22 January 2006

family history

after a busy day of writing I took a break. pickd up Henri Cole's The Visible Man. there I found the line "a shy farmboy from Napoleon,Ohio." it joltd me because I knew my parents were wed in that small town. but I got to thinking "why?" it's a distance from Lorain. so I calld my parents. they were surprisd since I'd already talkd with them at my regular time.

Mom sd that Dad was on furlough & had to get back. there was a 3-day wait to get married in Lorain. so they drove to Napoleon which had no waiting period. & Dad recalld paying "10 or 12 dollars" to spend the nite at someone's home. that amount includ'd breakfast. apparently this early type of bed & breakfast became a cottage industry in that town during the war.

3 comments:

scott bakalar said...

both sets of my grandpartents did basically the same thing in 1936 - not wanting to wait, they all (at different times) ran to Ripley, New York - home of the instant marriage. when my wife and I got married in 1999 - we had to do it, we eloped to Ripley, New York (tradition, ya know)

found you through technorati
watchlist: Lorain, Ohio

Alex Gildzen said...

hey Scott --

thx for stopping by. my first few years were in Lorain but when Dad got out of the service he got a job at General Industries so we moved to Elyria. but my paternal grandparents lived on Camden Ave so I was there often. & today I live with moments of Lorain. in my lvingroom is the Philco radio Grandpa Gildzen had in his. & when I go to the gym I use Uncle John Kovach's copper lock from US Steel.

had a look at yr blog. good stuff. I esp like that wonderful picture of yr grandfather.

Charles said...

I have to get that book!