Wordless (Hardly) Wednesday
Engagement Weekend
I cannot share a photo without a story. I do not like to write a story with no picture.
This photo image is dated 13 Apr 1958 - slide was getting old when I scanned it, giving it that distinctive red tinge. I’m sure Photoshop can fix it, but I kind of like it as it is.
Another key Bolger-Thomas-Smith-Kinnick moment. Nancy and I came home from our respective colleges with the announcement that we were getting married. Even wore matching shirts - that she made - talented lady, always. She didn’t really care about being in school in Cedar Falls. She wanted to be with me. I was in Ames, and just wanted to be with her while I got me education. Such a thing as living together unmarried never crossed our minds in those days, of course.
Fortunately, this group, our parents in particular, were a strong support group - before we had ever heard the term. We all talked it out. They cared deeply about us and what was best for our future. That was what we wanted, too, of course. We just weren’t seeing it quite clearly, yet. We could be engaged, but not get married until the following summer, when Nancy would have earned her teaching certificate (two year degree at the time). By having specific dates and goals to work toward, we could agree to that. We did that and it worked out just fine. What memories!! Married 61 years!
In these old photos, you always want to look at the background and ancillary things, not just the focus of the picture. Of course, if Nancy’s younger sister, Janice, and my younger brother, Paul, looked at the photo, it would be about them, not the couple in the matching shirts. For those who might not know, or remember, my parents, Eileen (Kinnick) and Pete Smith, are on the left. Nancy’s Mom, Ruth (Thomas) Bolger, (her Dad Glenn Bolger) behind, is holding Janice. On the right are my mother’s parents, my grandparents, Paul and Dorothy (Sorenson) Kinnick.
We are all in front of the fireplace at the end of “The Porch” at my parent’s farmhouse. We would call it a family room or great room these days. It was, indeed, a Great Room. Further note: my model airplanes on the shelf, left rear, and copies of Saturday Evening Post; and many books on the right, even a hymnal. The console TV is at the far left lower corner. What else do you see?
This is family history at its best!
Families are Forever! ;-)
I'd heard the story before, but it was particularly fun with the photo. Also, it's hard to believe that Great Grandpa Kinnick is just 66 and Grandma is 71. That's only a few years older than I am. They look WAY older. LOL
ReplyDeleteThat is the only way I remember their appearance. Grandpa lived to 75, had emphysema from smoking most of his adult life. Grandma lived to 95. She was tall as a young woman, shrunk a lot over the years.
DeleteThe generation before us did not age well. My dad was fifty when he died, and looked as old as I do at seventy-one.
ReplyDeleteYes, this is an interesting aspect to consider. We've had it relatively easy compared with the prior generation.
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