by Donna Swagerty Shreve
The date of August 26,1967 finally proclaimed an end to my summer planning of the wedding and working as a lifeguard, swim instructor, and swim coach of a local team. I had work long hours to earn as much as possible before we started our married life.
John worked indoors at American Forest Products, locally known as Stockton Box. He put in eight hours daily of hard labor. We planned our wedding at the end of the summer so we would only have time for a one-week honeymoon before we both went back to school. I was finishing my teaching credential and John had one more year to graduate.
Our wedding at University of the Pacific’s Morris Chapel was at 2:00 P.M. on a Saturday. Unfortunately, it was a typical hot August day in Stockton at 104 degrees. There was no air conditioning in Morris Chapel at that time. My bride’s maids were melting and remained in as little clothing as possible until dressing at the last minute. Three hundred guests crammed into the chapel and there were many little swimmers, identified by their green hair from the constant chorine exposure, in attendance.
The ceremony went off as planned and then we moved to the reception. We had gotten special permission to use the President’s Gold Room for our receiving line. My mother had at first been refused use of the Gold Room. Being quite indignant she wrote a letter to the president of the university explaining the Swagerty long line of U.O.P. students. John and I made the total of thirteen family members of three generations associated with the university. My mother received a personal phone call from the president’s secretary apologizing for the first refusal and a guarantee The Gold Room was ours to use.
Guests went through the receiving line and into Anderson Dining Hall where food, drinks and tables were set up. My father was so grateful when he learned that no alcohol was allowed on campus. Coffee, tea and punch were served along with small sandwiches and finger foods. An afternoon wedding allows for a simple buffet without an expensive sit down dinner being served. Of course, two of our guests spiked the punch but that was not official.
At some point, I changed into my going away outfit and we were given a big send off. The groomsmen had filled our borrowed car with blown up balloons along with cans tied to the bumper. The cans were easy to remove once we were out of town but those darn balloons popped all the way up to Silver Lake due to the change of pressure with the higher elevation.
We had a three-nights reservations at Kit Carson Lodge along side Silver Lake at Kit Carson Pass along highway 88. There was a row of very thin walled cabins just beyond the lodge. The DC current went off at 10:30 each night.
My mother had taken great delight in helping me with my preparations. I think she had the most fun with my wardrobe. I arrived in my elegant pink St. John’s knit suit with fancy beaded hat, pink high heels and beaded handbag. John was wearing a suit. We walked into the lodge looking quite out of place! Dressing up around this place was a clean sweatshirt, jeans, and sneakers. We got to our cabin and realized we had neighbors on either side and, did I mention, very thin walls.
The next morning we went into the lodge for breakfast. I scrambled for the most casual outfit I had, which was still making me conspicuous. In case there was any doubt about what us two greenhorns were up to, our waiter presented us with a telegram from the best man that wished us the best on our honeymoon. The entire dining room became involved and aware. There might have even been clapping.
We now had the day to seek adventure. We changed into bathing suits and rented a rowboat and decided to row across the lake. I wanted to explore the now closed down Camp Mikalo where I had spent several summers as a Camp Fire Girl camper. We made it across the lake and I was able to see the remains of my treasured camp. We hiked about a bit and then rowed back to the lodge. John had worked indoors all summer and had a mayonnaise body with limited exposure to any sunlight. Our day out in the sun did not faze me as my skin was almost leather after a summer out all day in the sun and water. John now had a blistering purple body and not to let him feel miserable by himself, I had just started my monthly period.
After our prepaid three days, we had planned to travel on to Lake Tahoe. My uncle had not made it to our wedding but said I could look him up if I wished during our honeymoon. What an invitation! We decided to save our money and sneak home. Thursday was the last episode of “The Fugitive” and we did not want to miss it. One could not tape or record missed programs. We needed to be there in person to watch it on our television in our first apartment.
We snuck back into town as everyone thought we would be gone an entire week. The next morning, I called my mother and asked if we could come over and unwrap our wedding presents that were stored at my parents’ house. Mom was concerned that we were back in town so early but I convinced her nothing was wrong. The choice between coming home or continuing on the Lake Tahoe was not a difficult one.
Our honeymoon was great material for humorous stories. Some twenty years later we celebrated our anniversary there and found things basically the same including the thin walls. This time, however, we were better prepared with appropriate clothing and sunscreen.
Swagerty-Aldrich Family Web Site 