on him, Johnny. And she ran and ran...until Johnny caught her.

How we would like to walk again the road and take the short-cuts through the fields which were traveled so many times between the two farms. And during those four years of courtship, we would like to have had an opportunity for Nancy, Johnny’s horse, to tell the story. If only horses could talk.

But if we could have been with them, it would have been to see the moon in its mysteries of lunacy and feel the breezes that create sensations which eventually make it impossible for a man and woman to escape the inevitable. That brings us to 11 Mar 1914.

March 11th. Not just another date on the calendar. Winter was trying not to give way to spring. But spring was insisting on doing away with winter. So what do you have? You have melting snow turning the roads and yards into mud as the frost goes out.

Mr. and Mrs. John E. Peterson Sr. and family
Back, left to right: Charles, Ervin, Robert and John Jr.
Front, left to right: Doris, Helen and Lucella.
60th Wedding Anniversary

It is that time of year when the final decisions are made as to who is going to farm which farm. Important decisions. But no decision was as important as this one. For it was decided in 1914, that the four-year courtship should not be extended. Lenora’s mother had died. Her dad had remarried. The Stoskopf farm became available for new tenants. All in all, this was the opportune time...FOR A WEDDING!

The moving began. On March 10th, one family moved out and Johnny and Lenora moved in — with the help of friends and family.

Now, picture this: It is a terrifying thought really. Spring mud and slush were being walked through the house as furniture and needs for living were first being moved out. And then furniture and facilities for living were being moved in. How do you get the house ready for a WEDDING the next day? We will tell you how: You find the bride-to-be working desperately all through the night. On the day of the wedding, she is still working getting everything ready, for the wedding will be held in the parlor of the home they are moving into. There she is, scrubbing floors even while the wedding participants begin to arrive.

A wedding arch built by Bennie Eggen, decorated in white and light blue, stood ready in the parlor. And as happens every day, two o’clock came. But on this day, Nora Danielson brought the organ to life with the playing of the wedding march. The Reverend William Rasmussen took his place at the arch. The best man, Orlando Danielson, and the groomsman, Adolph Wangsness took their places. The matron of honor, Hilda Kennard, dressed in aqua, and the bridesmaid, Marie Halse, dressed in white, took their places. And with the bridegroom, Johnny, in place, all was ready for the bride, Lenora, to come down the stairs into the parlor dressed in a beautiful white wedding dress, daintily decorated with beads. The wedding dress was a gift from her dad, Andrew.

"Dearly beloved, for as much as marriage is an holy estate, ordained by God, and to be held in honor by all...The Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help mate for him.’...John, wilt thou have this woman to thy wedded wife...? Lenora, wilt thou have this man to thy wedded husband...?” And, so in the presence of God and in the presence of the gathered friends and relatives, Johnny and Lenora were wedded, husband and wife.

The wedding was celebrated, first, with a 3 o'clock wedding dinner for over 200 guests (if you can imagine that!). Lenora’s sister had done all the baking. Johnny’s mother and dad, Einar and Ingeborg, butchered a steer and furnished the meat. Ole Dotseth made the wedding cake.

Then! The wedding dance began, with Oli Severtsgaard pushing and pulling on the accordion, and Bennie Eggen making the bow fly over the strings of the fiddle. The feet were light and the dancing a joy.

Through the night and toward dawn (5 o’clock a.m.) the next morning the dancing went on. The gathered people scattered to their various places leaving the bridegroom and his bride the task of loading the chairs and tables on the horse-drawn wagon to be pulled through the muddy and rutted roads of March back to the church. For that day those chairs and tables would be needed for the wedding of Ella Narveson. Thus to be married in 1914 was a very earthly experience!

Johnny and Lenora “settled in.” Their first grocery bill was $1.03, including a dozen plates. They did know how to get a lot for their money. But...after the wedding there was NOTHING left. Nothing to keep body and soul together. So started the first days of the rest of their lives: Mr. and Mrs. John E. Peterson.

The times were never dull. Something was always happening. Take the fact that Johnny and Lenora had one of the first cars in the neighborhood. That may not have been the smartest decision — especially with no driver’s education. How do you stop the thing after you get it going? And once you park the car between the corn cribs, how do you back it out? And, when you drive it down the road and the motor gets very hot, you learn that the motor needs water.

You would not need to be told that where Johnny and Lenora lived people gathered. Whether you were invited or not, you were always welcomed. There you found acceptance and hospitality, whether the table was spread