March 16th came….the wedding day. Dad left the farm with his suitcase and what money he had saved. The road to Blair seemed endless that morning. He had his best clothes on and was wondering what Dorothy would be wearing. The car came up the hill to the Stricklett house and the sisters were watching for it. They called upstairs to Dorothy to hurry down, Francis was coming. Grandma Stricklett was extra pensive that morning. Dorothy was only twenty years old and had been her first child. She had helped with the housework and the younger children. It wasn’t just that…..she knew her little girl was leaving and embarking on a huge undertaking. She seemed so young to live on a farm with all the work that was sure to follow. Still, they would be near. Francis had rented the farm next to the Stricklett’s. It was just over the hill from them and the fences joined. It was the old Boston farm; owned by the in-laws of Francis’s brother, Emil. Since Mr. Boston died some years earlier and none of the children wanted to farm it she moved into town and married uncle Alfred (dad’s older brother). She wanted to keep the farm so decided to rent it.

Dorothy came down stairs with her beautiful dress on that Grandma Stricklett had made by hand. It was a work of beauty. It was a creamy white silkish material and had pale pastel embroidery down the front. The dress was mid-calf length. The under slip was just as pretty and with Dorothy’s auburn hair and brown eyes she was beautiful. Dad gulped nervously when he saw her coming ……..he couldn’t believe that soon they would be married and on their own farm. Life couldn’t be better.

All of Dorothy’s siblings came to tell her goodbye. Mary, the one next to herself, then Inabelle and Sally. Sally would be lost without Dorothy. She was only 3-years old and idolized her older sister. Next was grandma who was having a hard time trying not to cry though her heart was breaking. The couple then went looking for grandpa Stricklett to tell him goodbye. They couldn’t find him at the barn, garage or anywhere. Dorothy had been grand-dads favorite. She used to follow him in the row he was plowing with old Danny. She would walk barefoot behind him with little bare feet and follow him back and forth. She loved being outside with papa. Now came the day he had been dreading. Dorothy was as much a part of him as if she were his own heart. Grandpa was a gentle, quiet man and Dorothy had the same qualities.……..he would miss her more than the sun each morning. He couldn’t say goodbye. He hid in the haymow until they were gone………..

The drive to Omaha seemed short they were so excited. They found the place where they were planning to get married but found the waiting time would be too long. They were told they could find a minister across the river over at Council Bluffs that was also a Judge. They could obtain a marriage license there and he could also conduct the service. Beginning to feel pressured they hurried over and found the office he presided in. However, the lady they talked to said they would have to have a witness. Uncle Emil was to have met them in Omaha but he never showed up. Dad could see their only chance to get married would be to get his brother, Ted, to come and witness for them. Now, near panicking, they went back across the bridge to Omaha and drove straight to the Union Pacific shops where uncle Ted worked. Dad went to the front offices and asked who he would need to talk to so Ted could leave work to witness for them at their wedding. The lady at the desk took them to the office where the “head boss” was and Dad told of their plight. The boss told his secretary to have Ted Andersen sent to his office. Meanwhile, dad and his little bride-to-be were watching the clock fearing they would never make it back in time for the wedding to take place.

Presently the door opened and Ted came in the room holding his hat. He looked like he was about to be fired, dad said later. When Ted noticed his brother and Dorothy sitting there he frowned. The boss laughed and said, “Andersen, your brother needs your help today. It seems he’s trying to get married and doesn’t have a witness. You’re to leave right now and go straight to the office of Judge Dean in Council Bluffs. They don’t have much time so get your stuff together and leave right now.” Uncle Ted was relieved about not being in trouble but couldn’t resist saying, “I think they’re a couple of damned fools.” He wasn’t happy at all but got to the car as fast as he could.

Once more, back over the bridge at top speed, it was now near closing time. Dad was extremely nervous and uncle Ted was trying to talk them out of getting married. They and their reluctant witness rushed into the office of Judge Henry DeLong. He signed the necessary license and married them 5-minutes before closing time. They took Ted back to his car and headed for the Fontenelle Hotel. There they had a fine meal, and registered for a room. Dorothy was so overwhelmed with the excitement and beauty of it all, she sat at the desk and wrote a letter to her mother and dad. It went something like this,

“Dear Mama and Daddy, We have a swell room at the Fontenelle Hotel and it is so beautiful. I’ve never seen anything so grand. Tomorrow we go to the farm to start our life together. I am so happy. Love, your daughter, Dorothy.”

My grandmother saved the letter and it is in my mother’s things somewhere. I shall come across it again one day. I am looking at their marriage license as I write this with a clipping tucked inside. It reads of the death of Rev. Henry DeLong shortly after he married dad and his bride. He was 90-years old when he married them and died later that year. The license also carries the signature of Theodore H. Andersen. Because of that document Dorothy became my mother but then…………I’m getting ahead of my story.

Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther