At the time that I managed The Heritage House, the thinking of the board was that the house would appeal for very small events – like a wedding chapel. I remember only once when it worked like that.
A woman called from Orofino one afternoon and said she and her boyfriend were getting married. It would be just the two of them on Friday afternoon. No guests, no attendants, no cake – they just wanted a place for the ceremony. Sure, I said, and told her it would be $35 for such an event. She was pleased – maybe even relieved, I thought. Did I know where she could find a minister, she asked. I suggested Stan Lyman. And would I serve as her attendant? At that point my heart went out to her because I realized she had no one special to be beside her at this important time, and I said I would. She also asked me if I could find a second witness. Yes, I said, wondering which board member I could coax into helping.
I didn't have to wonder long. Just then Johnny Johnson of Lewiston Morning Tribune fame came through the door. "Johnny," I asked, "would you serve as best man for this couple?" To my surprise, he said yes without even asking questions. It was so easy I wondered if he would remember or if he would wear a suit. (My job at the Historical Society was much the same as my job at home -- mother.)
On the appointed day, I wore a dress to work. Johnny showed up at the right time wearing a suit just as Stan Lyman walked in. The three of us greeted a beaming and nervous middle-aged couple – he in an old suit, she in a two-piece white dress with a lovely corsage. My intuition told me they had come to Lewiston that morning to shop for her dress, the corsage, maybe even the ring. They weren't prosperous but my on-the-spot assessment was that the groom was doing what he could to make the day special for his bride. Immediately following the ceremony, the bride blurted out, "Didn't I get a great guy?" And I still remember how Stan and Johnny nodded and said "uh-huh" in unison.
It turned out that Johnny was an old hand at witnessing weddings. He related that as a reporter covering the courthouse he had frequently been asked to step into the role of witness. It couldn't have worked out better if I'd had time to think about it! KW
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