Sunday, March 27, 2011

With our grandparents by the Salt Lake Temple



Just found this photo with our grandparents by the Salt Lake Temple on our wedding day - June 14, 1961

Eileen's grandfather and grandmother, Dave & Ella Huffaker, and Walt's grandmother, Maria Prescott.

My Grama 'n Grampa Huffaker were 70 years old.

Walt's Grama Rie was 78 years old.

We are thankful for our heritage and hope we have and will bring honor to their names and legacy.


We will be ages 77 and 72 when our first granddaughter, Aimee Fisher will be married to Michael Mecham on June 25, 2011 in the Rexburg Temple. We love them both, and pray they will be as in love as we are fifty years from now!

Sunday, March 20, 2011

A little more about June 1961 and honeymooning on our way to St. Louis...



Here's some bits 'n pieces from a write up I'd forgotten I'd done about our courtship and marriage... I'm looking for some photos I saw of us in Yellowstone as we "honeymooned" on our way back to St. Louis. Hope to find them by next week's post.

This starts out as we leave the wedding luncheon at Aunt Tess's and Uncle Austin's in Ogden on Wednesday, June 14, 1961:

As Walt and I drove away in our blue ’57 Plymouth, (that Walt had bought in St. Louis just before driving back) the cans clanged loudly going around the corner with the white shoe polished inscriptions on the windows “JUST MARRIED.”
As we returned to Salt Lake, Walt was looking at some of the cute girls walking down the sidewalk. I poked him and said: “Hey, you’re married now!”
“Just because you’re on a diet doesn’t mean you can’t look at the menu,” was his teasing reply.
This poor medical student was happy to find a motel on the northwest side of town, several blocks north of the West High School for $5 a night. It was called “Bob’s Motel” and years later became infamous as the motel where kidnappers held John Huntsman’s son. [I think it's been torn down now.]

We drove to Provo the next day where Walt was excited to introduce his new wife to his cousins, DeLamar and Mary Jensen. They insisted we stay for supper, which helped on our strained budget. I loved them instantly and have always felt especially close to them.

Friday we drove back to Wendell, where Walt’s family had fixed up a “honeymoon suite” in Walt and Dale’s old bedroom.

Dale was on his mission in Argentina, and Walt really missed having his buddy brother there for the wedding and reception.

Saturday, June 17, was the wedding reception in Gooding, which was a full house drawing from both Wendell and Gooding.
My matron of honor was Ramona Jensen Farr, my best friend, who had moved from Wendell to Ogden after our freshman year at Wendell High School.
My bridesmaids were my sister, Janice, age 12; my high school friend, Lucile Hunsaker Campbell; my college roommate Sonja Gibbs; and my second year college roommate, Isabel Peixhoto, from Brazil.
(Yes, Sonja and I stayed friends, even though I got that “eligible Wendell bachelor.” She went on a mission and soon after her return, while teaching school in Arco, married a young engineer; they moved to PaloAlto, California, where they raised their family.)

[Walt has two sisters, and one brother.]

Janice still remembers what a stir Walt’s sister, Bonnie, (who lived in Boise) caused when she and Chuck entered the room with her short blond hair, her thin model-like figure, wearing a skimpy black sheath that showed off a lot of her tan, and her flamboyant personality. [We all loved Bonnie, and have missed her since her early passing in March 1990, just after she turned 60 on February 15, 1990. Phyllis has done her temple work.]

June 18, 1961: Sunday we were happy to honor our fathers, Ray O. Petersen and Arnold G. Albertson, on Father’s Day. They had been the witnesses at our wedding.

June 19, Monday: We spent this week in Idaho, Walt working during the days with his carpenter dad, and I would drive to Gooding, to write the thank you notes for our wedding gifts, sitting out in Mom and Dad’s hot shed where we were storing the gifts we didn’t have room to take back with us.

[My folks had just bought this little house at 917 Wyoming Street, moving from 910 Utah Street. It had a big, old honey-producing building behind it. I remember how sweltering and stuffy it was sitting there each afternoon to send thank yous to our family and friends for the wonderful wedding gifts. We found out later we were so thankful for "all duplicates" of towels, pillow cases, etc., because they all got used.]
June 23--Friday: Sometime during this week we rented a small U-haul trailer to take things back to Missouri.

All of a sudden Grama Jane decided she needed a new dinette set, so gave us their old one with the yellow Formica top and two chairs. Mom and Dad Albertson gave us their old couch and an easy chair. I had my white cedar chest from high school graduation. Walt’s folks gave us one of their old beds they had in the basement. We appreciated each item. We were ready to set up housekeeping in the big city!

The last week of June: We honeymooned through Yellowstone Park, staying one night in a little log cabin there.

We planned to stop to see one of Walt’s missionary companions in Wyoming. However, LaMar Satterfield was gone on vacation, so we stayed that night in Rawlins, Wyoming.

On the final night before we got to St. Louis, we stayed in a little town in Missouri with Linda Thomason [her Dad, Bud, was Grampa Ray's partner in Wendell with the motto: "Bud and Ray will build it your way"] in her and her husband’s 2-bedroom trailer, where they were living. She cooked us a nice supper.

Our first few days in St. Louis we stayed with Walt’s missionary friend, Dexter Davis and wife Kaye until our apartment was ready to move in to.

I spent that first week job hunting and was blessed to be hired by the Hematologist (physician over the blood bank) at the Jewish Hospital. It was directly across the street from our apartment. So for the next two years I had a 30-second commute to work….down the stairs from our 2nd story apartment, crossed the street and went in the door and down the hall to my office.

Since I knew nothing about medical terms, I typed Dr. David Miller’s dictation with the medical dictionary in my lap. Sometimes I would take the letters home at lunch, and if Walt had been able to come home from the medical school (which was just around the corner the other direction from our apartment--so he also walked there each day) he would help me figure out what the medical terms were that I couldn’t understand. The office had an IBM selectric typewriter which was the latest in technology then!

The photo above [opps, sorry it wouldn't "publish" to the post, so I'll try again next week] is the first page of a booklet I made about our "First Christmas." I'm standing by our '57 Plymouth with the U-Haul trailer the day we arrived in St. Louis.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

The couple will honeymoon on their way to St. Louis, Missouri...

nWe still love to be side by side, holding hands. Love is eternal! Our friends from Gooding will be nostalgic to see this photo in front of the beautiful fireplace that was in the Gooding LDS Cultural Hall. This building burned down in the 1960s, I think...maybe the 1970s. I'll have to look up the date in Mom's life story.

Sorry, I'm a couple days late with the blog...we've had a great experience taking care of four beautiful granddaughters while Brian and Michelle had 3 days away at the Mtn. West Conference Basketball Tournament for Brian's March birthday.

This entire article--from the March 7 blog and finished here, also appeared in the weekly Wendell Irrigationist.

Here are the last four paragraphs in the Twin Falls Times News article of June 1961:
“…The couple will honeymoon on their way to St. Louis, Missouri, where they will make their home for now. Petersen will do research work during the summer at Washington University before beginning his junior year at Washington University School of Medicine. Their address will be 4956 Parkview Place, St. Louis, Mo.

“For traveling the bride wore a lavender and white tailored suit with white accessories and the corsage from her bridal bouquet.

“The bride was graduated from Wendell High School in 1957. She has attended Brigham Young University for the past two years. Prior to that she was a secretary in the Executive Department at the First Security Bank, First South and Main Street, in Salt Lake City following her graduation from Stevens’ Henager School of Business.

“The bridegroom was graduated from Wendell High School in 1952 and the University of Idaho at Moscow in 1959. He fulfilled a 2 1/2 year LDS mission to Uruguay/Paraguay August 1954* to March 1957, before his final two years at the University of Idaho.
[*Young men had to be 20 years old before serving missions in the 1950s.]


“The home of Major and Mrs. Austin Julian, Ogden, Utah, uncle and aunt of the bridegroom, was the setting for the wedding breakfast that honored the newlyweds immediately following their marriage.” End of article...yes, they reported a lot about weddings back in those days.

Truly, this is grape punch we are toasting each other with. After all, our reception colors were lavender and white.
Now we could look at the world together through our lavender-colored glasses...


And we have lived happily ever after...of course with some normal ups and downs. Thankfully, way more UPS than downs. And we're still in love!


I'll continue on during the next 3 months with some highlights of our years, up to the 50th year commemoration we will reach on June 14, 2011. Our kids are planning an open house for us on Friday, June 17, 2011.


Sunday, March 6, 2011

Our Wedding Reception - June 17, 1961 - Gooding, Idaho

(Moving right along....we're to the wedding reception.



How blessed we are to have these photos...wish they were in color...but 50 years ago colored photos were still rare.
Here Walt and I are with my Mom and Dad--Verna & Arnold Albertson--by me, and Walt's Mom and Dad--Jane & Ray Petersen by him.

Walt's father passed away at age 62 on Feb. 17, 1970 of a heart attack. His mother passed away at age 90 on Feb. 5, 2001. My father passed away at age 69 on Feb. 6, 1982 of colon cancer. (We all need to get colonoscopies!)
My Mom also lost her parents in 1982...my Grampa Huffaker in June at age 90; my Grama Huffaker in November at age 91.
I tell about my mother by her photo a little further down.

I am going to quote from my Mom's life story again this week:


"Verna - An Idaho Girl"


-- the life story of Verna Beth Huffaker Albertson


"Eileen and Walt’s wedding reception at the LDS Gooding Ward cultural hall was nice and well attended three days later on Saturday, June 17. They received many wonderful wedding gifts.
"Here’s some from the newspaper clipping I saved from the Times News, with the headline as follows:
Couple Married in LDS Temple Rites
“Eileen Albertson, Provo, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Arnold G. Albertson, Gooding, formerly of Wendell, and Walter Ray Petersen, St. Louis, Missouri, son of Mr. and Mrs. Raymond O. Petersen, Wendell, were united in marriage June 14, 1961 at the Salt Lake LDS temple with President Henry D. Moyle, officiating.




Photo: Eileen, age 22 1/2, with her sister, Janice, age 12.
“The bride selected a floor length gown of luxurious delustered satin for her wedding. The gown was designed by the bride and Cheri Hansen, a college roommate from Tempe, Arizona. It was fashioned with long pointed sleeves, a high rounded neckline and fitted bodice; the full skirt swept into a modified train. Her bridal veil was caught to a tiara of seed pearls. She carried a lavender orchid on a small white Bible.



“Mrs. Alden (Ramona Jensen) Farr, Ogden, Utah, was matron of honor. Bridesmaids were Mrs. James (Lucile Hunsaker) Campbell, Bellevue; Miss Sonya Gibbs, Wendell; Miss Izabel Peixoto, a college roommate from Porte Alegre, Brazil, and Miss Janice Albertson, sister of the bride. The bride’s attendants were gowned alike in lavender and white cotton frocks, and each carried a white basket filled with carnations.

“Telford (Ted) Gillett, Declo, Idaho was best man. Serving as ushers were Jim Prescott, Boise, and Gene Prescott, Jerome, Idaho—cousins.



2011 note: My Sweetheart Mother--then age 41--is now 91, can hardly see or hear. She has said for a long time: "Getting old is not for wimps."
“The mother of the bride wore a pink linen sheath with matching shoes and white accessories. Her corsage was of white carnations. The mother of the bridegroom wore a beige lace sheath with lavender accessories and a pink carnation corsage.

“Mrs. S.D. Huffaker, Wendell, and Mrs. Blanche Albertson, Hagerman, grandmothers of the bride, and Mrs. Maria Prescott, Wendell, and Mrs. Mary Petersen, Tremonton, grandmothers of the bridegroom, were all present for the reception, and each wore a corsage of white carnations.

“More than 300 guests from throughout Idaho and Utah attended the wedding reception for the young couple Saturday evening at the Gooding LDS recreation hall.

“Mrs. Alan (Lucy Huffaker) Nieffenegger, Wendell, was in charge of the guest book. Mrs. John (Pearl) Robertson, Mrs. Everett (Nadine) Conrad, Mrs. Clarence ( ) Wells, and Myrna Myer, Gooding [R.S. friends of Verna] were in charge of arranging the gift table. Carrying gifts were Donald, Matthew, and Mitchell Bunn of Wendell, nephews of the groom. Carol Lee Huffaker, Mtn. Home, and Barbara, Marjorie, and Bonnie Harmon, Hammett, cousins of the bride, also carried the gifts.
(Lucy is gone now, age 36 to cancer.)




“The refreshment table was covered with a white lace cloth over lavender. The five tiered wedding cake was baked and decorated by Mrs. Dan (Evelyn) Nieffenegger. (Alan's mother is gone now.) The white cake, trimmed with lavender and the sweetheart cakes were decorated with the names of the couple, and were flanked by lavender candles in crystal holders.

“Mrs. Dale (Phyllis) Bunn, Wendell, and Mrs. Charles (Bonnie) Degler, Boise, sisters of the groom, cut and served the cake. Mrs. Warren (Vida) Albertson, Pocatello, and Mrs. David (Enid) Huffaker, Mtn. Home, aunts of the bride, served the punch.
(We're sad we didn't get photos of any of these aunts...we lost Bonnie, at age 60 to colon cancer; and Enid at age __, are gone now.)

“Heber Prescott, Jerome, uncle of the groom, was master of ceremonies. David Huffaker, Mtn. Home, uncle of the bride, gave the invocation; Mr. & Mrs. Earl (Eleanor) Harmon, Hammett, uncle and aunt of the bride, gave readings, ‘What is a Wife,’ and ‘What is a Husband.’ (Just Eleanor is left. Uncle Hebe at age 60 of a heart attack; Uncle Earl at age 75 of cancer.)

“Janice Albertson, Gooding, sister of the bride, played a piano solo “Till the End of Time”; ArDell Shockley, Jerome, soloist, sang “Walk Hand in Hand With Me,” and “Always,” accompanied by Verna Lee Lott, Hagerman. After remarks and thank yous by the bride and groom, the benediction was given by Thomas Prescott, Jerome, uncle of the groom. Dancing followed with the bride and groom waltzing to ‘O How We Danced on the Night We Were Wed’,” as the first dance.
(We lost Uncle Tom in 2003 at age 85, who had been in poor health for several years after a debilitating stroke.)
[If you can believe it, there is still more to the newspaper article...so it will be continued in next week's blog.
I added the ladies' first names in parentheses--which now they always put the woman's first name, which is a great improvement!]