Writer’s Workshop: Oak Brook resident to tell her life story in upcoming book

By Anna Hughes

Sitting on the couch of her Oak Brook home, Joan Salvato gestures to a large black photo album on a chair across the room. She jokes that, at 88 years old, it’s too heavy for her these days and asks me to bring it over to her. Despite our 64-year age difference, it was heavy for me, too. It’s full of photos, letters, and telegrams – a time machine into a different version of the world I know.

She points to a menu she saved where a prime sirloin steak costs $6.75. Seafood sits at $3.00, give or take 50 cents depending on the item. Salvato, however, never had to worry about dinner prices. She had dinners free as part of her contract singing at Mangam’s Chateau, a popular restaurant and nightclub, in Lyons.

Salvato was part of a group called The Peppermints: a trio featuring Salvato (who was Joan Erickson at the time), her sister Jane, and their friend Barbara. Dozens of beautiful black and white photos document their early days as a group in Chicago and on their east coast tour. Salvato’s eyes light up with each page of photos; the wheels rewind in her head as she carefully selects her next story.

Joan and Jane grew up in a musical household where someone was always singing or playing the piano. For a family of nine, Salvato remains impressed that neither of her parents nor her six siblings were “tone-deaf.” Despite frequent moves because of her father’s work in the lumber industry, her memories from growing up on the tail end of the Great Depression are positive ones.
“I had a happy, happy, happy childhood,” Salvato says, smiling. “Just my whole life has been. I like to brag about it.”

We gently flip the pages and she introduces me via photo to her ex-husband, the late Joe Salvato. After only six weeks of dating, they were engaged and married just a few months later. Although she wasn’t into him at first, his Italian charm and good looks won her over quickly.

Their life together was fun and upbeat, filled with family, friends that felt like family, and – thanks to Joe’s Italian heritage – delicious food. In their 32 years of marriage, they had two children, Frank and Frances, who were born in 1961 and 1965, respectively. They all moved to Oak Brook in 1972, where Salvato has lived ever since. Frank and Frances both attended Brook Forest Elementary, Butler Junior High, and Hinsdale Central High School.

“I was very active with their years and in school,” Salvato said. “I was a drama mom, a band mama, and a band booster. Any title they could throw at me I took. I was PTA president and PTO president.”

Once her kids were out of the house and Salvato could hang up her “super-mom” cape for a while, she decided to pursue a long-time passion: politics. She worked with State Sen. James “Pate” Philip for 18 years and served as the executive director of the DuPage County GOP during that time. She shows me photos that resemble a page from a history book showcasing former presidents including Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush.

“Oh, I’ve got several,” she says casually, referencing photos of prominent political figures including governors, senators, presidents, and first ladies.

While working, Salvato became very active in her church, Ascension of Our Lord Catholic Church in Oak Brook. She served as the president of their women’s club, and later joined a group called the Legion of Mary, a ministry group made up of millions of people around the world focused on evangelization, teaching, and spreading devotion to the rosary.

‘A friend of mine calls it my ‘God squad’ because whenever she asked me to pray for something or somebody and we do – all of us do – good things happen,” Salvato says. “It’s a mighty group.”

Prayer cards of friends and families who have passed are placed intricately within the photo album – a visual reminder of the unavoidable reality that goes hand-in-hand with a long and beautiful life like hers. Salvato shares the story of her father’s death, which happened on her first wedding anniversary. She still calls him “Daddy.” Sixty years later, her eyes still fill with tears thinking about how her loving father deserved more than just 41 years.

The photos of them together are in black and white. The ones of her now are in vibrant color. Salvato comments on how much she’s changed through the years, yet some things remain the same.

“I always wore a hat,” she says. “So any picture that you see a lady with a hat, that’s me.”

If the photos have proved anything, it’s that, yes, she did wear many hats: nightclub singer, loving bride, devoted mom, and loyal friend, among others. She’s adding another, though: author.

Salvato is writing the story of her life. She’s been working on it for over four years, and it currently has 20 chapters.Her son Frank is a writer, so she has the benefit of an expert’s input right at her kitchen table. Salvato is hoping to finish it by her 90th birthday in September of 2025. She’s not in a rush, though; she wants to make sure it’s exactly right.
It’s the least she can do to repay the life that’s given her so much.