ANNIVERSARY

         A  few days ago was our 60th wedding anniversary. Ya I know. How did that happen? One never thinks ahead to numbers such as 60 years married.

Many people along the way support you. Helping to  get you to these anniversaries.

So this was day one.

58

       Fifty eight years ago today I put on my new suit and tie and walked across the road to the Stringer Hall Chapel and strolled down the aisle to the waiting minister. I stood facing the minister. People were coughing, shifting in their seats, dropping things. You hear much more when it's quiet. A float plane roared off the river. The Minister said, "She's left town!" Soon after , the crowd was asked to stand and there were flashbulbs popping and a shuffle up the aisle. Mrs Holman who couldn't play the organ, volunteered to play the music. Yes, the bride made it. Somebody gave the "woman" away and the veil was removed.

     Yes, today is our 58th anniversary. 

     We got together with friends and said our I do's. 

    It was a different wedding as we were married in Inuvik, NWT so didn't have relatives, just the friends.

    There are so many good things we remember about the day of our wedding. People volunteered to help us make a wonderful day. Mrs Holman was the assistant hostel administrator and took us under here wing. She played the organ and got a girl's choir to sing.

THE WAY BACK MACHINE

      This is my parents wedding photo. they were married in Feb. 1938. They were still in the depression but they decided to make a life together. It was a wild ride of ups and downs. 

ANNIVERSARY

      Tomorrow is our anniversary. Yes, you guessed it it. I was scanning slides and many memories came back.

      We were married in Inuvik. We met there and decided to get married there.

      We were both in our mid 20's and it would have been difficult to organize a wedding back home 1599 miles away.

     The Micro Manager wanted some of the traditions. Many people helped us get organized.   Most of our friends lived with us.

     We were married in the Stringer Hall Chapel. Stringer hall was a student residence for about 300 kids. The residence was run by the Anglican church so they had to have a chapel for the kids. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                    The reverend's wife set up many things for us. She played the organ. She picked the hymns. She got a choir. She found  flower girl and ring bearer. She was a sweetheart and we remember her to this day. 

          So on a bright sunny day  55 years ago the Micro Manager and I took the plunge into a long married life.

     One thing that was unique about the chapel was the painting at the front. It was painted by a pilot who stayed overnight in the hostel . Each night he was there he added to the painting. The children were hostel kids he used as models. Take a closer look and you see the kids with their parkas. 

     Unfortunately this large complex has been taken down. 

      

Ya Need a License to Get Married!

      A week or so go , a blogger I follow, found her marriage certificate in a place that was surprising. It reminded me of my marriage license.

      I met my wife in Inuvik NWT. We dated, courted , became engaged and got married there. We were in our late 20's so to go back home to be married was not an answer as most of our friends were gone. My wife had only lived in this country for about ten years and she did not have parents here. We decided to have a small wedding in the north with our friends. Some of our relatives were a little upset. It just seemed too much of a challenge to plan a wedding at a distance of 2000 miles. All went well. We had a great time.

    One little incident that we've never forgotten is getting the marriage license. We were able to make plans and set things up as we went along. Of course , getting the marriage license was one of the little details that had to be taken care of. We decided to visit the minister and tell him of our plans and ask him to marry us. Marriage licenses were a  dollar.. Ministers and others issued marriage licenses. We asked Ted for a license. Ted couldn't find the book with the licenses. Ted also said that the fee would be $2.00 as the last couple didn't pay for their license.  He couldn't remember if the book had been used up, but he promised us he would find a license for us. 

    We've always wondered who the next couple was to get their marriage license from Ted and if they paid $2.00, $1.00 or nothing.

   The micro manager just had to get this issue looked after. The hostel administrator was a minister and he had licenses. He also issued them like he was supposed to...for $1.00!
  
    We never did find out if Ted got more licenses.
     
    We've been getting rid of some of our treasures. By coincidence the wedding veil and a few other treasures were sold yesterday. Somebody was renewing vows and wanted some of the paraphernalia.

     After 49 years it's time to dispose of some great treasures.

   So the little story of our marriage license is one that we have a chuckle about from time to time.

   I would think anybody who gets married has a story that's enjoyed.

A Searchin Good Time

        My daughter is getting married in July. It's an important event as I have only one daughter and she's 39 years old. So I look forward to her wedding with a certain degree of anticipation and excitement.

       I am not a shopper. I think I've said that on this blog a few times. On the other hand my wife loves to shop and has great talent in the area. So last summer wasn't soon enough for her to buy wedding clothes. We got right at it. Soon I had a super shirt, tie, pants and belt. For an outdoor summer wedding these threads would be perfect for an old guy.

       Continuing on with the excitement of wedding preparations, my wife is now gathering up the luggage, documents, clothing and anything remotely related to the trip.

       Today my wife hit a snag. She had hung up all the wedding clothes in one place. However , the belt we had bought was nowhere to be found. We looked on all the hooks for holding belts. We looked on all the pants with belts on. We looked under beds, in drawers, and went through all closets containing clothes. I was maligned to some extent. I was accused of leaving a pair of pants somewhere with the new belt on them. I don't ever remember coming home with out pants. For me , I think I would have been in big trouble to come home without pants. She wondered if I'd gone somewhere and changed clothes for some reason and left a pair of pants behind. Not me. I don't do that stuff.

      The search resumed after supper and was widened to areas we hadn't looked in before. We were soon stumped as this search made no sense. We tried to think where we'd been and why the belt may have been worn.

     I decided to take another look at the belts on pants hanging in the closet. I looked at the buckles this time.What do you know ? The second belt I checked was the missing belt. The belt was good on two sides . I had used the brown side. We were looking for a black belt. We were also looking for a little different buckle.

      So when the lost is found there is great relief. A certain amount of anxiety and anger suddenly dissipates. The yelling stops and quiet returns.  Now I don't have to go to my daughter's wedding with my pants hanging down.

I Hate Shopping

     I'm getting to be quite a whiner lately! Really I'm fairly amiable and easy to get along with. But when it comes to shopping I am challenged and I know it.
 
    So what brings this sudden complaint? Well, my daughter is getting married next July and since Home Farm Girl and I are walking her down the aisle, I have to look pretty. Well , you say that's a year from now. I agree, but Home Farm Girl gets really nervous and has to get me ready because maybe all mens' clothes will be sold!!!

     As you can tell Home Farm Girl is the shopper. She can think of 99 questions about the fabric in a pair of pants let alone where they were made and what style they are. Okay, good for her, but my patience is gone before I walk in the store. So Home Farm Girl has quite a challenge to get me to look at clothes and try them on.

     Now I'm a comfortable "rumple." I like tee shirts, jeans, jean jackets and black and red plaid wool shirts. This stuff's comfy. With my black and red shirt I am comfortable to minus 10 C. Add a hoody and I'm good to minus 15. So I have things figured out for comfort. It maybe doesn't look too cool but it's comfortable.

     So the other day we got a nice pair of gray pants, blue shirt and yellow tie with blue and gray in it. So I will look pretty for my daughter's wedding which is outside in an arboretum in Chicago.