71 Years ago

LV and Mary Welch Steinhoff on Florida honeymoon 1942I make it a point to call Mother every Sunday night at 7:30. Now that I’m retired, I have a hard time keeping track of the days of the week, let alone the time, so I have an alarm set in my cellphone to remind me that it’s Sunday. When I made the call this week, Mother casually mentioned that Monday would mark 71 years since she and Dad got married in Advance.

I remember her saying that she and Dad had gone to a movie. When they got out, my grandfather, Roy Welch, told them that Pearl Harbor had been bombed. “If you kids are planning to get married, you’d better do it right away.”

Florida honeymoon

Mary Welch Steinhoff Florida honeymoonA month later, they were married and on their way to Florida for a honeymoon.

Dad was luckier than many men his age. He was working for a contractor who won defense contracts to build airfields and other essential projects, so he was deferred from the draft.

One of my favorite photos

Mary and LV Steinhoff June 1970This photo was part of a series I didn’t remember shooting. It’s one of my favorite shots of the two of them in our back yard in 1970. It’s obvious that they weathered well as a couple. I wrote about discovering the series just about this time last year.

You expect your parents to be there forever. When I shot this, none of us dreamed that Dad would be with us only another seven years. I guess that’s only partially true. He’ll live on forever in our memories.

Photo gallery of honeymoon

Here are some additional shots of the honeymoon from 71 years ago. Click on any photo to make it larger, then click on the left or right side of the image to move through the gallery.

9 Replies to “71 Years ago”

  1. This is a wonderful tribute to your parents and to their marriage. Beautiful pictures-from both your Dad and you.I always enjoy seeing what you have in mind and in picture each day. Your wit and writing skills are rated “up there” with the photos. Thanks for allowing us to peek into your world every day.

  2. I love the old pictures. Thank you for sharing them with us. Your Mom is a class act both then and now. What a great example of love and marriage.

    1. One is the Missouri tag, one says Miami Beach and the third IS the Fountain of Youth. At least through the ’60s, tourist attractions would put signs and bumperstickers on your car as a form of advertising. It wasn’t until recently that they became a profit center and you had to BUY them.

      I guess the difference was that travel was so exotic at one time that attractions had to be introduced to the public; once they became well-known, the bumperstickers became status sybols that you had been there.

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