It was now Labor Day Weekend and we went on a picnic to Schronbraun in southern Ohio.  Picnic in the park was a great  summer outing, and long walks.  When the weatherwas nice Saturday or Sunday afternoon we’d grill corn-on-the-cob on our hibachi grill at Hinckley Lake in MetroPark System.  We’ve gone through several grills, if that helps identify how many picnics we were on.  Who would’ve guessed that we’d move to Hinckley and spend the quarter century there?

Labor Day Weekend 1972 Al & Edie

I worked 99 hours of overtime in September 1972.  We were putting our life together and planning our future.  My husband was deliberately cut-off and hit a concrete wall driving home from work.  He called me.  I drove this damaged vehicle to Alliance, Ohio where it was repaired over the next several weeks.  An old neighbor of Al’s from Alliance loan us a car while his was being repaired.

In October we went to a Sonny and Cher concert.   We had a sibling gathering with the four oldest at my brother and sister-in-law in Washington, DC.  They married in 1971, and never told my parents until weeks after they married.  We had a great time running up the Washington Memorial and counting the steps.  We ran up the entire stairs and down to make sure we didn’t miss count!

By the end of November we decided to move up our wedding and get married in December.  Who gets married right between the Holiday’s anyway?  I guess we wanted to carry on the tradition of craziness!  I never had plans for a big wedding.  That just wasn’t for me!

Siblings: David, Diann, Edie & Frank
Birth Order: Diann, David, Frank & Edie
When God Said Come Forth, I came fourth! (of six children).

We looked for a place to call “our home” and rented the first floor of a two-family brick home. We paid $150.00 per month for rent and that was a bit high but we liked the place and it’s location at 3319 Warren Road across from Warren Road shopping center and I budgeted $15.00 every two weeks for gas!

My parents weren’t interested in my life and when they were told by the neighbors that I was getting married their reply was “We don’t have a daughter named Edith.”  This same comment made it around to several people, so there was no reason for an invite.  The scary thing was trying to keep them from interfering with our Wedding Day!

As we traveled for marriage counseling and obtaining our marriage license it was a typical scene from a love story.  There was a snow storm that hit Detroit.  Businesses were closed, but some opened late.  We trudged through piles of snow and arrived to get our marriage license only to find the office closed.  We were relieved that they were opening late.  We sat on the floor waiting for our opportunity to get our blood work and marriage license.

Our license was good for a week.  The next week we were getting married. My cousin and her husband arranged a church St. James in Livonia, Michigan where my aunt lived and she was raised as a child. We invited a few people, less than 15.  Everyone arrived the night before the wedding and stayed at local motel.

Saturday, December 9, 1972 at 4:00 pm we were married! My in-laws feared my parents would arrive but they still attended.  My aunts and cousins chose not to attend, fearing my parents!  It was the perfect wedding.  Simple, small, and sweet!  It was the perfect love story!  I wouldn’t do it any other way.

The only siblings that did not attend was my younger brother who was not quite 18 and feared the repercussions if he would attend and of course my little sister.  I did not want my younger brother to jeopardize his health and safety to attend the wedding.  I knew what he was up against!  I couldn’t rescue anyone else!  I needed to start my life and take care of myself and spouse.

Anyway, our wedding reception song was “In Heaven There Is No Beer”!  I don’t know how we got to singing that song because none of us drink!  It must have been on the radio and we’ve all been singing ever since on our anniversary.

What did they all know that I didn’t?  I’m still learning.  If I knew what I do now I would have left the state permanently and never invited them back into my life. We don’t have that crystal ball to look into the future, but we’ve made the best of our journey together.

After our reception we found my siblings piled the car with balloons!  When we stopped at the hotel, the trunk we filled with balloons and the wind and snow carried them away!   What an awesome sight and a funny prank!

The first night we traveled over to Canada and stayed in London, Canada with the intent to traveling to Niagra Falls, Canada the next morning.  The night we were married we were in bed and we heard our room door open. We both froze!  Here, the adjoining room door was not locked!  We were relieved to find that was the only problem! Memories, we just won’t ever forget it!

Niagra Falls was cold, but what does anyone expect in December.  Al had finals at Kent State University so we needed to be back by Monday.  It was the longest drive from Buffalo, NY to Cleveland in a snow storm on the interstate.  We made it safely after many hours in the car!

We traveled to Canton where he was attending KSU Stark County Branch.  Al took his finals while his dad took me to the department store where he worked looking for a bedroom set.  I never bought furniture until we rented the downstairs of a two-story home were we began our life together when we got married.  I didn’t know what I was looking for.  I didn’t mind the single mattress on the floor.  It worked for us!

In sickness and in health, tell death do us part

This was the beginning of a trusting, loving, compassionate, life partner, and commitment. It hasn’t been easy, but the most difficult events is life have built the strength in our individual personalities!  We’ve changed, but we changed together to be stronger with each situation!

Albeit, a difficult journey that no one can predict how it will unfold until you put your life in review. We have very different personalities:  Al very anxious and myself very calm!  We offset one another, and have grown together through the years. We have many flaws, changed some, and remain imperfect! That’s just who we are! LOVE and TRUST is the basis of everything!

Related articles

• Examine your motivation to marry (sacbee.com)
• Why Do People get Married Anyway? (ferlans.wordpress.com)