Love Story
November 30th, 2007 @ 3:26 pm by Mrs. Hummingbird
I have to admit, I’ve been a bad Bee and have let myself get distracted by the new Weddingbee chat feature instead of writing posts (bad Miss Hummingbird!).
Anyway, I’ll have more wedding stuff to write about next week, but for now, since it’s Friday and Fridays are for fun stuff, I would like to share one of my favourite love stories - My grandparents’!
It was 1944 in Quebec and my grandmother June was one of nine children, seven of them girls. It was a big thing to have dances at a community hall back then, so everyone got dolled up and headed out for a night of fun and dancing. Legally, you were supposed to be 16 years old to attend the dances, but since all of her sisters were going, my grandmother (who was a month or so out from being the right age) slipped in with the rest of the Holloway girls for the night.
My grandfather Douglas, who had turned 16 the month before, arrived at the dance with his date, a girl named Jessie from a strict family. He was only allowed to have her out for about an hour before she had to return home for her curfew and, sadly for Jessie, while my grandfather was at the dance with her, he spotted my grandmother all dolled up wearing a beautiful blue dress, and was instantly smitten! Before he knew it, the hour was up, so he whisked Jessie home and ran back to the dance to chat up my grandmother.
Unfortunately, June and Doug didn’t have much of a chance to chat because not too long after Doug’s return, the dance was raided by the police who were searching the dance for underage attendees and one of the first people they busted was my grandmother! They were going to take her down to the station but my grandfather, smooth talker that he was, knew the cops by name (his father owned a general store in Point-St.-Charles and these particular cops used to come in sometimes) and managed to talk them out of arresting her and instead to just bring her home to her parents.There are no pictures of this, but I’ve been told the expressions on my great-grandparents’ faces when they saw their Juney and her date being unloaded from a squad car was priceless!
Anyway, after that crazy introduction, they dated for the next five years before tying the knot in September of 1949 and remained together for the next 42 years (my grandmother passed away in 1991).
I’m feeling schmoopey today, so all you ladies out there, bring on your stories! How did you parents and/or grandparents meet? What are your favourite real-life romantic stories?
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15 Responses to “Love Story”
My grandmother was 16 and playing basketball with the “younger children” at a dinner to which my grandfather had been invited. His father’s construction company was in charge of building at nearby St. Andrews Boys School. She was 18 when they got married and they will celebrate 68 years together next week. My parents in college. My dad was the dishboy in my mom’s sorority (tri delt!) He worked there because they had the best food on campus. He still does the dishes every night.
I’m obsessed with that era! Thanks for sharing! I teared up at the end!
I just read Love Stories of World War II and they are ALL just like that! I couldn’t put it down!
I don’t have any good stories like that but can’t wait to read the others!
Perfect day here for stories like this since it’s pouring rain outside in CA right now and no one wants to work much!
I love that story! My parents met in high school through a mutual friend (they lived in different towns) and fell for each other right away. When my mom went off to college 200 miles away, my dad did one semester at his own school before promptly dropping out to follow her despite not having a school to go to or place to live. He worked like a dog to set himself up to support her and proposed just about every day, but she kept saying no because she wanted to graduate first. Finally, my dad’s persistence and devotion wore her down, she said yes, and they were married the week she graduated college. They’ve been together 35 years and are more in love than ever!
During the Vietnam War, my uncle escaped from a POW camp with help from his sister and she immediately put him on a cramped boat to try to make it to a refugee camp. In the middle of the night, he and hundreds of others managed elude pirates and make it to Kuala Lumpur. The UN commissioner of the refugee island was a Swedish woman named Eva. She came out to meet the boat as it came in. In the following weeks, my uncle was made an interpreter because he spoke fluently Chinese, Vietnamese, French and some English. He ended up working closely with her during his stay at the camp. They would chit chat in French. Eventually, he wound up with his family in Southern California and she was sent home to Stockholm. However, during this time, they kept in touch writing letters to each other. After a year, they decided to get married. He settled in Stockholm and they have been married for over 25 years. (Actually, they were hippies and initially decided they didn’t need marriage. They had my cousin, and when he was two they decided they should get married. Now the entire time, everyone thought they were married. Well, my then two year old cousin ended up blabbing in the middle of a party that “tomorrow, my parents are going to get married”. And they were busted for “living in sin” to my aunt’s entire family.)
My granparents have a classic story: they met at a bar! Grandma told me he asked her to play darts and she beat him soundly! At first I felt awkward telling people I met my own fiancee watching football in a bar, but then I remembered my grandparents’ story. They were married for 49 1/2 years, until my grandmother passed away, and although they won’t be there when I get married, I will be wearing my grandma’s engagement ring with the hopes it will bring me the same happiness.
That’s such a cool story!
What a cute story!! Thanks for sharing!
My grandpa proposed to my grandma over the phone “You think we could get married next Thursday?” He had to return to the Air Force after that. So she said “Okay, I think so!” And bought cards with bells on them at Hallmark for invitations. Amazingly the church got flowers together and my grandma borrowed her sister in law’s dress! My grandpa just passed away in October, making it 55+ years of bliss! Even better, they ran out of money on their honeymoon cross country trek to where he was stationed, and had to survive on donuts for the last day!
My parents are six years apart and lived across the street, not really knowing each other. My mom’s little brother was selling mag subscriptions for school, and my dad bought three! Anyway, my mom needed a date to a church function. Six weeks later, they were engaged! And 28 years later, they’re happily together!
i loved that story! thanks for sharing.
my parents met while my dad was stationed in korea at a christmas party. it was love at first sight…for him. he told her that he was going to marry her and she laughed in his face. 30 years later and they’re still going strong.
Awww, I loved reading these!! I hope ppl will post more stories =) I don’t really have anything good…
Thanks for these stories everyone! And thanks for the idea Miss Hummingbird. I was feeling “shmoopey” too 
My grandparents’ love story:
My grandpa was in the military in the Philippines in the 1940s, during which he guarded the all-girl’s college during WWII; the same college my grandma was teaching at. Every day he’d follow my grandma and her sisters home with his gun. He’d never say anything to her, and would always stay at least 20 ft. behind her. She was never interested in him because she thought he was too serious or weird. But one day, she heard him singing and playing guitar outside her window accompanied by his friends (in the Philippines, this is called “harana,” and it is a romantic way of wooing a girl), and he won her heart. It turns out that he’d only follow her home every day so that he could make sure she got home safely! It also turned out that he was not a serious guy at all! My mom fondly recalls him living life light-heartedly and always making everyone laugh. They were happily married for over 50 years before he passed away in 1987. Whenever I ask my grandma to tell me about him, it still brings tears to her eyes.
Oops! I meant 1997 
not 1987.
My grandparents met while they were stationed as Marines in California. After a few years of dating, they decided to get hitched over 4th of July weekend when they both had leave for a few days. They hit the local courthouse in Reno, NV on the 4th of July but since it was a holiday most of the staff was out on vacation. The secretary there sent them down to the Governor’s house because he was in town (throwing a huge party) and also had the power to marry them. So they walked a few blocks to his house, asked him to marry them, then stayed at the party and celebrated their reception with total strangers!
Four kids, four grandkids, and two great grandkids later, they just passed their 55th anniversary.
Wonderful story! I’ve had a similar theme on my mind this weekend, because my grandparents are celebrating their 65th (!!) wedding anniversary this week. I’m hoping to hit them up for tips on keeping a marriage strong over the years, and to share it with you all before too long….
I wish I knew my grandparents’ story - I will have to ask my parents. I do know that my parents were friends in university, and my dad finally asked my mom to come to a party he and his housemates were throwing as his date. He was nervous so to loosen up, he ate a bowl of the fruit that they’d been soaking in vodka for a week in the fridge, intended to go in some crazy punch. Then he told her she danced like a bear and threw up on her shoes. They’ve been married for 30 years.
Mrs. Hummingbird, Toronto
Age and Occupation: 25, Publishing Coordinator
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Videogame Designer/Cartoonist
Engagement Date: May 4, 2007
Wedding Date: June 28, 2008
Blogging Since: September 18, 2007
Venue: A garden wedding followed by a tented reception on Mr. Hummingbird's father's property.
About Me: I’m a pop culture loving, vintage obsessed foodie living in Canada’s biggest city with my fantastic fiancé and our lovable fluffy cat Bettie. I’m stoked to marry my best friend and to throw what I hope will be
the most fun and colourful party of our lives.
My grandma was working as a house cleaner at a boarding house, she was trying to pay her way through college (in 1930, no small feat). She met the boarding house owner’s son, and got married not too long after. So basically, my grandpa married the help!