Planning Our Wedding

After Christmas, and New Years..We got down to the business of planning our wedding..We decided on Friday, February 11th at 7:30PM ... and we wanted to be married at my Parents house,..my Mother and Father seemed very pleased to hear that...that didn't leave a lot of time to get everything planned, and gather up furniture, etc...and get a place to live...well, the place to live kind of fell right into place...my father had worked with a very nice man about his age, for years..he and his wife had no children, and Mother and I had met them, in fact, when they lived in Jacinto City..well, they had bought a large house nearer to his work, and on the lot was a garage apt..which they wanted to rent out...as of yet , they had not done so, ..when he heard that we were getting married soon, ...he told Daddy, to ask us if we would like to see the apt, and think about it...that was perfect...there was 1 bedroom, living room, kitchen and bath..that was it, but all that we needed..i thought it was the cutest apt...we went and looked and it, and told them to save it for us...well, they were the sweetest couple, and kind of "adopted" us...Mrs Rogers waited on her husband hand and foot, and I think she would have gladly done the same for us...well, we liked them very much, and respected them, but we wanted to do for ourselves, our own way., ..having rented the apt..we started thinking about furniture...at the time, we had to furnish the kitchen completely...the only new furniture that we moved in with was a red dining room table and 4 chairs to match...Mother and Daddy give us a couch, that they had for years, but was still in good shape, and clean, ...I took my bedroom suite with me, ..also my hope chest, and by the time different ones in the family gave us furniture that they didn't use, or could spare, we had everything we needed...it was a "Family Project"  to gather up "Irvin and Ann's stuff for their apt"...Mary Frances gave us a wedding shower a couple of weeks before the Wedding, and we got all of the towels, sheets, cooking sets, dishes, etc..that we needed,...I had gone down to Kress's and bought a iron (I used that iron for at least 30 years until it "died" on it...we finally got around to picking out ones to stand up with us..I asked my Cousin, Neta to be my Matron of Honor( she had lost her husbanf of nine months a couple of years earlier), we wer the same age, and always have been close., in fact, she came after Marvin passed away, and stayed with us the biggest part of a year..I was working, and had just started writing to Irvin while she was with us..she looked for work, but had no luck, and finally, My Uncle and Aunt in Texas City asked her to come and take care of their Children, while Dorothy worked......Irvin asked his friend, Oscar...now Oscar was a bachelor, and not dating...since the two, (Neta and Oscar have never met, we thought it would be good if we got together, and took them to a drive-in  theatre to see a movie with us...WE play Match Maker that night, not really meaning to do so...but Oscar called Neta the nest day, and they were married in April after we married in February of 1955..

Christmas-1954

The weeks before Christmas were really busy for us both, and I often noticed my Mother and Irvin whispering together, so I thought o.k., He is probably trying to find out what I want for Christmas or something like that...well, in those days, it seems like everyone bought things that people really needed, like clothes, etc...(to go back , a bit), when I was a child, I always wanted a pretty "Baby Doll", as we called them, ..as my friend, Donnie always got one every year...I would shamelessly sneak and find my present, and unwrap it enought to be able to see if I had finally got that "pretty baby doll", I think my Mother thought I was too old, even at the age or 7 or 8 to have a doll, well, I always got PJ's , as we girls called them, houseshoes, and then one year a PJ , doll...now this was a fuzzy , soft  , pink pillow like with a zipper on it , with a dolls head on it, to hold my PJ's was my Christmas present...this one year, I didn't try to find out what my present was, thinking, o.k., maybe I will get my Doll...of course, Donnie got a beautiful doll, with "hair", really "uptown" in those days...we would always get together after opening our gifts..now , her family opened theirs , Christmas mornings, and my family Christmas Eve...so after Breakfast, we would meet at one of our houses to compare our presents.. I know this sounds sad, ..but , times were different then, and most everyone had to do the best they could...now, Donnie's Mother  , as I said before worked, and her Father also worked at the "Ship Yard" . , her Mother didn't work but , during the war, but had managed to put money back, and even having 4 Children, she went "all out" on Christmas..and she was almost "Child like" during the holidays, enjoying them so much....I know I am going on and on about this doll thing, but to this day, I love Dolls..       O.K., back to Christmas 1954, It was a exciting time for me , and the days just flew by, and we enjoyed driving around "looking at the Christmas Lights", and every year, downtown was always lit up so beautifully..the Foley's window always had a Beautiful  Tree, and a different scene put out each year...people would come into downtown Houston from miles around, just to walk around downtown, and look in the store display windows at Christmas...My Father always cut down our tree..and up until I was almost grown, we always had a pine tree...after, Irvin and I married, we bought a cedar tree, (a LARGE tree)...well, in 54, my Daddy cut down a larger tree than usual for us..he would go up toward East Texas to cut our tree, and Mother and I went with him, the last 2 or 3 years that I was at home, I didn't go, ..He and Mother went, I usually had other things I wanted to do or places to go...Irvin and I decorated the tree together that year at my parents home..I was at a loss to what to get him for Christmas, and finally decided on a jacket...now, as I think back, I don't really know why I didn't get something more "exciting", but thought that would be "useful" for him..I had no idea what size he wore...he was and still is a slim, trim, man..and my Brother being slim also, I got the dumb idea, that I would ask him to meet me downtown at one of the Men's stores and try on a jacket and help me pick out one for Irvin on our lunch hour..now , he worked at one of the buildings downtown, as a Draftsman...my Brother was at least 6 ft tall, long arms..and he and Irvin were built up completely different...a jacket that fit my Brother, was in NO way going to fit , Irvin...I was 23 years old, but very dumb about buying Men's clothes, as I think back now, that WAS a dumb thing ...anyway, I bought a tan(even the color was drab) jacket, and remember , thinking , "What a good gift", this will keep him warm, he will like this..I don't think , I would have liked it...it is strang how you think, when you are young....well, Christmas Eve finally came, and Irvin came over early that evening, we had supper, helped with the dishes, and got our coffee, or they got theirs, and I got my coke, and went into the living room to open our gifts...I had bought my Mother a 'Shawl", very popular that year, and my Daddy, (I try to remember, but some reason, it won't come back to me", but am sure, it was something I thought would be "useful", also, I try to remember if my Brother and Mary Frances, and Frances Gail were there, and I think they were, because, everyone seemed to be acting what I thought was "Strange", well, all the gifts were opened, and  everyone was trying on and thanking each other., and Mother , said, "OH, I think there is something in a box, up in the tree", It was hidden well, in the tree, and i was told to get it, well, by that time, It struck me!, I was SO excited, and opened that box, and there was MY RING!, The best Christmas Present, I have EVER got!...It was BEAUTIFUL!, and I remember that night, laying in bed, with my hand up in the air, looking at my ring almost all night..I think after we settled down, Daddy got his egg nog out, and we all drank some...A Special Night...

Fall and New Beginnings

We got back to going out every night, ..either walking and talking or to a movie , to visit some of our families or going to our hangout, the Corral, and getting a coke...Irvin after much thought decided to go and enroll in Massey's Business College, now this was downtown..a couple of blocks from where I worked..he was interested in taking an Accounting Course...I had gone there before I started working for the Gas Company for a few months, and took a typing class, along with English, Shorthand(which , I droppped after a few classes)..I loved the typing, and the English , and Spelling(I need a refresher on that one, badly)..Mainly these courses were just a extention of High School courses., but I learned so much more in the typing class, and was able to apply to get my job at Houston Natural Gas...We met almost every day for lunch at Steve's Barbeque , which was right next to Massey's Business College..A lot of the people from the Gas Company went there to eat..A small place, with almost like school desks around the walls to sit at, you put in your order at counter, got it, and went and sit down, the way I remember it, they served mostly barbeque, and it was good..there were not many places to eat in that area at that time, so that was pretty much it...i worked from 8:00 to 5:00 with two, 15 min. breaks,..we usually went up to 6th floor to the workers "lounge"..where we could get either coffee, hot tea, or cokes..a lot of the time, I got hot tea..we had an hour for lunch...sometimes , since Kress Store (a popular store at that time, which at least in Texas has gone out) was only a few blocks from where I worked , I would go down and shop very quickly..I remember buying a lot of things for my "Hope Chest" there in the "basement" of Kress"es..it was a earlier version of Walmart, with cheaper prices than the High End stores like Foley's, etc...to get back to Business College, ... Irvin would come over and use my Typewriter (which, by the way was a Remington Manual ) to practice ....Daddy had bought this for me, when I enrolled at Massey's...at that time, we were taught to type, by covering up the keys with tape(white tape) , as we couldn't see the letters, and  therefore were supposed to be able to type without looking and build up our speed...well, as I had a lot of the books that he needed, I gave him mine..Now, he is very good in Math(which I never could master that subject ), so he did really well in that and typing..well,...Fall came with the cool weather, and thoughts of the Holidays just ahead...I started my Christmas , shopping , I think that year in early November..I would go on my lunch hour a lot of times , to Foley', walking as fast as possible (which in high heels was not all that easy, but at the age I was then, It was normal to me to have to walk fast almost every place I went during the day) I would grab a pkg. of chips, and a coke on the way back to the office, and gulp them down in maybe the five minutes I would have left in my lunch hour.. then back to work..our lunch hour was from 12:00 to 1:00...My best friend at work , was a woman about 14 years my senior, she was what we call now "a single Mom"..she had been married to a Lawyer, and had a young Daughter..her husband just came home one day and told her, that he was leaving to marry his secretary...Helen(my friend) had worked and helped him pay for his Law education..she was a hard working woman...and such a good person.. her family came from Germany, and she had a accent, that pretty much stayed with her...she was heartbroken, and after he left,..she and her daughter moved to a small apt. (now at that time, there were apt. buildings mostly, and there were small apts. in these buildings...she lived in the "Heights)..one of Houston's oldest Neighborhoods now, ..this was a lovely part of Houston then, with large trees, sidewalks, and pretty homes, etc...Her and I would go to Lunch together, well, at least before Irvin..then sometimes she would sit with us at Steve's at Lunch time..she liked him, and they became friends also......Thanksgiving came and we had Dinner   actually at my house, and I think , we went to his house also to eat...now , my Mother never made Turkey in those days..she baked  Chicken, made dressing, and veggies, and the trimmings..with my Brother not liking Chicken, I often wondered why she made that instead of Turkey, ..but I finally decided it was probably the cost  of the turkey , being much more , that made the difference..she had to watch the money so carefully,..everyone did...needless , to say, we had a busy Thanksgiving, and 4 days off from work, college, and we enjoyed being together and being with our families....

Our Families

Before going on, I want to tell more about our Families...Irvin came from a large family, His Mother gave Birth to 8 children  ...two died young...She married when she was very young, and kind of "grew up" with her Children...Irvin's Father followed the Oilfield drilling operations, so they were often transferred from town to town...this was all in East Texas...times were hard in those days..and families stuck together...Irvin's Mother instilled in her Children a Faith, that she truly lived every day..she helped everyone she knew whatever way she could..and made sure her Children went to Church every Service..Irvin tells that a lot of time, they got tired and wanted to go with their friends , but it was a very strick rule, that they went with her to Church whatever else was going on...she worked very hard keeping everything going in her home, and most of the time, her Mother lived with the family, as her Father had been gone several years, he, like so many others in the time, died what we would now call young.....at that time 30 was considered "old", and sometimes even like middle-age..women , and men worked hard to keep their families fed, clothed, and still teach them right from wrong. ...His Mother had one Brother, ..she was the big sister..and in the last few years of her life, ..she took care of him, in his last years, staying at his house, to care for him...she was a "good woman", taking no nonsense from anyone, and very outspoken...Now, I knew Irvin's 3 brothers that were still at home at the time when we started writing to each other...a lot of the time, on Friday nights, my Mother would ask them over to watch wrestling on the television, as the boys loved that.., as my Father and Mother did..To go back with my family, ..during my preteen years, my family went to the wrestling matches, as they were called then a lot, or I thought at that time, a lot, as I just could not stand to go...but I had no choice, unless I could get a chance to go and stay with Mama, (my Daddy's , Mother for the night, ..usually I had to go, because some of my Cousins were going.., anyway ti get back to where I was headed..., Mother would bake a cake, usually pineapple, as that was my Daddy's favorite, put on a pot of coffee, when Irvin's mother and Brothers could come over to watch the wrestling..Irvin's father never came, I think he took this time to sleep, while the house was quiet...Irvin's twin brothers were difficult to tell apart when they were growing up. ..after , you learned their ways, you knew one from the other..his brother, Virgil , was a couple of years older than the twins, (the youngest of the children), Irvin being 10 years older, and his sisters older than he...i really didn' t know his Sisters that well, til after we married....after Irvin came home from the service, a lot of Friday nights, we would go and visit with his uncle James and his wife and kids(4)..in those days, families visited each other often, ..almost every Sunday, a lot of our family would come in the afternoon, sometimes for lunch, and stay all evening..Mother always made fried chicken(my brother never liked chicken, and refused to eat it all his life)she made all the trimmings..and by the time, the kids got to eat, there were little left...the men usually eat first, then the women and children, when there was a crowd..so needless to say, we always had cold food when we had"company".. I was close to my cousins, as we were all about the same age, a few of them, my brother's age, but the ones my age came , as the others in later years before I married were married..us kids, would run and play in the yard til time to eat..in our younger years,..later as we got older, we would make plans to be gone when we had company on Sundays..when my Brother came home from service, and dated for a while, before he and Frances started dating again..I would go with him a lot on his dates..now that was a good brother, I think back , to let his sister tag along when he took his date to the movies, or circus, etc..and I wonder what his date thought..I remember one , that she and I got to be close friends alto, she was 6 years older, and she gave me a lot of her clothes, that she didn't wear any more...as I think back, they were probably too old for my age, but they were so prettty, and I wore them anyway..nothing daring, and in those days, it seemed us girls couldn't wait to start wearing nylons , and heels...
     My father had 5 brothers, and his mother raised    her Granddaughter from a baby, as her mother died when she was just a few weeks old..this was my double first cousin...my father's brother, married my mother's sister...My mother came from a family of 11...so , I grew up with a lot of cousins...there were many good times during those years, that I look back with very good memories..too many to put down...I jumped around in this section, but wanted to just touch on a few memories, and go on with what happened in the year 1954....

Break - Up

This is a hard post for me to make, can still remember how I felt...to start at the beginning..we were going along what I thought was fine...to go back to the time before Irvin went into service...He worked with Oscar, and althought Oscar was a few years older, they became friends, now Oscar came from a family of 3 Brothers, and 1 Sister, the Sister, almost taking over the role of Mother to the younger siblings when they lost their Mother at a fairly young age...I think Oscar got to depend on Irvin a lot, on the job, and for places to go, before Irvin joined the Marines...A few weeks after Irvin came home, and we were going steady, and were in love, I know that he loved me as I loved him, we were "soulmates", no doubt about that, and I really know that God meant for us to be together, and Thank God, we ARE still together, and still as much in love as then....well, we encluded Oscar and his Brothers on a few of our dates, these dates , we went to the car races in Channelview, which they had about 2 times a month, or something like that..these boys never brought dates, I finally decided that they probably didn't date that much... at first , they were very nice to me, as they knew that Irvin & I were dating, and serious...as time , went on, I could feel the jealousy,...well, I think that Irvin did too, and felt bad about it, but it got to where they wanted him to go with them almost every week end, He or I either one said we were breaking up, but the calls from him got farther apart, and finally stopped...I decided that it was the work of his friends, and I just thought that if he did love me, as I knew in my heart that he did, we would get back together...we wer apart about 3 months, during the summer...one of the girls that I worked with, (she was my age), invited me to the "Y", which was close to her house..on Tuesdays, they had dances..so, after much thought, I went, and enjoyed the music and meeting people and dancing, it was a very nice place, and older people were there to see that nothing happened that shouldn't happen, no drinking, only coffee, and soft drinks...I went out with one of the boys I met there, a very nice person, we went to a college  football game in Houston, and at the time, My grandmother(my Mother's, Mother was visiting, and she was very fond of Irvin, and she told me"I am going to tell him you went out with another boy", she really didn't understand me doing that, ...well I went to about 3 or 4 of the dances with Betty Ann, and by the way, she met a boy there, that she later married...I went out with another boy , I met there, and poor boy, I called him Irvin the whole time, that we were on that date, I kept telling him , I was sorry, andhe was so understanding, in fact, he told me, I bet you two just broke up...and we talked about it..I was SO unhappy those 3 months, a lot of crying, anger at times, and more crying, all the while, I worked every day, and tried to "lose " myself in work, and coming home, day after day..It was a LONG summer, and as it was going into fall, I  thought, well, I guess it is over, no word from him..and I sort of tried to go on and make the best of it, still crying every day, in private...his Mother brought me a Birthday present on my Birthday, I knew she loved me, and wanted everything to work out, she told me "don't give up on him, please", so I had new hope, and waited...then one day, she called, and asked me to come over, and as my father had got a new car, Bless his heart, our old car was so old, and very worn out, I had told my Father I would help him make the payments on a car, so he told me, well, we will have part ownership in the car..At the time, I had not learned to drive, so, he would take me every evening out to teach me...Bless his heart, he was such a sweet man, and he stayed with it , teaching me the right way to drive...well, I drove over to Irvin's house, actually, my first solo drive, ...I was feeling very shakey when I got there...just a few blocks to drive, but seemed like miles...walked in , and he was there, asking who's car is that, and it was as tho nothing had happened, and we just fell back into the way , it was, 3 months earlier.. so happy to be together again, and nothing was said about what we had both been through, but later learned, he was as unhappy as I was...after all , LOVE WON OUT.

Drive -in

On Tues, I called in again, and my boss told me to stay home, til I felt better, she really didn't want me to bring my "bug" to the office, for everyone to catch..and as I still didn't feel all that great, I took her up on it, and stayed home all week, Now, since I had started working , maybe I had took off a couple of days, and I worked hard , as the old saying went, "I earned my pay", so feeling a little bad about missing a whole week of work was bothering me, but since I was told to stay home, I did...and Irvin was home, and actually that is all I thought about...we went to the Market St. Drive in Theatre Tues. night..it was about 2 miles from my house..we went afterward to Pasadena, to the Corral drive-in, a fast food drive in to eat in the car, kind of like the Sonic's we have today, only better..got hamburgers, cokes, french fries...Thank God, my stomach was fine!....i guess I will never forgive myself for that happening on our second date, but there were many, many other dates after that, so I guess it bothered me more than him...after that week, I went back to work, and everything at work got back to normal, althought I was always so anxous to get home, and wait for 6:00 to come, as Irvin always called me at 6:00, and we planned our evening, now a lot of the time, we would just walk around the addition, talking, and a lot of time, we went to the Corral, that became a kind of "hang out" for us...we went on picnics, driving sometimes to Galveston, and on one occasion, to Lousiana for the day and back, walking on the beach..just enjoying being together.....

Monday Morning

As I was supposed to go back to work, Monday, I woke up feeling really sick again, ...after taling about it later, we came to the conclusion that I probably had a "bug", and I called in to my job, telling my Boss, I was sick(I thought , now she is NEVER going to believe me, as she knew of course that Irvin was home), but she said"hope you get better"...I slept a couple of hours, and got up, dressed, and thought , "what is wrong with me?', as I still didn't feel much better, and had a little fever...well, starting taking aspirin, etc., all of the old standbys...and eat some toast...Irvin showed up at the door, with a new record for me, I thought "This is one of the most Wonderful Man in the world"...I still remember the name of the record, "You're My Everything" Jonni James was the singer(later, found out this was one of Irvin's favorite singers), Mother made lunch, i think was a tuna sandwich, (I also found out later, that Irvin really didn't like Tuna that much), but he eat , and acted like that was the most delicious meal he had ever eat...so sweet!...we talked, and listened to the record he had brought me , and made plans to go to a movie, tuesday night...