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Our lives marked by a series of events, established along an invisible time line with an ascertainable starting date and an ambiguous ending date. Spending time with mom I learned among those dates two were of great importance. I realize their importance, often repeated, their significance emphasized. Following are a few dates on which to set our narrative.
My mother was born on August 22, 1930, died January 29, 1987.
My father was born on March 9, 1926, died March 28, 1998.
My aunt was born on August 30, 1927, died July 3, 2013.
My uncle Author Leverne Wilson Jr. was born on January 13, 1927. Married my aunt November 27, 1947.
Thomas - Maynard
Mr. and Mrs. Emil W. Thomas, 500 Beecher St., announce the engagement of their daughter, Marilyn Arlette, to Richard E. Maynard, son of Mr. And Mrs. Winfield S. Maynard of Wellsburg.
Miss Thomas attended Elmira schools. Mr. Maynard also attended Elmira schools and served two years in the Navy. (Star-Gazette Tuesday, Jan 20, 1948)
Marilyn Thomas Becomes Bride Of Mr. Maynard
Miss Marilyn Arlette Thomas and Richard E. Maynard were married Apr. 2, 1948 at 6:30 p. m. At the home of the bride’s parents. Mr. and Mrs. Emil W. Thomas 500 Beecher St. Mr. Maynard is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Winfield S. Maynard of Wellsburg.
The double ring ceremony was performed by the Rev. Frank B. Guyer, of the Church of Christ, Rochester. Mr. and Mrs. Arthur L. Wilson Jr., Rochester, sister- and brother-in-law of the bride, attended the couple.
The bride wore a gray wool crepe dress with black accessories, and a corsage of white rosebuds and lilies of the valley. Her sister chose a pink crepe dress with a corsage of purple violets and lilies of the valley.
Following the ceremony a buffet supper was served for the bridal party and immediate families.
For a wedding trip the couple traveled through northern New York State. They are residing at 206 Franklin St. (Star-Gazette Friday, Apr 16, 1948)
Births
Arnot-Ogden Hospital-
A son, today May 3, 1949, to Richard and Marilyn Thomas Maynard of 500 Beecher St. (Star-Gazette Tuesday, Tuesday, May 3, 1949)
My parents married April 2, 1948
My uncle Henry Clayton Moore was born on July 14, 1922. Married to my aunt on November 14, 1951.
My cousin in the mix, Paul Thomas Moore, born February 10, 1949.
I was born May 3, 1949
The following recorded by my mother: Father’s War Record on the Battle Front - on the Home Front
“Enter service January 12, 1944. Was at Sampson Naval Base in New York. From there to Corpus Christi, Texas - to - San Bruno Calif. - to - Spokane, Washington. Then to Samar, in the Philippians. He was hospital maintenance. He was there 18 months. Then to Treasure Island San Francisco, Calif. In May 1946. Was discharged May 18, 1946 in Long Island, NY. Got home May 18, 1946,”
“Enter Navy again December 17, 1952. Went to Brooklyn Navy Yard, then to Rochester in May 1953. Then to Brooklyn again. Discharged November 1953.”
I was born one-year, one-month, two-days after her wedding. She wanted everyone to know beyond any doubt she was not pregnant on her wedding day. That she did not have to get married.
This was a crucial assertion. I suspect behind this lies a story that begs the question, why was this so important? Perhaps as we peek at the past, answers will emerge.
Where you ask did I enter this story to follow? December 17, 1952. I cannot pinpoint the exact time, but I remember sitting in the backseat of our automobile, cold, tired, feeling confused, at night with mom while dad reenlisted. I was 3 years, 7 months, 9 days old.
The Voices begin.
Here I wait as Dick reenlists. Keith sits contently in the backseat, thinking, I know not what, wondering I know what, unable to see what the future offered. One blind date and here we are, lingering. He was socially competent, having traveled the world serving his country while I with peers worked toward graduation, which I will never reach. This was his way of taking care of his family. A path traveled and, if permitted, returning. For him, a known, for us, an adventure, a pathway once traveled, for us uncertainty.
We meet, he was a man; I was a child. Now with a child.
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