Wednesday, March 03, 2004
GETTING TO THE WEDDING
The wedding was set for November 30th 1963. Louis and Gail were looking for a house to buy and found the perfect one atop a hill overlooking Lake Michigan. It was a two story gray with white trim and all the charm of an old sea captain’s home. They bought it ahead of the wedding and had much of the furniture they would need to start housekeeping.
I was asked to be the matron of honor and Gail’s sister-in-law was to be the bridesmaid. When I knew the colors she wanted I began making the dresses for both of us. I found pretty deep aqua velvet and chose the same color in satin for the cummerbund. They had scoop necks, long sleeves and slim skirts. When I finished I had enough material left over to make a matching dress for Becky. It was to be a surprise for Gail.
When all this was happening I worked at a junior high school in our area as an assistant baker. The sewing had to be done evenings and week-ends but I made the deadline. I mailed the dress to Gail for her sister-in-law in case alterations would be needed.
Mom and dad decided not to try and make the wedding. Dad had retired earlier that year but they didn’t want to drive the long trip. However, we went on with plans to ride the train to Chicago where we would have to change trains to Milwaukee. The children were all excited about going. At the time George was twelve, Becky was nine and John was six.
The week before the wedding President Kennedy was shot in Dallas. The country was in a state of turmoil and the shock waves touched every life. The day he was killed we were busy in the school kitchen working and chatting about normal events. When the principle came over the loud speaker with the news everything stopped and we stood in utter disbelief with our mouths open. It was unthinkable and yet we knew it must be true. Tears filled our eyes and we strained to hear any further update………later the announcement came that President Kennedy had died. It seemed impossible………
Of course upon reaching home that day I called to see if it would make any difference in the wedding plans. Louis and Gail decided to go forward because it would be too difficult to cancel and reschedule….and so the events leading up to the wedding were unforgettable to us all.
We boarded the train in Kansas City the day before the wedding and we were all in high spirits. The important day we had been planning on for so long was only one day away. The children were looking around wide-eyed about the activity in the depot and when we took the escalators down to the tracks it was awesome. A kindly old porter asked where we were going and took our tickets….noticing the children’s obvious excitement he chuckled and teased them a little. They were beyond excited.
We made the ride without event except for the first time we were seeing the towns from the back-side instead of the front where cars traveled. The children busied themselves looking out the windows and occasionally the porter would come through and talk with them a while. He was amused at their excitement of the trip.
We changed trains at Chicago and finally made our destination to Milwaukee. I can still feel the energy of the crowd getting off the train and looking for relatives to greet. Louis found us as we made our way out of the immediate entry to the station…….he was walking towards us laughing. He was alone and after all the hugs he told us to follow him through the station and he’d take us to the car. As we got to the outside doors Louis turned and said, “Aren’t you going to say hello to those two people?” I asked who he was talking about and he laughed and pointed to two people I had just passed by………it was mom and dad. In our haste to keep up with Louis and the excitement of the moment we hadn’t even noticed them standing and smiling just a touch away from us…….. it’s something we laughed about over and over………through the years…….
Tomorrow is the wedding.
Until then,
Essentially Esther
I was asked to be the matron of honor and Gail’s sister-in-law was to be the bridesmaid. When I knew the colors she wanted I began making the dresses for both of us. I found pretty deep aqua velvet and chose the same color in satin for the cummerbund. They had scoop necks, long sleeves and slim skirts. When I finished I had enough material left over to make a matching dress for Becky. It was to be a surprise for Gail.
When all this was happening I worked at a junior high school in our area as an assistant baker. The sewing had to be done evenings and week-ends but I made the deadline. I mailed the dress to Gail for her sister-in-law in case alterations would be needed.
Mom and dad decided not to try and make the wedding. Dad had retired earlier that year but they didn’t want to drive the long trip. However, we went on with plans to ride the train to Chicago where we would have to change trains to Milwaukee. The children were all excited about going. At the time George was twelve, Becky was nine and John was six.
The week before the wedding President Kennedy was shot in Dallas. The country was in a state of turmoil and the shock waves touched every life. The day he was killed we were busy in the school kitchen working and chatting about normal events. When the principle came over the loud speaker with the news everything stopped and we stood in utter disbelief with our mouths open. It was unthinkable and yet we knew it must be true. Tears filled our eyes and we strained to hear any further update………later the announcement came that President Kennedy had died. It seemed impossible………
Of course upon reaching home that day I called to see if it would make any difference in the wedding plans. Louis and Gail decided to go forward because it would be too difficult to cancel and reschedule….and so the events leading up to the wedding were unforgettable to us all.
We boarded the train in Kansas City the day before the wedding and we were all in high spirits. The important day we had been planning on for so long was only one day away. The children were looking around wide-eyed about the activity in the depot and when we took the escalators down to the tracks it was awesome. A kindly old porter asked where we were going and took our tickets….noticing the children’s obvious excitement he chuckled and teased them a little. They were beyond excited.
We made the ride without event except for the first time we were seeing the towns from the back-side instead of the front where cars traveled. The children busied themselves looking out the windows and occasionally the porter would come through and talk with them a while. He was amused at their excitement of the trip.
We changed trains at Chicago and finally made our destination to Milwaukee. I can still feel the energy of the crowd getting off the train and looking for relatives to greet. Louis found us as we made our way out of the immediate entry to the station…….he was walking towards us laughing. He was alone and after all the hugs he told us to follow him through the station and he’d take us to the car. As we got to the outside doors Louis turned and said, “Aren’t you going to say hello to those two people?” I asked who he was talking about and he laughed and pointed to two people I had just passed by………it was mom and dad. In our haste to keep up with Louis and the excitement of the moment we hadn’t even noticed them standing and smiling just a touch away from us…….. it’s something we laughed about over and over………through the years…….
Tomorrow is the wedding.
Until then,
Essentially Esther
