In the Way Back Times of June 1943, my Papa, RC Davis, was 16 years old. I presume he was a relatively normal teenager doing whatever normal teens did in 1943. Times were different then, of course, so I don't know if it is appropriate to say that he was a teenager. He had finished school and was helping out his dad, my Great-Grandfather, Clayton Davis, in his various businesses. Pa Clayton did many things over the years, including (but not limited to) running a country store and delivering ice to local families in the Nogalus and surrounding areas.
My Papa (RC) was responsible for the weekly ice deliveries. He would take the truck to Groveton on delivery days, pick up the big blocks of ice, and then make the rounds to distribute the ice. Families would leave the money indicating how much ice they wanted that week and he would unload the proper amount and put it in their icebox, chest, or wherever ice went in 1943.
Saturday, June 26, 1943 probably started off like any other normal ice run. RC headed to Groveton for a trip to the ice house. But on that particular Saturday morning, one Lona Kennedy, age 17, walked out to Hwy 94 and hopped on the bus to Groveton. Once she got there, she met up with RC and their adventure began. Now, RC and Lona (also known as Papa and Mamaw) had been dating, or courting if that is more appropriate, for a couple of years. They had started talking about getting married someday, but hadn't decided when or where that someday would be..
Those two crazy kids decided to go for a drive that fateful Saturday morning. As the day wore on, they realized that "someday" had arrived and it was a good day to get married. Remember, it was a Saturday and not many things were open---but it was a also a small town and most people knew each other. So, even though the county offices were closed, RC knew where the County Clerk lived and decided to stop by and take a chance. The clerk was outside, working in her garden, tending to her tomatoes, and presumably enjoying her day off.
Not to be deterred, RC shared their plan and asked if she would help them out. Now you might think she would brush them off and admonish them for disrupting her day off. But that was not the case. Fortunately, she must have been a fan of young love because she agreed to their plan. She dusted off the dirt and they headed to her office where she prepared the marriage license for them.
First step down-- license secured. BUT they still needed to find someone to perform the ceremony. Once again living in a small town paid off. They headed to the home of a minister they knew and asked him to marry them. Fortune smiled on the young lovers again and he agreed. So, there at the minister's house, with no family or friends of their own-- just the two of them, and the minister's family, RC Davis and Lona Kennedy became husband and wife. And thus began the journey to me. But we will save that story for another day.
So what happens after these two crazy teens tied the knot? Did they run off together? Go out partying--(whatever partying in 1943 looked like)? NOPE! They realized it was time to tell the families and off they went. First stop, the Kennedy's. Lona and RC drove to her parent's house, Grover and Gertie Kennedy (aka Ma Gertie and Pa Grover), to share the news. I imagine them driving up slowly, excited but also very nervous. Maybe clutching hands and wondering if it was all a crazy dream they were going to wake up from. Of course, what do I know...it was 25 years before I was born. They could have screeched in to the driveway, throwing dirt, and whooping it up like it was two-thousand zero zero party's over, oops out of time! You choose your own version!
What I do know is that, Papa got out of the truck and very politely approached Pa Grover. Again I imagine him holding his hat in one hand while extending the other to Lona's dad and saying "Mr. Kennedy, I want to let you know that Lona and I just got married." Pa Grover looked at these two giddy lovers, shook his head (poetic license allowed here), and said what we would expect any girl dad to say in this situation, "Well, let's cut open a watermelon." I mean what else are you going to do on a suddenly not so random June Saturday in Texas? To be fair, Papa said that Pa Grover was known around town for having the best watermelons--- so this was not some run of the mill watermelon. This was a MARRIAGE feast watermelon. Highly appropriate and a great way to toast the newly weds.
After the watermelon was eaten and the visiting was done, it was time to go see the Davis'. Papa was proud, and I imagine perhaps slightly nervous, to introduce his wife to his parents But it appears all went well and the new couple was received with open arms. After a little more visiting, possibly some more food, they went back to Groveton to spend their first night as husband and wife in a hotel--- and we will just leave the story right there.
UNLESS you are like me, and are really concerned about the ice. I mean what happened to the ice? Did it get picked up? Delivered? Did it melt in the truck? Was Pa Clayton left with a ton of ice to deliver the next day? Did people have to come pick up their own ice? Were the communities of Nogalus and surrounding areas left ice less that summer weekend? Did their food spoil? What happened?? As it turns out, no ice was picked up or delivered that day. So, was the lack of ice and any potential inconvenience to faithful customers worth it?
I would say so. RC and Lona were married for 64 years-- wait, what? Can that be right? Let's see...they married in 1943 and Mamaw passed away in 2007. 2007-1943= 64 years. 64 years, four months, and 1 day to be exact-ish until the day Mamaw moved on to whatever comes next. That's a long time. A life I am sure was filled with ups and downs, mistakes and successes, challenges and adventures, but most of all an enduring love between a 16 years old kid and his 17 year old bride.
--- as told by RC Davis with related commentary and speculation from me, Debi Gresham., the first granddaughter (third grandchild--but first girl) of those two crazy kids!
