55 Years and Counting

Loren and Lorane cutting the cake, June 2nd, 1951.
(Click pictures for larger view)


50th Anniversary cake was a replica of the original wedding cake with a top as similar as we could find. In 1951 the original was decorated around the bottom with white carnations and fern. (2001)


Loren & Lorane (Grandma & Grandpa) with Nyssa, enjoying their big day.

"Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being "in love" which any of us can convince ourselves we are.

Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Your mother and I had it, we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two."
~ from the movie Captain Corelli's Mandolin

Fifty-five years ago today, Loren and Lorane became husband and wife, partners in life facing both the good and the bad together. Through the years there have been hard times, death of loved ones, the birth of new life, disappointments, triumphs, sickness, and great reward.

Five years ago we celebrated their 50th anniversary with a small party of 250 or so of their closest friends. It was obvious by the response that we needed a larger venue so we traded churches with a wedding that was going to be very small. Family came from as far away as California, cousins came that had not seen Dad for forty years. Doctors, dentists, members of the Bible Study Fellowship, women in the arthritis swim group from the YMCA, former teacher colleagues, and congregations from two churches in the Virginia Beach area joined in. Long time friends from Florida, Roanoke and Washington DC were here. All three bridesmaids in Mom's wedding party were able to come and march down the isle with walkers and canes to witness a renewing of their vows. One of the couples celebrated their 50th anniversary only a few weeks earlier and had no children, so we watched as they too, renewed their vows. Letters to fill two large scrapbooks came in from all over the country. Letters that sent congratulations, reminisced about times past and special moments and those that contained pictures from bygone days. These documented a lifetime of influence and service to others and have become a treasured keepsake.

This weekend we are away, going to another 50th anniversary, this time Dad's brother Jerry and his wife Orpha. Again family will be together, some of us after being away for thirty years. It is a time to reflect on life and love, the past and the future and to see again for ourselves that yes, it is possible to get this thing called love right.

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