Gran's Memory Keeping Corner

On a hot Sunday afternoon in August, 1970, I met my one true love, David. His Aunt Madge and my Great-Uncle Gurley had been married for years then one day both of them wanted David and I to meet. Aunt Madge called to my house and asked if I come over to visit with them and meet her nephew David. I asked my mother but had no idea that I would get to visit... I hadn't yet been allowed to date or go anywhere with a boy. I was surprised, I was allowed to go over to their house.

I had no idea what to expect concerning their nephew David, however he had seen a baby pictures of me that were hanging on their living room wall. As I rang the doorbell , Aunt Madge welcomed me into her living room to have a seat as she brought David in to introduce us. She called and called for him. There was a short delay in his appearance. Later I found out that he watched me get out of the car and walk to the door. Then, he ran onto their back porch to hide. He told Aunt Madge that I was too pretty to want anything to do with a plain old guy like him. Needless to say, the two of them convinced David to come and meet me.
When he entered the room I was so surprised. He was tall with light brown hair, very well groomed, and when he smiled he had gorgeous dimples that made him even more attractive. He stood there all smiles , quiet and blushing. I smiled and blushed as well. During our visit when I was speaking to one of them in the room I could feel David staring at me and watching my every move, as I did his. It was a perfect attraction as both Aunt Madge and Uncle Gurley thought. David's manner of speech and soft spoken voice made me feel special. It was as though we were always together. Ahhh, the feeling of love!

During the next week each day was filled with sweet daydreams of David. He called me three times during the week after work. In the 70's it was a long distance call because he lived in a city 20 miles away from me. By the end of the month, he had to give his mother have of a weeks pay for his phone calls. Yes, I carried the phone into another room to talk.I was interrupted a million times it seamed by my mother or brother Tony.

Aunt Madge called and asked my mother if I could ride with them to the mountains on Sunday. She gave me permission so we stopped and picked David up as we headed to the mountains. He came out the door all smiles... I was sitting in the car smiling back the same way. As we began to drive away from his home, David asked me if he could hold my hand. Of course, I said yes. He was always handsome and a gentleman at all times. After a few hours of riding it was time for a lunch break. We stopped at a little small dinner where we all ate hot dogs that were filled with onions... what a meal as you are trying to get to know one another. It was a GREAT time holding hands and talking. Now it was time for an official date.


David called and spoke with my mother asking if he could take me out on a date. He asked to take me out to eat at Shonney's and then we were going to a Four Seasons Concert at the coliseum. By this time she was ok with me dating David. He came to pick me up in his green VW Bug . We drove for 20 minutes before we arrived at the Shonney's for our dinner. It was one of those times that I was so excited that it was hard for me to eat. I was hungry however, I picked with my food. David of course, ate like most men do. He didn't appear to be nervous at all.

Following our dinner we drove on to the coliseum. We had a wonderful time sharing in this experience together. Many of our favorite songs we shared. At the concert he purchased the double album set of the Four Seasons. He then a few weeks later had a friend who transferred them onto eight track tapes so that we could listen to them as we rode around in the car. This was the beginning of a great relationship with my very best friend.

Scrapbook pages of our wonderful Summer together at the beach with my grandparents and then another trip camping as a family at the beach.

( To Be Continued)

As the weeks and months passed by, we both knew that we had found "The Love Of Our Life" and we began to collect furniture and started buying things for our hope chest. Each item purchased was stored in my basement until we were married. My mother and dad were not happy about this situation at all. They told me that I had to wait until I was 18 to get married because they wouldn't sign for us to get married. My dad felt that if I got married while I was still in school that I wouldn't finish school. He was afraid that I would become pregnant and then wouldn't be allowed to graduate with my high school class. I was to be the first one in our family to graduate from high school, this is probably why he felt so strong about the situation . I assured him that I would make sure that this didn't happen, but you know how dad's worry.

David proposed to me and gave me a diamond in August which made my parents angry. We could see each other only 1 day during the week and we had the choice of 2 weekend days with Friday counting as one of those. Normally David would drive to see me on Wednesdays. On these evenings it would be around 7:30 pm before he would come due to his work schedule. We would go out to get something to eat and sit and talk for about an hour. Then we would cruise the circle in town and then David would leave for home. We didn't have much time however, we treasured our times together.

My grandparents invited David and I to go with them to the beach during the week of July the 4th. This was the only way that we were allowed to go to the beach was if I stayed with them and David had his room next to ours. At night we: walked on the boardwalk, rode rides, ate cotton candy, candy apples, french fries, corn on the cob, hot dogs, and Britt's Doughnuts made per order. As you approached the boardwalk the aroma of Britt's Doughnuts drifted through the crowd of people. This was my favorite place to visit on the boardwalk and soon became David's as well.

The next day, we drove down to the Fort area at the rocks. David wanted me to go to the rocks in the water for him to take a picture of me. I went barefoot which was a bad mistake. I was afraid of cutting my feet on the oyster shell barnacles attached to the rocks. This photo has been a conversation piece throughout the decades. LOL. We had a wonderful week that truly indicated to each of us that we had found the Love Of Our Life.

Again, David and I joined my grandparent's Labor Day weekend on a camping trip to the Beach. My Papa went deep sea fishing and returned with a variety of fish. He had red snapper, king mackerel, and shrimp. Needless to say, we had enough for the entire campground to join our fish fry. David was know as the Chief of the Beach. It was a wonderful time for us to meet people from other states. Our campsite was the popular place for everyone to gather during our stay. Sunday morning worship meeting was our last time to fellowship with our new found friends until the next year on Labor Day weekend.

Upon returning home it was time for me to get back into school and the books. During this time, things were very difficult at home. It was my responsibility to provide care and meet the needs of my younger brother, Tony. Week days we had to stay at home in the dysfunctional home life because of our school assignments. However, on the weekends, one of us would stay with our maternal grandparents and the other one with our paternal grandparents. Without a reprieve on the weekends from our home life situation, I don't think that either one of us would have become the people that we are today. God gave us the BEST two sets of grandparents that any child could have ever wanted. Our two Remarkable Grandmothers, had what it took with God leading, to help us make it through the many rains of adversity that poured on us during our childhood.(Two Remarkable Women- Link) At the end of each weekend it was time for us to go back home. We never knew what we would find as we walked in the door. Once we were in the door, it was then, my time to wash clothes, clean house and prepare our lunches for the following day. It was hard putting my brother off the bus at one school and then me getting on another and going to the high school. In the afternoons as the bus turned the curve near our house, we both would take a deep breath before stepping off the bus.

On most Wednesdays we would take Tony along with us due to the situation at home. As the school year came to a close we began to prepare for our wedding the following November. Eventually , my mom and dad knew that we were determined to get married so they stopped saying anything. David and I went to my parents in September and told them that we wanted to get married in November so that we could spend all of our time together.

As word got around in the family one of my aunt's gave us a bridal shower. We had approximately 30 guest come to the shower. My aunt wanted David to be at the shower and assist me in opening the gifts. It was rare in the 70's for men to attend showers. My Papa came so that David wasn't the only man there. In about an hour my mom and dad came stumbling in at the shower. We handled the situation very well and kept them as calm as possible without causing a scene.

The following week, we rented a house and moved our belongings in and set everything up as we had discussed. A week before our Wedding Day , David and I discussed that we wanted Tony to come and live with us to keep him safe. We talked to him and he was happy about staying with us. We didn't give my parents a choice to say no. They didn't argue the point.
On our wedding day morning we posed for a soon to be family picture. My maternal grandparents,my parents, Tony and David and I attended the wedding. You can see how small Tony was in the picture.

Upon arrival at the court house we picked up the marriage license we went to the First Baptist Church. At the moment that the license needed a signature everything got very quiet. Can you guess who signed for us to get married? Yes, my dad. After the ceremony he told us..."Your life will not be a bed of roses...it will be hard, and those roses have very sharp thorns. Well you didn't listen so... you have made your bed hard now you will have to sleep in it." I cried all the way from the church to the Holiday Inn where we were staying . At check in time we carried our luggage in and unpacked everything. By this time, I had calmed down from my dad's comments.We then went out for dinner at one of the restaurants (that was considered to be upscale back then) near by. Our meal and the rest of the evening was like a dream come true for the two of us. David had to return to work on Monday so we only had 2 nights and day before we returned to our home. We agreed that one day we would take a second honeymoon that would last at least a week sometime in our future.

On the scrapbook page you will see the original ring receipt, Holiday Inn receipt, and our marriage ceremony.

The newspaper clipping was to announce our wedding.

(To Be Continued)