Two days ago I wrote of what I consider to be the shortest engagement ever--two days! Today I recall a bit about the wedding in the evening of Oct.19, 1942. It was a wartime wedding. The simple solemn ceremony was held in Paul's boyhood Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church in St. Paul, MN. Paul and I were pronounced husband and wife with his best boyhood friend as best man and with my best high-school friend as my bridesmaid. Paul, of course, wore his new Army Officer's unifor ... m and I was in a newly purchased A-line 'dressy' daytime dress. No flowers, no fancy arch, no music, no tuxedo, no bridal gown--after all, we were paying for this ourselves and it was wartime!. People lived simply and frugally those days, worked extra shifts, realized sacrifices on the home front were minor compared to those of the Armed Services, understood that many items such as gas and tires for cars were almost non-existent and knew that rationing of many items was necessary to "Win the War". So we did not expect people to drive any distance "just for a wedding". The mother of the best man knew she had adequate room in her home for the neighborhood friends who were at the service. She invited everyone for refreshments and a pleasant social time of good wishes to Paul and me. Surely she sacrificed some of her treasured ration cards for the sugar and margarine she needed to make and decorate the wedding cake for us. That ceremony and that party started a full and happy life together for the two of us. Today I have many more memories of the wedding and even more of our almost 66 years together. Paul loved his two careers, but was happiest to have a family of two daughters and, eventually, six grandchildren. We all wish he could have lived long enough to know and love the six great-grandchildren. long bridesmaid dresses