When I graduated from high school, I got a job at the local paper.  My favorite boyfriend at the time was in the Air force, stationed in south Dakota.  He didn’t come home real often, so I did go out with other boys.

At the same time, my cousin, June, had graduated from college and was teaching school.  She loved square dancing, and met a boy named Earl from Bodcaw who also liked to square dance.  The problem they had was transportation.  Earl didn’t have a car because he and his brother, Charles, shared a car in college, but Earl dropped out of college to help his Dad on the farm.  To solve their transportation problem, Earl would get one of his friends to bring him to see June and have a date with me.   I can remember about three times this happened.

His brother, Charles, was home from college one weekend and they both came up.  I was Charles’ “blind” date.  We drove out to a local pond where Charles “impressed” me with a rod and reel that someone had given him.  I later learned that he knew absolutely nothing about a rod and reel and didn’t really like to fish.  What was even funnier was that I knew even less than he did.  My first impression of him as that he was very conceited.

We dated a few times.  Then in November of 1953, Earl and June got married.  I was June’s Maid of Honor, and Charles was Earl’s Best Man.  We had a lot of fun trying to chase them after the wedding, but they out-smarted us.  We had been telling them all the bad things that Charles had done to his friends at college and weddings, so they were prepared for the worst.

In December, Charles was inducted into the Army.  He went to OCS at Ft. Belvoir, Va., and graduated as a 2nd Lt.  Then he was assigned to Ft. Hood, Tx., but had a 2-week leave before going to Texas.  By this time, we were having lots of fun together.  One night we were parked on a country road, were laughing and talking.  Then he said, I thought jokingly, “Why don’t we get married?”  But learned that he was serious.  It was something that I had not anticipated, and kinda scared me.  I said, “No.”  He said, “Well, I won’t ask you again, so if you change your mind, you will have to ask me.”

He was scheduled to meet with 3 other instructors at Ft. Hood, and they were to tour five states (Tex., Okla., Ark., New Mexico and La) teaching Mine Warfare.  Before he left, he gave me his itinerary, and I mailed a letter to him at each place.  At his last stop, I called him and said, “Yes.”

I thought we could have a simple wedding, but he insisted on a church wedding.  That made me very nervous, but I had an aunt who helped me plan it.  We were married May 30, 1954, in First Methodist Church in Hope, which has been torn down.  Harvest Foods’ back faces the former church location.  One of my sons tells people, “My Mom and Dad were married in the produce department of Harvest Foods.  June was my Matron of Honor and Earl was Charles’ Best Man.  We celebrated our 50th Wedding Anniversary in 2004, and our daughters-in-law did a fine job of decorating—using manikins with my wedding dress and Charles’ uniform on them.