Posted by gitrib on March 12, 2013 at 09:32:03 from (108.203.179.59):
THE BUG HITS
For some unknown reason there seemed to be shortage young ladies. We had formed a rural young people organization. The young people consisted of mostly males. This was to be an educational organization. Let me ask you, how many young people in the late 40’s wanted to set around and discuss the future of the family farm or proper crop rotation? The discussion finally got around to how we could get more young ladies to come to our meeting. What evolved was there was a Campus girl 4-H at Iowa State Teachers College (now North Iowa University). We would invite them over to some our discussion meetings. For two meetings there were a few young ladies showed up and some great discussions were enjoyed by all. You must remember one thing this was right after World War II. The enrollment at the Teachers College was not young men wanting to be teacher. They were Veterans who had came home from war, gotten married and were going to college. They did not date. A letter came from the Girls 4-H inviting the rural young people to dance to be held at the gym at the teachers college. Why the gym? We had never had over twenty-five or thirty at meeting. When we entered the gym we knew why. The entire gym was lined with chairs and in every chair was a beautiful young coed. Boy! We had hit the mother lode. I stopped and looked completely around the gym. Kind of like it was in a judging contest. On the other side of the gym a slim young lady with beautiful big brown eyes caught my eye. I continued to look around the gym and came right back to her. We had a dance together. I was not much of a dancer and I was in luck, neither was she. To my surprise several other young men had noticed those brown eyes. There was really no reason for this. There were lots of young ladies dancing together. When I did get dance with her we seemed to enjoy each other company. A plan was devised. I was going to get the last dance with her and ask her for a date. Well, someone threw a log in the road of this well planned scheme. They called a board meeting just before the last dance. When it was over the gym was empty. It was like someone had hit me with a sledge. All that I knew, her name was Marjorie. Coming out of the gym, behold there she was talking to some of the other girls. With no fear I walked up to her and asked to walk her back to the dorm. Let us get one thing straight. This meant walking to the lobby of the dorm. You went no farther. There were nice chairs and divans in the lobby that you could use under the watchful eyes of the dorm mother. My bewildered mind understood her last name was Moles. I had it Marjorie Moles in Lawther Hall. I told her I was going to National 4=H Congress in Chicago and I would call her when I got back. It was found out later she had told some of her friends about this and they informed her that was no doubt the last she would see of me. While in Chicago I mailed her a card addressed to:
Miss Marjorie Moles Lawther Hall Iowa State Teacher College Cedar Falls, Iowa
When I got home she accepted my invitation. I figured out later that she must like me. I had her name wrong. It was: Margery Moulds. We went to a movie at the Strand Theater at Waterloo. There was not place to park so we pulled into my church parking lot. When we entered the parking lot she noticed the sign and asked if I were a Presbyterian. She told me she was and her father was an elder in the church. Boy, a home run the first time up. The Campus Girls 4-H and the County Rural Young People (boys) continued to have dances. Margery was active in the Westminster Fellowship at college. They were having a winter dance and so far no one knew we were going together. She invited me. Then she realized she did not have a dress to wear. She borrowed one from a friend. Then she did not have slip for it. This was the most morally wrong thing a young man of this era could do. I offered to buy her one. I did not know the first thing about this sort of a thing. I took the coward way out. We went to J C Penny. She took the money, and went off to make the purchase. I lurked off in another area of the store. The day of the big dance came. When I got up that morning it was snowing. Anyone who has lived in Iowa knows this is not good. It snowed all day but after all I had date with lovely young lady who had invite me. In the middle of the afternoon I decided to put the chains on the old Plymouth. We talked on the phone. Yes, the dance and dinner were still on. It was necessary to go through Waterloo and on to Cedar Falls a total of about forty miles. This was a long drive at thirty-five miles an hour. When you are in love you do not have any brains or they are on idle. Finally making it to the college dorm the housemother announced I was there. The lobby was full of girls. I mentioned this to Margery and she said, “They were sizing me up. We finally made it to the Women’s club where the banquet and dance was held. We had a wonderful time. At the end of the dance the lady that was the sponsor came to me and asked if we could take a car full of girls back to the dorm with us. Back then you could get a lot of people in the back of a car, if it meant not walking in blizzard. The girls had a curfew hour. The doors to the lobby were locked and the only way in was the back door. There were two dorms. One dorm was for freshmen and the other for upper classman. We did not stop at the dorm Margery stayed in. I did this on purpose. I was hoping with all of the effort expended I might get my first KISS. That is sure old fashion today. I stopped at the first dorm every girl got out but Margery. Believe me it was worth the effort put forth. We dated steady from then on. Going to dances and movies. On Sundays we would go to church and then my parent’s house for Sunday dinner. She was hungry and mother was a good cook. Margery always likes to tell about asking mother if she could have another pork chop. We decided that it was time to go out to her folks for Sunday dinner. This met driving one-hundred fifty miles eating and returning back to college. She warned me that all we would have was fried chicken. She was right!!! It was my turn to be looked over by dad and baby brother. There was no doubt I did not pass the exam. On the Saturday before I was in De Moines to be interviewed for a state 4-H award. It was a trip to National 4-H camp in Washington D.C. Pictures were on the front page of the state paper. Margery was proud. Her parents never mentioned it. After the chicken, some friends of her Grandparents came to visit. Their daughter had won this trip twenty-one years earlier. All they could talk about was how wonderful it was. There was still not a word out of pop or mom. It was not a cool reception it was ice cold. I realized that when I got back from Washington, Margery would be home from college. This was not going to be good. So it was on to plan B. It seemed she liked me. We got along well. We had a lot of common interests. She was an attractive young girl with beautiful brown eyes. OK I’m going to ask her to be my wife. It will be a yes or no answer. That way I will know and can protect my turf. Boy, did the conceit get knocked out of me. Marriage was not in her plans. She was going to teach and then come back and earn another degree. How can you argue with that? I sort of hunkered down in the seat as we sat parked in my 1949 Studebaker one ton truck. Was it the fact I was courting her in a stock truck? I was not about to give up a sinking ship. Idea!!!! Would you accept a locket from me to remind you of me? She said she would. So much for the yes or no answer. I purchased a gold heart shaped locket and had it engraved “with love from Graydon”. I gave it to her the next weekend as we sat in old Stude behind Lawther on the campus of Iowa State Teacher College. The end of the college year was fast approaching. The next weekend we went to movie and returned that evening to the street behind Lawther Hall in old Stude. Margery proceeded to tell me that she would marry me. We have always had a joke. Not only did she get an engagement diamond she also got a gold locket.
This was the beginning of a love story that has lasted fifty-nine years and still continues.
She accepted my proposal and received her ring just before graduation. We met her parents before graduation started. Her father had one word “Congratulations.” This was the only word he said the whole time they were there. We both knew that when her parent got her home they would start to discourage her from getting married. I knew I was going to be gone on the trip to Washington for three weeks. I promise her I would write everyday while I was away and we would get together for birthdays on the 4th of July. We still have all of these letter for our children to read.
Her parents went into control mode. Had the family pastor come and talk with her to discourage her from getting married. They had made arrangement for a teaching job in the fall, clear across the state from me. They had found a room for with a minister and his wife. I did go out to see her a couple times before they hauled her off to teach. This town did not have bus or train connections. They always had made arrangement for me to stay at neighbor’s house while I was visiting there home. Well Mother and Dad missed one detail. One of the teachers had a new car and her fiancé lived only twenty miles from me. So on Friday night after school closed here they came.
I had a great show season with my Guernsey cattle. I knew that the world largest county fair was held just twenty miles from where she taught. I had lots of cousins living close and they wanted me to come and show. Since it was a long drive they would have the stalls for cattle all bedded and help unload so I could go see Margery. It worked. When we were unloading it started to rain.
I took off to see Margery. I drove down the street of this little town in old Stude. The tarp was still over the stock rack. When I approached the house where she lived here she came running down the sidewalk. Her first word was “You are moving me!” So we moved her in with the rest of the teachers. Since it was raining I was glad the tarp was still on. Every evening, I would leave one of the cousins in charge of my cattle and head out to see Margery. On show day I had the Grand Champion. That evening I had a big trophy to show her. I got a big kiss in return. Every weekend Margery would come across the state to stay at our house. In those days there was none of this sleeping around. Even though we were engaged, to be married, she had a bed in the same room as my sister. Her parents get a big surprise. One Sunday they decided to drive up to this little town. After all she had been held captive for a couple of week. Maybe they could go to church and diner. They drove up to the minister’s home where they had left her. The door was opened. The question as asked. “Can we see Margery”. The answer was. “She has moved in with rest of the teacher”. That’s all right we will go over there and visit her. The question was asked, “Can we see Margery”. The answer was. “I’m sorry she is down to see Graydon where she goes every weekend”. I never hear but I guess they and had a nice time.
Things were moving along on the farm. We had dug a basement and put in a foundation to move in a house. On the weekend when Margery came down we would work on the house together. Margery was not happy where she was teaching. We decided that the way the world was right then, it would be a good idea to get married. We talked to my folks. The house was not done but theirs was a big house so there was room for all. We decided about the first of December that it was go. Margery would talk with her principle about breaking the contract. He said “it was fine but would she stay till the term ended the second week in January. So we were set.
School was out on a Friday a week before Christmas. Margery came over to my place. She had not told her folks what going to happen. So, it was face the music time. We talked about just going to Arkansas and getting married. We wanted to give her parent a chance to have the wedding. We drove in the yard at their farm and Margery asked me to stay in the car. She went into the house and asked them if they would have a wedding. She told me that she went through real third degree. The first question was; Are you pregnant? No! You are going to break your contract? That is dishonorable. Finally Margery came out of the house with a smile. She had finally given her parent a choice. Plan and have a small wedding here at the house or I am going out and get in the car and we will go to Arkansas. Spunky, little gal. Margery was only twenty and in Iowa that meant she had to have her parent permission. The wedding was on. Margery told me this was the first time she had ever stood up to her father. We decided that since it was just a few days till Christmas we might as well make it on Christmas day. My family always had a large Christmas. They decided they would have their celebration on Christmas Eve day, which was a Saturday. They would move in mass to Margery’s parents for a late afternoon wedding. Margery and I would drive out on Christmas Eve. You guessed it. I slept at the neighbors. I really liked Harry and Opal. Harry’s parents and Margery’s Grandparents had been neighbor many years. They were more than happy to enlighten me about the family. Harry and Opal were about the same age as Margery’s parents. Opal insisted that I have breakfast with them. She felt all I would get over at the brides house was the usual pouched eggs on toast. I went across the road to a beehive of activity. The big table was spread full length. There was the smell of ham and all of the Christmas odors. Margery’s parent, her bother, an aunt and husband, an uncle, a great aunt, Grandmother, the minister and his wife were all gathered for dinner and the wedding. We had finished eating when my parent came. The folks had been nice. Margery and I drove out in old Stude they came in the car but they were going to drive old Stude back home. Next my aunt and uncle and grandmother came. Margery’s brother and my sister stood up with us and the minister did his thing. There were the usual goodies. Come on lets get this show on the road. The next day there was a big 4-H award ceremony, and I had been instructed to be there with my new wife. There were all kinds of award given away. Come on you are wasting my time. At last the County Agent asked for Mr. and Mrs.Graydon Trible to come forward. The auditorium was full. These people were so use to seeing us together they were surprised. It was announced I was the Champion Dairy Club member of the state and had also been selected as the Out Standing 4-H member in the state. These were the highest awards in the 4-H. It meant that, come fall, my herd would be on display at the National Dairy Cattle Congress. There would also be a trophy given in front of the crowd in the big Hippodrome. Margery was going to be a part of all of this.
After the first of the year I took her back to finish the two weeks of teaching. Then she came home to stay. The house was really coming along. We lived with the folks. She moved into my room. None of this sleeping on a bed in my sister’s room.
It was the custom in this neighborhood to have a chivalry for the newly weds. They wait till bedtime and then it’s all kinds of mischief. To get rid of them you had to treat them and maybe they would not load you up in a stock truck or a manure spreader and give you a ride. We were expecting this to happen. Margery had made all kinds of candy and goodies. This is a true love happened 63yrs ago this coming Christmas.Even though she has NPH we still hold handsand tell each other of our love.gitrib
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Today's Featured Article - Listening to Your Tractor - by Curtis Von Fange. Years ago there was a TV show about a talking car. Unless you are from another planet, physically or otherwise, I don’t think our internal combustion buddies will talk and tell us their problems. But, on the other hand, there is a secret language that our mechanical companions readily do speak. It is an interesting form of communication that involves all the senses of the listener. In this series we are going to investigate and learn the basic rudimentary skills of understanding this lingo.
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