Just a little sketch of our forty years of married life. Well we met one cold day in the spring of the year. I was visiting with my sister Maude. She lived 5 miles east of Findlay, and Alva was working in the oil field so he came through the yard back of the house with his dinner pail in hand. He had heard about a girl being there, and I had seen him looking so I stepped out. I said hello and greeted him with a sweet smile. He smiled at me too, and we talked a few words and he offered me a lunch from his pail.

Then he went on to his work. I saw him a few times up there. Then he quit his job and went back to Bloom Center where he lived. He was hauling logs on a wagon with a swell black team of horses through Bloomdale and one day. I happened to be over there on the street, so he stopped and asked for a date. He did not come often for it was in horse and buggy days, and he had to drive one horse that he worked all day, and he felt it was just too much for the horse to go courting his girl twice a week. He was also a little shy of my dad, so time passed by, and I went to stay with my sister Nonie and Edd. He came to see me there and we became sweethearts. We talked things over and he said let's get married, and I said do you like me that much. I must have said yes. So here we are. We had a big wedding the 28th day of October, 1903 at the home of my sister Maude. She lived in Bloomdale. My little sister Anna sang "A broken wedding ring".

Then we went to housekeeping in one room on the farm, and he drove teams in the oil field. So time went on, and we moved into a little house in the corner of the yard. Then a year and seven months rolled around and on the 25th of May, the stork left a sweet little boy at our place. A sweeter little boy there never was, so we kept him and loved him so much. Then it was Papa & Mama, and we still keep loving him.

Three years rolled by and we lived on Alva's folks farm at Bloom Center. On the 18th of May the stork stopped there and left us a little curly red head baby girl to brighten our home on a cloudy day, and it is needless to say we sure loved her too. So the time kept rolling on and we moved to another farm. Then four years had passed, and what do you think. The stork found us there and left us another little bald headed baby girl - a sweet little thing was she, so we all loved her too, and God has been kind and let us keep them, all three, to comfort our lives through these years. So we bought a farm of our own but we had to borrow the money to pay for this farm, but we worked hard and saved to pay this all back.

So we lived 31 years on this place. There was lots of pleasure and heartache too, and I am not going to "story" for we had our quarrels as some folks do, but we are both able to be here as you can see. So we sold our farm and moved in to town so Birdie would not have so much work to do, and Alva is doing his bit in the store filling the shelves with canned goods and sweets.

So we thank the Dear Lord for he has been good to us all through these years and may we be true to the end.

Grandma & Grandpa