OUR STORY

                             OUR STORY

54 years ago today James and I made a vow to each other. Together we vowed to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish til death do we part. This past year brought to realization the full meaning of those words that we spoke those many years ago. Since today would of been our special day allow me to tell you our story.


James and I go back to probably the early 1950's when his parents attended Highland Baptist Church where my dad was the Pastor. I knew his family but they were just another family in the congregation. In  1953 land was purchased to build North Acres Baptist Church and the church was opened in 1954 with my dad as Pastor and James family eventually moved their membership to the new church. James said he first noticed me when I was a 13 year old black haired girl wearing a yellow dress singing in the choir at North Acres Baptist Church. He was 16 at the time. Our first date, I guess you would call it a date, was when our Sunday School class had a Christmas Party at Mildred Copeland's house. We went with another couple in the church because the boy had a car and James didn't at the time.  That was in December of 1956. I turned 14 in February of the next year and James turned 17 in May. In the Fall of that year he called to ask me if I would go to the movies with him. Looking back I am not sure how he ever got up enough nerve to ask me. He was a very shy person. I was friends with his sister Barbara and we went to school together so she may have given him the encouragement he needed. (She was our mail carrier when we started dating, carrying our love letters back and forth from one to the other.) So he called and asked me and I told him I would have to ask my mom. So I asked my mom and she said I had to ask my dad. Well I must have really wanted to go because I called my dad at work, which is something that I just didn't do, and asked him if I could go. I will never forget what he said. He said "I will leave it up to you to do what you think is right". Well that was not the thing to say to a 14 year old girl because I thought it was more than right. So we started dating. Now when I say dating I don't mean this hanging out at each others houses and having freedom to do as we pleased. Dating meant he drove in my driveway exactly when he said he would be there walked to the door and escorted me to the car and opened the door for me to get in. Our dates were always on Friday nights. We would go to the movies more often than not to the drive in movies because there were several of them. Chapman Hwy, River Breeze, Sunset, Knoxville Drive In and the Family Drive In just to name a few. I guess our favorite was the Family Drive In on Broadway. After the movies we would go eat. Most of the places we ate were also drive in restaurants. One of our favorites being the Tic Toc on Magnolia Avenue. We also ate a lot at Archies on Broadway. And the original Louies, the Pizza Palace. They also had good food at the Drive in Movies. Really good hamburgers.  Then as sure as the car pulled in the driveway at the exact time it returned at 10:30. None of this 11:00 or 12:00 but exactly at 10:30. And if I wasn't walked to the door and our goodbyes said in about 10 minutes the porch light began to flash off and on. Now this went on for 6 years. During this six years James became one of the most faithful church goers that you would ever see. Why? Because that is where he would see me. Being the Pastor's daughter I was there at every service. Twice on Sunday, Wednesday night, Singings, Cottage Prayer Meetings.You name it and I was there. My dad also held a lot of revivals and James would either go with us or meet us there. So after 6 years when I was 19 and he was 22 he said "will you" and I said "yes" and we started a life together that lasted for the next 53 years and 8 months only to be ended when those vows were completed that said 'til death do us part.'

Anniversary June 2015