75 Years Ago Today

Vi and Ken

Married June 12, 1933

Seventy-five years ago my parents married on June 12, 1933. It was the Great Depression, so they didn't have a formal wedding with guests and gifts, a band and dancing, cake and punch. It was a quiet affair.

Mom was from Boise and Dad from Salt Lake, so there were small family dinners in both locals and write-ups in both area's papers. Mother wore a lovely tailored gray suit with matching hat, shoes and purse. A touch of her pink blouse peeked out near the neck of the suit. My father, always dapper, looked especially dashing that day. . . he was so tall and slim. They made quite the handsome pair.

Vi in Grandma Eardley's Wedding Dress

In 1903, thirty-years before my parents married, my grandparents were married. Grandma had a beautiful wedding gown which looked so lovely on my mom, but she didn't wear it to her wedding.

Vi and Ken

June 12, 1983

On June 12, 1983, we honored our parents with a Golden Wedding Anniversary party at the Lion House. It was the reception they never had. They greeted hundreds of guests, enjoyed live music, danced, opened gifts (from kids and grand kids), ate wedding cake, laughed and had a great time. Guests enjoyed refreshments and entertainment. Everything was photographed and video-taped.

1983 was the summer of the "Great Flood" in Salt Lake. (See TravelinOma's blog of May 27th.) A "controlled" muddy river from our canyons ran down State Street. The Lion House is located west of State Street. Most of the guests lived east of State, which meant they had to park in a lot east of the river and walk a couple of blocks and cross over a bridge to get to the Lion House. Thankfully, the weather was good and no one complained.

Cutting the Wedding Cake after 50 years of Marriage

My sister-in-law spent several months appliqueing and quilting a beautiful quilt which we displayed. The grandchildren practiced songs to sing and they performed delightfully.

The Quilt

The Grand Kids (minus Two)

What was it like Seventy-five Years Ago?

Well, first and foremost:

• The Chocolate chip cookie invented by Ruth Wakefield

But there were some other important things happening in the world:

• Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge began in San Francisco Bay.
• Nazi leader Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany. Later in the year the Reichstag passed a law making him Dictator.
• Mount Rushmore National Memorial was dedicated
• FDR was sworn into office as President of the US. His Inauguration Day on March 4 was the last time the ceremony was held on that day.
• First modern sighting of the Loch Ness Monster
• Mohandas Gandhi began a 3-week hunger strike because of the mistreatment of the lower castes in India. Later in the year, he was imprisoned.
• Censorship began in Germany with the Nazis staging massive public book burnings.
• Gestapo was established
• Lawless criminal such as Pretty Boy Floyd, Machine-Gun Kelly, and the Barrows gang were constantly in the news.
• Albert Einstein arrives in the US as a refugee from Nazi Germany.

What a frightening time to marry, but no more so than today. Things change, but they also stay the same.

"In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart."
— Anne Frank

Mom has been gone for ten years, dad for twenty-three. We miss them every day, but especially at holidays. Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad!