Belles and Beaus, Oh My!

Big Sigh. To my knowledge, there are no wedding pictures of my parents or grandparents. If they exist, I surely don't know where they are! I went through the box of old family pictures that my dad had given me but found no pictures that "screamed out" the "belles & beaus" theme for the upcoming edition of fM's Smile for the Camera Carnival.

So what's a gal to do. I've never been married so I can't show you any pictures of my (non-existent) ceremony. You could use your imagination and think of what it might have been like. Something non-traditional and a bit unusual perhaps. I do have pictures of several fellows that I dated in past lives but I don't think it would be fair to them to show their mugs all over the internet.

Instead, here are a couple of pictures of my grandparents, Hazlette Brubaker and Victor Phend, together, in casual poses. These were from a box given to me by my uncle a few years ago. None of the photos are dated so I don't know where or when they were taken.

If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say these pictures were taken between 1919 and 1921. They didn't meet each other until after the end of World War I and they were married on October 15, 1921 (the first time). Grandpa was 28 and grandma was 19 years old at the time of their marriage.

I wish I had seen the pictures when grandma and grandpa were still alive. What's going on in that first picture? Why are they walking in the railroad tracks, and where? Who took the pictures? Notice grandma's brother Bill in the background of the last picture, thumbing his nose at the camera, the little imp! [As always, right-click on the images for a larger version.]