HARD-TIMES WEDDING

Here's another set of wedding photos, and again I have no written information about the day. But if a picture is worth a thousand words, surely we can deduce something about that day. And, of course, I do have general knowledge of the people and the place.

The bride is my dad's younger sister, Shirley Dobson. The groom is Henry Shockley. I know from my grandmother's letters that Henry began to "come around" in 1932 at the suggestion of a neighbor. Shirley was already 25, so perhaps the neighbor saw a pleasant young woman living at home with her mother and father – a young woman who truly would sink into spinsterhood unless someone tried to help. No harm done, as they say. In fact, when Grandma Ina wrote to my dad about Henry's calls, that's exactly what she said – "no harm done."

Shirley and Henry courted for the next five years. He accompanied her to such activities as the young adults had in the Gilbert community – mostly a "literary society" that met at the school under the leadership of the teacher. They developed programs and plays. And they also met in one another's homes of an evening to listen to the radio and play games like anagrams. There were probably not ten such "young unmarrieds" in the area.

On June 24, 1937, the bride and groom met at the home of the bride's parents for a quiet wedding. The bride is wearing a lovely new suit in the style of the day – an outfit that will serve her well in the future. In my mind's eye the suit is gray or light blue. Perhaps the groom has a new suit as well. Undoubtedly they spent money they themselves had saved. Times on the farm are now lean for the old couple, but Grandma Ina and Grandpa Jack are wearing their best "church" clothes.

Shirley's only attendant was her older sister, Myrtle, the family's second child. Myrtle, a single woman of 40, lived and worked in Portland, so she arranged to come for the wedding. I think she bought a new dress for the wedding – something she could wear again. Note the sleeves – very stylish! You can tell they feel very "with it." And it appears that the bride's brother, Earle Dobson, served as best man. Earle was a school teacher in Idaho Falls but returned to the farm during the summer months to help with the harvest.

Of course, I have many questions about that day. Who officiated the ceremony? Was the ceremony in the house before the fireplace or in the yard? Were the neighbors invited? Was there a reception? Did they have a cake? Maybe there was a wedding supper. There's no one to ask. Everyone who might know is gone.

Within a few years, Shirley and Henry would move to Seattle where he worked for Boeing until his retirement. They raised two daughters, Roberta and Marilyn, with whom I have lost contact.

Sometimes I wonder to myself why Shirley and Henry waited so long to marry. Perhaps they couldn't afford to establish their own home sooner. When I worked at the museum, one of my very good volunteer board members related that she and her beau waited many years before marrying, maintaining a long-distance romance through correspondence. It seemed to me that such waiting constituted a waste of youth, so I asked my friend why they had waited so long. With a sniff and a toss of her head, she said, "There were things to be done." Perhaps Henry and Shirley also had "things to be done" before they could marry.