Kankakee, IL tokens??

November 11, 2005 12:14 PM

Kankakee (Illinois) transit tokens? Well, any kind of Kankakee-related token, really - I'd like to find two of them (matching) and have them made into cufflinks for my sweetie as a holiday present...

I've searched ebay, I've Googled, I've emailed the Kankakee Historical Society - nothing.

I'm in the D.C. area, if that is relevant. I'd like to not spend a fortune.

I'd like to "wow" with this gift, and I think I can pull it off if I can get these cufflinks made...

posted by Puppy D to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (3 answers total)

Have you tried just calling the local transit concern and asking if they could mail you a couple of tokens for a fee? Their phone number is at the top of this page. It's a pretty small operation, judging by their staff page, so you might be able to find a sympathetic ear fairly easily. Be sure to explain that it's for a native son/daughter of the area (at least, I'm assuming your sweetie has some tie to the area), and be polite and friendly.
posted by Johnny Assay at 1:07 PM on November 11, 2005

25,000 people was big enough for a transit system?

OK -- Just barely. And there was interurban service to Chicago.

Maybe you could get somewhere by mining railfan newsgroups and the like.

Since most places quit using tokens decades ago this could be impossible. I suggest thinking about alternate mementos that would have -- probably -- similar impact. Maybe a baseball cap with the logo of the local shortline railroad?
posted by dhartung at 12:27 AM on November 12, 2005

One you can you have "running in the background" is a saved ebay search. Just run the search and then tell ebay to save it and email you when new results appear.
posted by exogenous at 3:33 PM on November 12, 2005