60th Wedding Anniversary of Henry & Susie Yarian Phend

Columbia City Post, Whitley County, Indiana
Tuesday ~ September 2, 1952

Thursday, September 4, will be the 60th wedding anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Phend of this city. The event was observed Sunday while the daughter, Mrs. Bernice Holderman of San Gabriel, Calif., could be home to have a part in the family observance. The eight children of Mr. and Mrs. Phend were all present for the event.

On Thursday evening the Evangelical United Brethren church will give a dinner at 6:30 o'clock in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Phend and members of their family. Mr. and Mrs. Phend have long been closely associated with the local church and Mr. Phend has long served as a member of the Board of Trustees.

Seventy-five people attended the dinner at noon which was served on the lawn. In the afternoon 150 guests called between 2 and 5 o'clock. The large anniversary cake, in white and decorated in gold and pink, formed the decorative note of the serving table.

Mrs. Phend, bride of 60 years ago, was attired in a white print marked with a purple design and on her left shoulder was pinned an orchid with a purple throat.

A Packard electric organ provided music and vocal music was furnished by Mr. and Mrs. LaMar Phend of Osceola, who have their own program on the radio entitled "Strolling Down Memory Lane." The couple were heard at the Republican Convention in Chicago.

Four generations were in attendance at the Platinum anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. Phend, who were showered with gifts of every description. A wrist watch, something Mrs. Phend has always wanted, was a gift from one of her children. Other gifts from the children included a pop-up toaster, an electric blanket and there were gifts of money. The Phend home was aglow with flowers that had been brought in by friends.

According to Mr. and Mrs. Phend it was raining on their wedding day. The couple was united in marriage, at the hotel in Nappanee owned by Mrs. Phend's aunt, by the Rev. O. L. Richart, a minister of the Evangelical United Brethren church. Two of the guests at their wedding 60 years ago were present at the anniversary observance Sunday. They were Ed Phend and Mrs. Clara Phend, cousins of Mr. Phend, both of Nappanee. Movies were taken during the day.

Since 1898 Mr. and Mrs. Phend have resided in Columbia City where Mr. Phend has long been known as a building contractor and where this summer he has served as an inspector on the Mary Raber School where classes were organized today for the first time.

All of the Phend children were in attendance at the wedding anniversary observance of their parents, also some of the grandchildren and great-grandchildren.Guests attended the event from Nappanee, Elkhart, South Bend, Fort Wayne, Goshen, Monticello, Larwill and Pierceton. The daughter, Bernice Phend Holderman of San Gabriel, Calif., left today for her home on the Golden State Limited out of Chicago, after a month's visit here.

Henry and Susie with their children: Rolland Victor "Vic" (my grandfather), Cecil, Russell, Paul, Bernice, Virgil, Gerald, and Don Phend. September 2, 1952.

Henry and Susie Phend with their great grandchildren, September 2, 1952. That's me on the left side, sitting on the ground. My brothers, Doug and Jack, are between me and Susie. Doug was 5, I was 4, and Jack was 3 years old. I wish I could say that I remember Henry and Susie, but I don't. I would have been 8 years old when Susie died and 10 when Henry died. Two years after this picture was taken Susie went into a Nursing Home after suffering a stroke and remained there until her death on April 29, 1956. In January 1956, Henry fell and broke his hip. He too was put into a Nursing Home where he resided until his death on July 10, 1958.