualities.
"Mom was well-suited for having four sons because she wasn't
very emotional and she didn't put up with any guff. She kept us
in line," Danny said.
Dave Jr. agreed.
"They both sacrificed for us. I know my Dad often worked late,
but he did that to put bread on the table," he said. "He still
found a way to go to all our football and basketball games. And
Mom knew how much the pipes meant to him and really supported
him."
Dave still practices on Friday nights, but Kitty doesn't attend.
"I think you have to have some time for yourself, too. When he
has band every Friday, I go out with the girls," she said.
"We've got new stoves, but we don't use them."
Steve Metsch may be reached at
smetsch@dailysouthtown.com
or (708) 633-5996.
A lesson in love...
 Bagpipes play
mournful renditions of "Amazing Grace," they line the streets at
the South Side Irish Parade. Rarely are they the
instrument of choice for a strolling musician at a romantic,
candlelit dinner. But for Kitty Kirk and Dave McKee,
bagpipes helped start a love story that is still going strong 40
years later.
In 1964,
Kitty and her younger brother, Frank, took two buses from their
Chicago home on Garfield Boulevard to see a bagpipe band march
in a parade in Chicago's Garfield Ridge community.
Frank was enthralled, and began
taking bagpipe lessons. When his teacher moved out of town,
Kitty took him to find a new teacher where the Chicago Stock
Yards Kilty Band practiced.
It was there she met Dave, a
fellow South Sider.
"He was a hunk," she said.
Dave liked "her good Irish face
with a nice smile."
Frank was 16 years Kitty's
junior, so Dave was relieved when he learned Kitty "was Frank's
sister, not his mother." He decided to turn on the charm.
The couple dated briefly, but
Kitty cooled things down when she discovered Dave was ready to
settle down. She wanted to focus on her career as a school
teacher, she said.
How cool? Try three chilly
years. No dates. No phone calls. Nothing.
"The girls kept asking, 'What
about Dave McKee?'" Kitty said of her friends.
In 1967, she and a friend
attended a St. Andrew's festival at the Conrad Hilton. The
Chicago Stock Yards Kilty Band would be there, and she was
hoping to see Dave.
She did.
"He thought my name was
Phyllis, but he recognized me and came over to talk," Kitty
said. "He and a friend marched across through the lobby, playing
the pipes. But I forgot my umbrella, so they marched us back
across the lobby. I felt like a celebrity."
That was in December 1967.
Their romance rekindled, they were engaged by March and married
on Sept. 14, 1968. These days the church where they wed is
gone. So is the Stock Yard Inn, where they had their wedding
reception.
 "The only thing
that has lasted -- which is great -- is the marriage," Kitty
said.
They have lived in Chicago's
Beverly community for 38 years. They raised four sons in a house
built in 1905, and now have eight grandchildren.
Kitty taught for 30 years in
Chicago Public Schools before retiring. Dave, who served in the
Army during the Korean War, spent 35 years working for
Budweiser; he was a sales manager for the beer giant's Chicago
branch when he retired. After that, he became a DARE officer for
the Cook County sheriff's department for 12 years.
Dave got hooked on the bagpipes
because his father, Hugh, also played. "It's hard to
describe. It's stirring music," Dave said. "It brings your
emotions out," Kitty agreed. "I've heard him play for funerals,
and I've cried for people I didn't know."
Bagpipes are often heard in
their home when Dave is teaching a student. He gets a kick out
of guys who call in January, hoping to learn the instrument in
time for St. Patrick's Day.
"It takes a year, at least,"
Dave said.
If you're willing to stick with
it, you may eventually learn how to play as well as Dave. And
who knows? Maybe those bagpipes will lead to your future spouse.
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November 1, 2006
By Steve Metsch,
Staff writer
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