The First Years of Marriage
After the ceremony we went to Bippens Estate for a Prime Rib Noon Dinner with our families. That evening we had our reception at the same place. The weather had changed to bitter cold with ice and sleet on the roads but nearly everyone invited made it to our party.
Our honeymoon was delayed a few days with our leaving for Florida and New Orleans. Upon returning home there was an unwelcome letter waiting for Harold from the draft department. The Korean War was in full swing and they needed him. It didn't matter that I needed him more. He left for Fort Sheridan in Chicago at the end of March and then on to Fort Leonardwood, Missouri for basic training then on to Korea in August or September.
I was alone for the first time in my life. I went back to work as a stenographer at Elder Manufacturing Company where I had worked a few years before. I had friends still working there which helped somewhat with my loneliness. On my way home from work I would have dinner with my parents who lived a short walking distance from my apartment.
Then something happened to make my loneliness even worse. About four months after Harold left, my father was in the hospital but didn't survive the operation. Xmas was not a happy time for us. Next I had to write Harold who was on the front lines at the time but was something I needed to share with him. He wouldn't have wanted it any other way.
He was due to come back to the States sometime in July or August. Each day the local newspaper would print the names of soldiers returing on ships docking on the West Coast. My friends at work would help me search the paper for his name and I was getting depressed because his wasn't printed. I knew he left Asia and was on his way back. Early one very hot August morning about 5AM I was awakened by someone whistling on my back porch. I called out asking who was there but no answer, just more whistling. My heart started racing and I got out of bed and went to the door. Yep! There he was even though his name never made the newspaper. He was home for a month before leaving for his last duties in Colorado. I quit my job and joined him for about three months at which time he was discharged.
Nine months later our first child was born, a baby girl who we named Patricia but everyone calls Patty. Twelve months later Mike arrived, then Sharon, Peggy, and Jim with all of these births happening within seven years. I looked like the mama duck with all the ducklings following close behind. Those were good years but very busy years. Two months before Patty was born we lost another grandpa as Harold's father passed away. The younguns still had two doting affectionate grandmothers to love them.
We had purchased our first home after our third child was born, living in this new neighborhood for five years. It was an older home that needed a lot of grooming including building a new room on the back of the house. This replaced a porch that was in poor condition with Harold doing all the work himself. Although we enjoyed living in this home our life was about to be drastically changed. We were on to a new and exciting adventure.