Since I last talked to you, we will have been to Manhattan to celebrate the wedding of our youngest grandson Mike and his bride Samantha. I will tell you about it later but of this I am sure…it will have been quite different from the wedding of hubby and me, coming on 64 years ago. Those of us who are in the older generation now have seen giant changes in our world and noticed the changes are happening faster all the time.
Let’s begin with the planning of the wedding event. We did a few things of pre-planning to get ready for our event. Since I was attending Buhler High until graduation towards the end of May. we did drive to McPherson to get our blood test. We also drove to Hillsboro to ask my Uncle Pete Lange if he would marry us.
Since we were planning to get married in the old Buhler MB Church, my parents had talked to Pastor Toews and made arrangements to have the women bake the zwiebach for the reception. They had conferred with David Franz who ran the grocery store to make sure there was plenty of lunch meat and pickles.
John and I had arranged for our wedding cake. We also picked it up in Hutch and brought it to the church on the day of the wedding and we put it out on the serving table. That, as well as the flowers we brought from Hutch. We had also arranged with Laverne Friesen to take the wedding pictures. We had no wedding planner but just did as we thought was right.
All these chores were done the day of the wedding…June 7, 1951. We also drove through rain and hoped the road between Medora and Buhler would not flood as they usually did.
I had to get dressed in the church basement in my wedding gown, make it up the basement stairs carrying my train. My Dad was waiting for me and we began our trek up the aisle where the rest of the wedding party awaited.
You remember, there was no air conditioning in churches in those days and it was a little warm but since we were used to it in those days, it really didn’t bother us too much. I really didn’t look at the audience a lot but I imagine they were fanning themselves with the paper vans from the local mortuary. In those days the women all wore hats and gloves because that was a must.
To be nice we had asked my Uncle Pete as well as Rev. Toews to preach a wedding sermon, so the whole wedding party sat on the front benches for 45 minutes or so. By the time we had the ceremony, I really don’t remember a thing, but we said our “I dos” at the right time…I think. At least my Uncle Pete finally introduced us as Mr. and Mrs. John Schroeder and we headed to the back and down the stairs for the reception. Later, we cut the cake, went to the gift table and enjoyed looking over our gifts, which we had had someone open ahead of time.
Later, we made our way up the basement stairs and out the front door which was way up high with loads of steps to the walk down below. John’s cousins and friends all threw rice at us in a huge barrage as we made our way down. I can’t believe I made it down the steps in my wedding gown without falling.
John’s cousins, Floyd and Marie Siemens, were waiting for us in their car.
We jumped in and sped away to our newly-rented basement apartment on the other end of Buhler, near the present Sunshine Home. John and I changed into our traveling clothes and ran to their car. The plan was to get us to John’s fleet-line two tone Chevy which he had hidden at the old church in Medora, but we had to drive through water when we crossed the Little Arkansas River on the road which is now 82nd St.
Well, the car was just where he had parked it and as we ran for the Chevy, his cousins jumped out of the car with some white shoe polish and painted it up with
“just-married” slogans. We again drove through the water, driving to McPherson but the hotels were full so we drove on to Salina where we found a room.
The next day, it was noon before we had had lunch and began our trek to Colorado for our honeymoon. Neither one of us had ever been to Colorado so it took us two days to get there. But then, that’s another story…
We have come to the conclusion that the planning and expense of the wedding and honeymoon is not what makes the marriage last. It is the fact that you are both part of God’s family and you put Him first in your lives…it is then He will see you both through all the ups and downs of living in this century and you can do it with joy, as well as each other.
Doris appreciates your comments and can be reached at [email protected]
