Friday the Blauvelt’s were in Osborne for the funeral of Rita’s nearly 98-year-old mother, Margaret Chatham. While we had not anticipated the funeral, we had planned for weeks to be in Osborne for a family reunion scheduled to be held in the Osborne Free Methodist Church’s fellowship hall. And we were in the hall for several hours but we also went with family, Chatham neighbors and friends to the funeral held at the Osborne cemetery.
The Osborne funeral home was in the midst of a remodeling project and not available and since the family was already gathering in the church, the funeral was held at the gravesite.
It was a fitting location for a farm wife’s funeral. A combine was running in a nearby field and trucks loaded with wheat headed to the elevator were zipping past.
I didn’t see a wheat truck at the funeral but several of those people attending had left the harvest field to attend the funeral. Often they had left other members of their harvest crew to continue bringing in the grain.
You may take a person out of the country but you can’t take the country out of a person. When Rita visited her mother about two week’s earlier, Mrs. Chatham asked to be taken for a ride in the country. Her interest in crops and cattle remained strong until the end.
This has been a family week. Monday Rita and I observed our 35th wedding anniversary. Early that morning Rita made a dark cake which accompanied us to work. (Keep reading to see the significance of the dark cake.”)
Monday was much like the day we were married. I worked at the newspaper office until about 2 p.m. and then drove to the Chatham farm for our 4 p.m. wedding.
When we picked the wedding date, we expected the Chathams would be harvesting wheat and the wedding would be performed in the field at the afternoon lunch break. However, the drought that year was even more severe than this year’s and there was no wheat to cut.
Being married in a wheat field with a combine in the background of our wedding pictures would have made for a good wedding story but that wasn’t to be.
When I started in the newspaper business, we printed wedding and engagement stories in every issue. We are still willing to do so without charge but for some reason we have few opportunities to do so. It is a custom we want to encourage.
Looking through prior issues of area newspapers, I enjoy reading the wedding engagement stories. Found one this week while skimming through a 1934 issue of the Nelson Gazette. I had to read it more than once for the first time I missed the key words, “mock wedding,” and that it provided entertainment for a bride’s shower.
The story follows:
A miscellaneous shower, sponsored by Mrs. Clarence Gharring, given in honor of Mrs. Lillian (Hickstein) Warneking, was given at the home of Mrs. Paul Hickstein, on Tuesday afternoon. The time was spent in games, among which was a mock wedding. You should have been there to see the Rev. Doris Kauffman in formal attire, unite the lovely Lelia Allen in wedlock to Mr. Amber Bergman.
The bride was attired in silk crepe of peach shade, having a flowing train of the latest style in sugar sacks. Her veil was imported lace curtains of four hues and designs. This formed a cap with head wrath of purple alfalfa held in place by a beautiful ornamental dog collar, a gift of the groom. She wore the latest in jewelry among which were her fascinating doughnut earrings and ivory wrist watch. To complete her costume, she wore high top grey and white kid buttoned shoes, held in place by pink lacings. She was indeed a lovely bride and was loud with her sincere, “I will—not.”
The bridegroom was attired in new fashion tan. Little Maudie Linholm attired in a brief costume of white silk and pink crepe scattered lilac boughs in the bride’s path. Her curls were tied with a large pink bow.
Little Fern Rouse was the bearer of the large solid iron ring which was carried on the latest in cushions. She was dressed like the flower girl only in blue and white.
The bride’s attendant, Miss Doris Hickstein, was attired in a pink gingham ruffled gown. The best man was Clelia Gharring dressed in conventional overalls and accessories to match.
The two little train bearers: Lillie Corman and Marlyn Minert, were dressed to fit the occasion, as also were Mrs. Warren Long who rendered the solo, “Just before the battle mother,” preceding the ceremony, and Vera Wood who played the grand march “Jingle Bells” for the processional, and “Nearer, My God to Thee” (in funeral style) as a recessional.
It was a grand, gay sight as the wedding party swept down the old staircase. The brides of the summer would do well to take some hints from this fashionable occasion.
There were objections. The complaints from the lovely Chloe Brooks were mostly of having been rejected by the bridegroom. Objections were overruled, however.
At the close, many beautiful and useful gifts were presented to the guest of honor by the bride and bridegroom.
Refreshments of light and dark cake and ice cream were served.
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