Oglesby artifact donated by L-P teacher to JFK Presidential Museum

A 1960 hard helmet owned by a worker at the Lehigh Portland Cement Company in Oglesby soon will be featured at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston.

The helmet features a painted portrait of JFK with the words “vote for Kennedy” written underneath. It was created by John Suarez Sr., who lived in Oglesby, before his death in 2012.

After his death, his wife and son gave family friend Troy Woods the helmet for his history classroom at La Salle-Peru High School. Woods used the helmet to talk about JFK to his students and show how he appealed to working class people.

Ten years later, Woods saw information for donating items to the JFK Museum on a flyer. He sent an email to the museum, and said he was excited and pleasantly surprised when he received a positive response three weeks later.

John Suarez, the son of Suarez Sr., said his dad would have loved that the helmet made it into the museum.

“Knowing that he is tied to something as historical as Kennedy and thinking about all the great people that have worked at that cement mill down at Oglesby … (knowing) that my dad has a piece of that tied to Kennedy in a museum would make him proud,” Suarez said.

Woods said this is especially exciting and significant for him as a person who both knew Suarez Sr. personally and is now a history teacher. Woods and his son were childhood friends, went to college together and taught at L-P High School together for 10 years.

“I remember as a little kid seeing (the helmet) down in the basement when we were playing. I can remember John Suarez Sr. telling me he made it and how much he admired Kennedy, and now it’s something that’s part of history,” Woods said. “It’s a perfect example of how history isn’t just something that happens to other people far away.”

Suarez said his dad was hardworking, honest and a big fan of Kennedy. He was the son of two Spanish immigrants, and Suarez said his parents viewed Kennedy as representing the best of what America could have been.

Suarez said his father didn’t graduate high school or go to college, but he was smart and a great role model growing up. Besides working at the Lehigh Portland Cement Company where he fashioned the helmet, he was also a Realtor, professional photographer, woodworker, postal service worker and US military veteran.

“I never met a person that was selfless like my dad was ... I was not a good student growing up and went through junior high in Oglesby struggling, but he was patient with me and kind. My parents were so very patient with me and it helped me stick with it.”

After high school, Suarez looked to further his education at Illinois Valley Community College. Suarez said the administration looked at his grades and instead gave him an application for the cement mill. He said his father told him to acknowledge the rejection and continue to work hard at his goals.

Suarez now has a doctoral degree in educational leadership, which he obtained the year his father died. He lives and works in Florida as a scientific researcher for the Defense Department and as an adjunct professor at the University of Central Florida and Purdue University.

“I could not have asked for a better role model. A lot of the things I did as a professional in terms of teaching, as a superintendent, as a principal, were things that he taught me about helping others and putting the greater good ahead of my own,” Suarez said.

The process of donating the helmet to the JFK Presidential Museum is not yet complete. Woods has signed all the necessary paperwork and is waiting for instructions on how to mail it. He said he’s glad the museum wants the helmet so it can continue on and become part of history.

“(The helmet) shows the appeal Kennedy and the Democratic Party had for working people back then,” Woods said. “I want to make sure people can see it so there’s some continuation of it after my teaching career.”