Bill's Broadsides

Family e-union, continued ...

Among the many long-lost relatives I've heard from since I started writing this blog is a Mrs. Shirley Pelletier of Granite City, Ill.

Shirley was nice enough to send me a package of material about our mutual family tree, including photocopies of photographs and my great-grandparents' obituaries as they appeared in the Leader Republican in 1938 and 1947.

I could go on about this stuff for ages, but considering it's probably not of interest to anyone other myself and my (apparently huge and far-flung) family, I'll keep it brief.

One of the cool things Shirley sent me is a newspaper clipping that reported my great grandparents renewed their wedding vows on their 50th anniversary.

I found it interesting that the newspaper's headline said, "Well Known German Couple Renew Marriage Vows," considering they came from Erdberg and were technically Austrian.

And surely you will join me in a chuckle over this gem: The priest who presided over the ceremony at St. Patrick's Church in Johnstown, a Father James Dasey, "congratulated Mr. and Mrs. Ackerbauer on the culmination of 50 years of happy wedded life and said the significance of the occasion was in sharp contrast to many present day marriages, some of which last little more than a year."

That item ran in the Leader-Republican on Nov. 22, 1937.