60th Wedding Anniversary

Jim and Betty Lowder are my dad's parents.  We all call them Jim and Grandmother, except for my cousin EJ, to whom they are Bush and Mom-Mom.  This month, they celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.  Imagine that.  It's 1950, Wichita Falls, Texas, and you're a young man, eighteen years old. You finally get to marry your high school sweetheart.

You probably can't imagine the things to come.  Serving in the Army.  Moving to Alaska.  Eventually coming back to Texas, and settling in Lubbock.  Welcoming a baby boy into the world--and then just fourteen months later, another baby boy!  Five years later, your last, a little girl.  Many reputable organizations lie in your future--Boy Scouts of America, Explorer Post, the United Methodist Church, Texas Tech University.  Dozens of camping trips.  Countless miles logged, usually driving west, unless it's back to your hometown of Wichita Falls.  The perfect timing of your wife's college completion while your youngest finishes high school.  Eagle-Picher wouldn't ever be the same without you.  Your first grandchild is a boy, followed by two more as well as two girls.  Add in another girl and boy when your youngest marries, and then a little boy.  A great-grandson, as well as a few who marry in.  And best of all, known and loved by more people than you can count, twice over at least.

A job well done.

So, this is Jim and his bride Betty.  My dad is their middle child, and I am his middle child.  I'm proud to be a part of this legacy--just as proud as I was to watch them, just last night on Christmas Eve, ask for everyone's attention as they danced together in their living room.  When they were done, through the tears in her eyes, my grandmother explained that that was the song they were singing when my granddad left for the army while they were still newlyweds.  I hope that the love and strength that I experience in my marriage now is still poignant to me on my 60th wedding anniversary.

All of these photos were taken in Lubbock, either at Jim's shop or at Texas Tech.  I hope you can see what we see.

 

And here are a few photos from the shop--Jim's long-term goal and on-going project.

I thought this looked like a Pixar character.

If I could post this on my wall at school, I definitely would!

It's always neat to see what people choose to display...

I remember flying in this plane as a little girl!

 Thanks for looking and appreciating my grandparents along with me!

xoxo Bec