Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1921-06-29
CIR. BAKER WRITES
! zFa0MCALIFORNIA.
Tells About Golden Wedding An
iversary He Attended at Ridge
way Last Year.
ONE BRIGHT SPOTS
OF HIS VISIT HERE
Mr.. Baker and the Groom Were
Competitors in Business for
Forty-two Years.

A letter from G. r. Baker, from
Los Angeles, CAL, former resident
of Ridgeway will be read with inter-
est by our readers. Mr.. Baker made
an extended visit out this way last
year, and he hasn't forgotten some
of the pleasant and enjoyable events
He also states that their two daugh-
ters closed their schools Friday and
| this week start for the South Sea
i Islands, landing at Tahiti first, and
will spend month among the mixed
Spanish and French people, with
some Canibals thrown in on some
of the Islands.
Los Angeles, Calf,
June 26, 1921.
Dear Editor:-While sitting in my
den tonight my mind ran back to
my visit back there last season and
one of the bright spots of the visit
IL will try to give you, aItho it is
/, a year old, but one of the happen
ings that never grows old. A year
ago today was spent in Cresco un-
til about five o'clock, when the writer
was impressed bf an invitation to a
| fiftieth anniversary of a wedding
which he desired very much to at
tend. The train was usually late, and
at the time which it had been going
| | went to the depot to find that it
had gone on time at two thirty. So
! / began looking for some conveyance
to get down to Ridgeway and tackled
the Cunningham garage for car,
lbut nothing doing, / started down
the street for hunt when the book
keeper for the garage came out and
called me back, stating that she
would drive me down, so it was not
many minutes before we were on
our way.
| did not ask the price before
we got to Ridgeway when I did,
and 1t was figured out this way:
Nine miles down at twenty cents
per mile, one eighty and the same
distance back made the bill $3.50, for
the ride, but it was worth the money.
| Shortly we went to the home of
/ the aged couple who had invited
their friends of years, and they were
numerous, and with their family and
relatives made fine company.
! During the evening a number of
the older people present were asked
/ to say something which was well
responded too when the groom of
/ fifty years was asked to add his
ideas of getting married, which he
did in right royal fashion. 1t ran
/ like this:
4 Fifty years ago the 9th of May,
my. wife came up from Chicago to
/ visit us and | was driving spikes
( for the c. NJ. & st. p. r. R. this
side of Ossian. | got SOC extra per
day, as was expert at driving the
spikes, and on the Goth | was UP
home to visit my intended and at
that time it was suggested that we
get married.
! We both agreed on it and it was
up to me to get a conveyance to
where there was a preacher to do the
job.
There was but one horse and buggy
in the vicinity and | went to get
! it and it belonged to Mr.. Shay, now
the Qualley place
He asked me what I wanted it for
and | told him | wanted it to go
to get married with and he positive
lly refused to allow his buggy to
be used for any such business.
l went and reported this to my
wife and asked her what we had
better do and she at once said, then
we will walk
So, we started at once for Decorah,
7 arad 10. I,,n
! the Luther College to have President
Larson tie the knot. When advised
of our desires he positively stated
that he never did that kind of thing
and turned us over to Rev. Brandt,
where we went and stated our case
to him. His first question was what
church DO you belong to? "The
Norwegian Methodist" Nothing
/ doing, | viii not marry YOU" This
stern refusal disturbed the religious
ardor of my wife and she began to
question him on his profession as a
preacher of the gospel, and after
getting him pretty we'll cornered. he
said well | will marry you. So we
were married and after going about
the town for time and getting
something to eat we started back
with the same conveyance that we
came with, on foot, reaching home
at Ridgeway at about eleven o'clock
at night.
The writer and the groom were
Icompetitors in business for forty two
years and he Is still at his post and
can boast OF being the oldest term
OF continuous merchandising of any
man in the county, being better than
fifty years.