ANNIVERSARY STIRS MEMORIES....
By Olivene Godfrey
Fifty-seven years ago today, May 1, my late husband, Ralph, and I were married in a little chapel in Dalton, GA. The church was packed with relatives and friends who had come from far and wide to attend our wedding. The weather that day was warm and sunny, and I remembered the old saying, "Happy is the bride the sun shines on.... as I dressed for the most important date of my 19 years.
Ralph's father, and mine, were Methodist preachers. So, my daddy gave me away and said a special prayer during the ceremony, and Ralph's daddy married us. We had expected that some of our friends would "decorate" Ralph's car during the ceremony so Ralph's daddy who had a brand new 1947 Chevy said we could borrow it for our honeymoon. We had packed our bags and put them in the new car's trunk before the wedding. And, we thought we were very clever when we prepared to leave in the new Chevy only to discover that someone had let the air out of one of the Chevy's tires. After a brief wait, we headed south on Old Highway 41 and a caravan of our friends followed us for several miles, blowing their car horns.
After stopping at a nice restaurant for supper, we drove to the old Henry Grady Hotel in Atlanta. At that time the hotel was quite elegant and we had reservations for three days. During our trip, we enjoyed a movie at the beautiful Fox Theater, window shopped, browsed through stores and ate our meals in nice restaurants.
This morning when I got up, I remembered that this was May 1 and I got out a bag of my treasured mementoes and found the Henry Grady Hotel bill for $16.50 dollars for three days. Add to that our meals and other expenses and it came to a princely sum in 1947, for a young couple who weren't wealthy and were just starting out in the world.
During our 55 years together, Ralph and I had our ups and downs but our love for each other always sustained us. On our 50th, seven years ago, Ralph's health was failing but he was still mentally alert. And a week or so before our anniversary, Ralph gave me some money and said, "Buy a gold chain for our anniversary and thanks for putting up with me all these years.
With tears in my eyes, I replied, "Thanks. And you haven't been too bad to put up with and you had to put up with me, too."
We both grinned and shared a quick kiss.
Our son, Barry, took us out to dinner on our Golden Anniversary and I wore the gold chain with my wedding ring on it as I can't wear rings any longer because of my arthritis in my hands.
I have worn the chain often and I think of Ralph each time I put it on, especially since he died August 20, 2002, leaving a large emptiness in my life. But, I try to remember the good times we had together and Barry and I talk about Ralph often and he lives on in our hearts.
By Olivene Godfrey
Fifty-seven years ago today, May 1, my late husband, Ralph, and I were married in a little chapel in Dalton, GA. The church was packed with relatives and friends who had come from far and wide to attend our wedding. The weather that day was warm and sunny, and I remembered the old saying, "Happy is the bride the sun shines on.... as I dressed for the most important date of my 19 years.
Ralph's father, and mine, were Methodist preachers. So, my daddy gave me away and said a special prayer during the ceremony, and Ralph's daddy married us. We had expected that some of our friends would "decorate" Ralph's car during the ceremony so Ralph's daddy who had a brand new 1947 Chevy said we could borrow it for our honeymoon. We had packed our bags and put them in the new car's trunk before the wedding. And, we thought we were very clever when we prepared to leave in the new Chevy only to discover that someone had let the air out of one of the Chevy's tires. After a brief wait, we headed south on Old Highway 41 and a caravan of our friends followed us for several miles, blowing their car horns.
After stopping at a nice restaurant for supper, we drove to the old Henry Grady Hotel in Atlanta. At that time the hotel was quite elegant and we had reservations for three days. During our trip, we enjoyed a movie at the beautiful Fox Theater, window shopped, browsed through stores and ate our meals in nice restaurants.
This morning when I got up, I remembered that this was May 1 and I got out a bag of my treasured mementoes and found the Henry Grady Hotel bill for $16.50 dollars for three days. Add to that our meals and other expenses and it came to a princely sum in 1947, for a young couple who weren't wealthy and were just starting out in the world.
During our 55 years together, Ralph and I had our ups and downs but our love for each other always sustained us. On our 50th, seven years ago, Ralph's health was failing but he was still mentally alert. And a week or so before our anniversary, Ralph gave me some money and said, "Buy a gold chain for our anniversary and thanks for putting up with me all these years.
With tears in my eyes, I replied, "Thanks. And you haven't been too bad to put up with and you had to put up with me, too."
We both grinned and shared a quick kiss.
Our son, Barry, took us out to dinner on our Golden Anniversary and I wore the gold chain with my wedding ring on it as I can't wear rings any longer because of my arthritis in my hands.
I have worn the chain often and I think of Ralph each time I put it on, especially since he died August 20, 2002, leaving a large emptiness in my life. But, I try to remember the good times we had together and Barry and I talk about Ralph often and he lives on in our hearts.
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