Two days before Christmas in 1943, the Liebmann Building in El Reno, Oklahoma, burned to the ground, including my grandfather’s Woolworth store. He relocated his family to Cushing, a few counties to the east, and took over the store there.
Mom was 20 years old and was attending a small college in Missouri. Home in Cushing for the summer, she met a tall, lanky kid with oversized ears named Max, two years younger than her.
She brought him to the Woolworth’s store to meet her father and told him “This is the man I’m going to marry”. He was not thrilled.
My grandfather, Dewey Hebbard, was a deeply religious man, and viewed this young James boy as nearly a heathen – he was, after all, a Methodist.
77 years ago today, Dolene Elizabeth Hebberd and Max Eldon James Jr. both tossed religion into the dust bin and were married by a County Judge against the wishes of both families.
I don’t live far from the apartment building where they first lived when Dad came up to work in the aircraft industry in Wichita. When I drive by, I try to imagine the gangly young man and his tiny but fierce bride skipping up the front steps.
They settled in Oklahoma City and set some dreams aside as the kids showed up, as many people do. They bought a lovely ranch style home with “used brick” veneer, which was all the rage in serious suburbia. They were married for sixty three years. Mom called Dad “the eighth wonder of the world”.
As they approached retirement they settled into an inseparable unit. Mom changed her name to “Liza” and informed Dad that she was done cooking – he could either do the cooking himself or take her out. He knew his way around the kitchen, and that became their life. His 12″ covered skillet is still a central piece of equipment in our kitchen.
They sold the house on Utah Street that we grew up in and bought a sweet little condo. When they got the abstract on the house, Mom poured over the documents, sorting out all the details, as was her way. There were bills of lading for all the building materials. There was even provenance of all that stylish used brick. Apparently, it was salvaged after a fire sweep through the Liebmann Building in El Reno, Oklahoma, two days before Christmas in 1943.
Happy Anniversary, you two love birds.