The Sweetest Couple I Know

Today, November 2, 2011, is my parents 72nd wedding anniversary. 

Tomi and Bill Hudson were married in Alvord, Texas, on November 2, 1939.  My dad was a new coach in the high school there, and my mom was a young lady, graduated from high school, and working in the town.   They met and fell in love quickly.

This is a copy of their wedding certificate which my precious dad had framed to surprise my mom on "their day".  She was very surprised as she did not even know where it was.  My dad had it stored in a safe place all these years.  It was a most special gift to present her.

Susan, at Between Naps on the Porch, wrote the dearest blog about my parents on Valentine Day.........February 11, 2011.....see it  at  http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/2011/02/love-story-for-valentines-day.html     I think you will enjoy it as the story is so special.

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Beautiful peach flowers, my mom's favorites, and lunch at their favorite restaurant with my husband and myself, many telephone calls of congratulations, greeting cards in the mail, completed the day.

They are such a darling couple and do not show their true ages....my dad is 95 years old and my mom is 91. ( I certainly hope I have inherited some of these great genes!)


The following is an acount written by my husband, Bob, and I wanted to share it with my blogging friends.

A TRUE STORY THAT NEEDS TO BE TOLD

  

Bill and Tomi Hudson are my wife’s parents.  He is 95 and she is 91.  They celebrated their 72^nd wedding anniversary on November 2, 2011.  They decided to get married after a courtship of about 2 weeks.  Many said such a marriage could not possibly last. 

I have been in the family 47 years and never heard the latter part of this story until today, November 2.  I knew that Mr. Hudson was a teacher and football coach in the small town of Alvord, Texas, where Mrs. Hudson was born and raised.  I was also aware of the low pay ($30 per month) and hard times in 1939.  Without a car or any type of transportation, the only dating was by Mr. Hudson walking out to Tomi’s parents residence outside of town a ways.  I can only assume that deep feelings for each other and a desire to be together along with the huge inconvenience of travel, led to the very short courtship.

Now to the part I had never heard before. In order to get married, a license had to be obtained from the courthouse in Decatur, county seat of Wise County, some eleven miles from Alvord.  It had to be obtained a minimum of three days prior to the wedding.  With a wedding date set for Friday, November 2, 1939, a license needed to be issued on or before Wednesday, October 30, 1939.    

Being a small town football coach in 1939 meant you were also the bus driver, the medic, the trainer, and everything else necessary to play a game.  Without a car, Mr. Hudson decided that on Friday, October 26, he could stop by the courthouse on the way to a football game he was coaching that night.  Since he was the bus driver, he could do that as Decatur was on the way to where his team was playing.  He parked the bus off on a side street as there was no room in the regular parking lot for a school bus.  He put one of his most trusted players in charge of the bus and the players sitting on it.  Upon arriving at the county clerk’s office, he was informed it required a medical approval certificate before one could be issued, so his plans were interrupted.  It was time to get back on the bus and continue to the game. 

 

He saw a doctor on Monday, the 29^th, and obtained his certificate.  Then, he hitchhiked to Decatur to the county clerk’s office, obtained the license, and hitchhiked back to Alvord.  All was set and the marriage was performed as originally hoped on Friday, November 2, 1939. 

  

  

In summary, think about this:  The dollar outlay for the wedding was probably less than ten dollars total.  That is a prorated cost of 4 cents for each 100 days of marriage.  Kim Kardashian’s wedding supposedly cost ten million dollars.  It also lasted for the number 72, except it was days, not years.  That prorated cost is $ 139,000 per day.  I will close with this comment: The difference between 4 cents per 100 days and $ 139,000 per day is enormous.  But it is not nearly as large as the gap of difference between the two couples as related to character, loyalty, intelligence, constitution, reputation, and positive influence on others.