Before moving on, I want to mention that the words to the song sung at Grandpa and Grandma Jacob J. Toews’ fiftieth anniversary were written by Oma. I had not realized this when I included the song in the previous blog containing Grandma Toews’ testimony at the anniversary celebration, but I was duly informed about it soon afterward!
Now that we have considered Grandpa and Grandma Toews’ testimonies given in connection with celebrating their 50 years of marriage, let’s back up 50 years to their wedding! As far as I know, no one who attended that wedding is still around, so what we have to go on is what has been written and the documents and photographs which accompanied the occasion. Lets view them in the order in which they were made, starting with the invitation to the wedding.
The invitation being printed in German means most of us have a difficult time with some of the words. Here is the text of the invitation in English:
P. H. Frans and Wife
joyfully invite you
to the wedding of their daughter
Agatha
to
Jacob J. Toews
Wednesday the 12th of July, 1916
at two-thirty o’clock in the afternoon
in their home
by Mountain Lake, Minnesota
Before the wedding took place, Jacob J. Toews needed to apply for a marriage license. He did so, and the license was readily granted. What is probably the most interesting feature about it for us is the date on which the license was granted. It is the very day that Opa, Arthur Odens, was born about 53 miles away from Mountain Lake, where Grandpa Toews lived, and about 42 miles from Windom, where Grandpa Toews obtained the marriage license.
The wedding itself was mentioned briefly in Grandpa Toews’ testimony recounted in a previous post. Their wedding picture is one of my favorites, because of the subtle, reserved smiles on each of their faces. This is particularly noteworthy because the custom of the time was to have a serious facial expression for photographs. Grandpa and Grandma Toews did a wonderful job of combining joy and seriousness in this pose, in my estimation.
It was official! Mr. & Mrs. Jacob J. Toews were united in marriage on July 12, 1916.
