June 10, 1951 our parents got married.
It's a good thing they did!
I found some old pictures I just had to share,
so I'm using their anniversary as an excuse.
All the black and whites are 1951
Doesn't the picture below look like a scene from an old movie?
More of a close up
Here the newlyweds are outside the church with Mom's parents.I don't know how her parents felt on that day, but they sure always talked so well of our Dad.
Grandma told Mom she could not get married until she graduated from college. So the week after graduation, she married our Dad.
I wonder if this church is still in Fresno. Does anyone know?
The guests, including my Mom's parents, right after the ceremony.I wish we still wore hats like that.
Mom always talked very fondly of their honeymoon. Sure looks like they were having a good time.
How could they have been this happy before the 8 of us were born? It's strange to think they existed before we did.But I guess that's how it works.~To see how their family grew together go here.
I know the above is a little hard to read...it is 58 years old. But look at paragraph 4. Hazel Steinhauser won a prize at her shower...whoever she is. Can you even imagine a newspaper printing that today? Is it because they didn't have enough crime to write about?How can they leave us hanging and not tell us what games they played, and what prize Hazel won?
And look at those who attended her bridal shower. Why are men on that list??
We are also so thankful to have Susan in our lives now.
I do believe Mom would really like her.
21 comments:
I love these old black and white pictures! And that one picture does look like it could come from an old movie. They looked so happy and it really is strange to think of parents being that happy before the children come along but they are :-) Again Jill, you are so blessed and fortunate to have all of these early family pictures! I wished I were that lucky. Thanks for sharing your life!
For some reason the newspaper clipping just showed up and I have to say I love what you said about the paper not having enough crime to write about. Wouldn't that be great if that were the case today!
Those are such fun pictures. Are your parents converts? I love how they print how that lady won a prize, how funny, oh and who was there. Imagine if you didn't get invited!
Oh I never thought of that Rebecca...not being invited and then seeing all those names!!
My parents joined our church in 1955 when I was a year old. Two missionaries tracting their neighborhood.
Jill, I'm reading this at almost midnight (can't sleep) and I can't wait to have your dad see it tomorrow. He'll love it. I didn't know their anniversary was June 10--or if I did I'd forgotten it.
Great pictures! The outfits I wore in those days are very very similar to the ones your mom wore. Someday, if I get all my pictures home from my brother's basement in Spanish Fork, I'll show you some of them.
I have always known how much your dad loved Gaynor and he still does. Being so faithful and caring for so long is one of the things that endeared him to me.
Thank you for mentioning me. Your dad laughingly refers to me as "my second love" or I will call myself "your second love." I fully appreciate that. I have so much admiration and respect for your mother. I hope what I'm doing will make your dad's life a little better, while she is gone. In taking care of him I feel it is a service for her as well as for him.
I love being in your family and these pictures and rememberances bring happiness to me too.
Love, Susan
Such a sweet post! I love it all, the pictures, the captions, the newspaper article (I wish there were pictures of the gifts under the pink umbrella though, and of the little bridal dolls, and the guests!), and it's just such a beautiful tribute to your parents, the love they shared, and also a tribute that life goes on, and the love they had was enough to share with another. Beautiful post! Thanks so much for sharing it.
And I wish we still wore hats too! And I wish we still dressed like they did in the 40's and 50's!
Oh I love it!! Grandma was a doll!! Its so fun to see them young.
Jill,
YES that church DOES still exist!!! In fact, it is the church my family attended for several years while I was in jr. high and high school! First Presbyterian on M Street in Fresno is a beautiful church, especially to be married in. It has the traditional long, narrow sanctuary with wooden pews on either side and two tiers of stained glass windows on each side wall. The bottom level depicts parables from the four gospels in the New Testament and the upper level, I think, portrays the twelve disciples (six on each side). There is also a gorgeous stained glass window above the balcony in the back and one front and center. There is also a lovely steeple and a small, but beautiful, grounds with educational buildings and a lawn. I believe Mrs. Kehler (the Clovis High School drama teacher) still attends this church, as do Brandon and Kaylan Roberts. In fact, Brandon and Sarah Torna were married in that church, as well. Almost everyone I know who has seen it comments that it is the perfect church to be married in because it is so classic and lovely. I think the sanctuary might be open on weekdays...you should call the church and have Den take you to see it.
the church is still there but the address is now 1540, not 1550
Logan
Thank you so much Heidi for all that insight into that church. I think you did tell me, or I heard somewhere that the same church my parents use to attend was also the one your family attends. But I wasn't sure if the church my parents attended and the one they got married in was the same church...so thank you for clearing that up. We plan to drive by it tomorrow. I would love to go inside so perhaps we will take a Sunday and do that soon, too.
Uh, okay Logan, but how would you know this?
Susan, thank you for what you wrote...that was beautiful. We all love you and are so thankful you married our Dad. I'm sure our Mom is very pleased. She may have even tipped the cards in favor of you 2 meeting. It will be interesting to find out someday.
Our newspaper has news like the one you posted. We are still a very small-town place! I saw clippings from our paper back in the 50s though, and they mentioned things like what prizes people won, who stopped by unexpectedly, which teenagers drove by the party revving their engines! So funny! Small towns often do not have enough news to fill a newspaper!
I still have the suit mom is wearing. She graduated on Saturday and got married on Sunday if I remember right.
Susan - I so appreciate your comments and your presence in our lives.
Robin
I was thinking - back then things were a lot more formal. I don't think men came to the shower, I think the word in front of the list of names meant "Mrs." and the other word was "Miss". Women then were more known by their husband's name. Today, you wouldn't even have an article in the paper! Times have changed.
Robin, I just looked it up and June 10, 1951 was a Sunday, so you were right about that. I will have to ask Dad if she got married the day after college graduation. That seems a bit much for one weekend, but it could be.
Peggi. Thank you for clearing that up. I could not figure out why all those men came to her shower without their wives! Or really why men would come at all to a bridal shower back then.
I looked up the address and compared it to the address in the picture. I'm way smart.
Logan
This is like the most beautiful and poignant of photo essays! Thanks for sharing it with us.
Thanks, too, for visiting my blog and sharing a touching story of your own. It was so moving that I wish it could somehow be part of the original post. Now, it's almost as if the perfect conclusion is missing...
Thanks again for taking the time to add your experience to the one I told.
=)
June 10 is my youngest grandsons birthday-what an honor for him to be born on the anniversary of their wedding. I love all the old photos, especially the ones in the photo booth. They looked so happy!
And Kathy, did you notice your dad in picture #8?
No, I didn't notice. Is he the one on the very far right partially out of the picture?
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