Happy 62nd anniversary, Mom and Dad!

Happy 62nd anniversary, dear Mom and Dad!

I find it hard to believe, but you've remained together through thick and thin, the good times and the tough.

You've remained true and faithful to each other.

It's rather astounding in the world in which we live.

Not many seem to take marriage vows seriously and they divorce right, left and center.

But I'm thankful you two decided before God to remain dedicated to one another, forsaking all others. You didn't give up at the first glitch, or separate when your first son died prematurely, 60 years ago. 

Your love for God has strengthened you, and Christ's love has held and carried you through life's storms and joys.

This, to me, is what marriage is all about.

May God bless you richly on your special day.

Love from Robert and Loretta

I sent special greetings to CTV morning news, and they put a special anniversary greeting on TV last Friday.

HERE is the link to the clip. 

My parent's greeting is number five in the greetings for the morning.

  

Happy 60th anniversary, Mom & Dad!

Today, September 3, is my parent's 60th wedding anniversary.

I created a special album for them, and printed the pages and put them in a white binder I purchased from Dollarama as Michael's Craft store had nothing suitable.

The binder has a clear sleeve on the outside, so last night I made a cover for it.

It was fun to work with paper again. It's a medium I enjoy crafting with!

I made each of these pages, plus others, using copies of their original wedding photos.

I layered the photos in the Picmonkey program which is free online.

I upgraded to Royale version so there are more options to choose from.

I always thought my parents looked like movie stars!

My mom was 22 and my dad was 26. They were married in a pretty garden setting at the homestead in Amity Oregon, where my mom was born. I think it's very romantic to be married at the place where you were born and raised. However, my mom dearly wanted a church wedding. At the time, for some strange and unknown reason, the church she attended would not perform marriages in the sanctuary. So you either had to marry at the justice of the peace, rent a hall, or use a garden.

Times changed shortly after that, fortunately, and that church now performs marriages in a proper church building. Another thing that church wouldn't allow, and still don't, is a wedding ring. To me, marriage is a very solemn and holy occasion, and a wedding band represents that state.

I designed this layered card in Picmonkey. It was fun!

I used a lace background, and added a cropped photo of my parents with their wedding gifts.

They opened them after the wedding ceremony, had cake and punch, and dashed off on a trip to the Oregon coast for their honeymoon. They spent a few nights there, then returned to my mom's home with a rented trailer. They loaded up my mom's personal items, including a bedroom set, and headed for the Canadian border along a one lane highway. They arrived late in the evening, and were halted by the border guards to see the paper work for the trailer. Alas, my dad had neglected to fill out any paper work, so they were there until nearly midnight listing the items.

My parents began life in a rented apartment in a house on W 12th Avenue in Vancouver.

The house is still standing. They were on the second floor, and had to share a bathroom.

My mom had a hard time adjusting to city life on a very busy street.

But I'm so glad she and my dad stuck it out all these years.

There were good times and bad, as in every life.

Their love for God made them strong and helped cement their marriage.

In all situations they looked to Him for their strength and hope.

After their first son, Martin James, died due to a premature birth in 1957, they raised four daughters; Loretta, Leona, Marlene, and Marie. They bought three houses in their married life, including a brand new modern home on Monmouth Avenue in Vancouver, close to Sir Wilfred Grenfell School which we all attended. Their 4th home is a condo where they still reside in Burnaby, and where they have been for 17 years.

Happy 60th anniversary, dear Mom and Dad!

God bless you on your special day!

By Loretta Houben

My parent's first little home in Burnaby BC.

I've always loved this photo of my Mom, Susie (Brutke) Williams standing outside her first little home at 4683 Union Street in Burnaby. Until today I didn't know the actual address, so I phoned my Mom and asked if she knew it off the top of her head. (she has a phenomenal head even if she is 81!) She remembered, as she verified it later after looking up an old mortgage receipt. 

My parents were married in Sept 1955 and lived at 131 W 12th Ave in Vancouver until they saved up enough money to put a down payment down on this house in 1956. The house was $6,350 for two double lots! After the down payment they owed $4,900 and paid $50 each month on it. They lived here until buying another home in Vancouver in 1959.

There is a neat online website which features terrific aerial photos of BC.

I realized that the Brentwood Mall area might have my parent's first house in it, if only I could figure out where it was, which I did by using Google maps. It was a little tricky as I needed the hundred block of Union Street and then I needed to figure out where Union Street was!

The white arrow shows where the house is. It's totally amazing how much this area has changed in the past 60 years.

This is getting closer to the house. I didn't recognize Hastings Street at all.

Can you? I counted down from Hastings, to Pender, to Frances, to Georgia and then Union.

Next I needed to know which direction the house faced, and what was next to it. I remember my Mom saying that they were on a double lot, but couldn't remember if it was on the corner. I asked my Dad today, and he remembered the corner street; Beta.

A closer zoom in. My Mom told me today that when they went to finalize the deal and sign the papers, the school just a block away burned down and had to be rebuilt. She was worried as it was quite close to their house. I'd never heard this story before.

By confirming the address with my Mom today, and checking Google maps to get the odd numbered side of the street correct (facing South) and also using the 1958 photo up above so I knew what the house next door looked like, I could pinpoint my parent's first little home. I assume that it was built in the 1920's era. I can verify that by double checking the BC directories and seeing who lived there.

I feel extremely pleased with myself! I also feel like a really good detective...

By Loretta Houben

Aristocratic restaurant at Granville and Broadway

This is where my grandpa, John G Williams, worked as a janitor in the 1950s.

I remember driving past here but we never stopped in to eat, as my parents said in the 1970s it wasn't that good anymore.

Here is an interesting article about the restaurant:

Aristocratic

Currently, as of January 2014, a Chapters book store is at this spot, with a neon Aristocratic sign in the window.

By Loretta Houben

1950's memories...Williams Family!

The handsome young man on the left is my Dad, Jack Williams.

The happy family pictured on the right is my Dad's siblings...the younger ones are Ruth, Bobby and Dennis. Dennis is the youngest. My Dad was like a father to them, as his own dad was so old when he had these children very late in life! (in his 60's) My Dad bought them the lovely toys from Woodward's store in downtown Vancouver BC.

I'm having a lot of fun fiddling with PicMonkey!

This will keep me happy for a while...

I even added "snow" to the above photo. This is just so neat.

By Loretta Williams Houben

A new hobby...sort of...

As you all know, I love old photos!

Tonight while browsing online I discovered a neat FREE website; http://www.picmonkey.com/

It allows you to create collages. Here are my results.

The above is Christmas in 1961, 1962 and 1963 and shows myself with my gifts.

This collage shows my handsome Dad, Jack Williams, striding down Hastings Street in downtown Vancouver BC. Herb Braun, his best friend, is with him on the left, and his younger brother, Dennis is with him in the other two photos.

By Loretta Williams Houben

September...a new month.

On Sept 3, 1955, my parents were married in a pretty garden wedding.

I've blogged about this before, but it will be 58 years they've been married this year!

Imagine being married to one spouse for so long. I think you'd be very attached to one another for sure! My parents are both Christians and love the Lord with all their hearts. Their faith has been an anchor in their married life. They also share many of the same interests.

Happy anniversary, dear Mom and Dad!

On another note, it's a new month with only 4 months left in 2013.

The summer has whizzed past, with July being the driest month ever on record in Vancouver history. It pleased us immensely, let me assure you.

August was a month of renovations. A new front side fence was added, and a beautiful new back deck. We plan to have a deck party tomorrow in celebration of my parent's 58th, and the new deck.

Linda P's husband Fil did the work. He's a very good carpenter.

He's also working on a front fence. I'll post photos at a later date.

It's also back to school time for all those lucky children out there.

Suffice it to say that I'm relieved I don't have children to raise in these days, with all the horrific problems out there, and the complete lack of morals in the world. (or it seems that way to me)

But somehow people muddle through! I'm glad I have the Lord to turn to, and the Word of God as my firm foundation. Underneath are the everlasting arms! (Deuteronomy 33:27)

It was 40 years ago I started High School in complete trepidation. 1973 was a very difficult year for me, as all my elementary school friends moved away or were in completely different classes. I also had to get glasses for nearsightedness and in some ways it helped, and in others it didn't as I hated wearing glasses and thought all my beauty had vanished! It's certainly interesting to read my diary for those years. 35 years ago, on Sept 2, I began my first office job at Canarim Corporation downtown at the corner of Granville and Hastings St.

Here's what I wrote in my journal about it all:

"I can't wait until I get my first paycheck, which should be next Friday. Karen Hunter phoned me Friday night, and offered me a job that she has quit. It is on Granville and Hastings, and is in an office on the 13th floor! I will do mostly filing, but also some typing and mailing. I will get paid $3.50 an hour, and work from 8:30-3:30. I accepted her offer, because I need to gain experience, and I would like some spending money. I am to start on Tuesday. I am quite nervous of course. Today we all went to Frank Baker's Attic, a nice restaurant with antiques. Afterwards we stopped by the place where I am to work, and 13 floors is a long way up! The building is modern, which is good, for then it won't be dingy." 

(Written on Sept 3, 1978)

By Loretta Williams Houben

An amateur movie of Disneyland in 1956.

No, this picture wasn't taken in 1956! This was taken in 2009, of myself and Robert.

However, in traveling through Blogland I came upon a fantastic site.

The Barstow Family won a trip to Disneyland in 1956.

Their adventure is 1/2 hour long, with vintage footage of California in the 50's and Disneyland, which looks rather bleak and bare compared to 50 years later. Some of the adventures don't exist anymore; such as the donkey rides into the mines, and the stagecoach ride in frontierland. I was very interested in Storybook land with miniature houses for Snow White and Cinderella, etc. I wonder what became of them?

Click on the link above for a neat view of life in the 1950's!

I LOVE Disneyland!

Vintage or retro fashion and sewing.

I love to wander in Blogland. It's free eyecandy!

Lately we've been having financial problems so I'm really into "free"!

I'd found a neat blog called Tuppence Hapenny Vintage but as of 2018 it's no longer there!

So here is a Flickr site instead.

It has the cutest ideas for retro clothes and shoes.

(updated January 2018)

She even sells her things on eBay; if I had a waist of 30" I'd love to dress in these clothes and wear these adorable shoes! Anyhow, this is my latest hobby; looking at the lovely wardrobes from the 1940's and 1950's.

Well, I'd better get to the gym and begin working on that pathetic waistline!

By Loretta Houben

Memory Monday...my parent's first home

In June 2006 we took my Dad out, and on the way downtown, we stopped at this old house, #133 on W 12th Ave in Vancouver.This is the place where my Dad brought my Mom in September 1955, after marrying her in the USA. My Mom was in a state of shock, as W 12th Ave has always been a busy street, and it was a few blocks from City Hall. She had a difficult time adjusting to the bustle of Vancouver in 1955, as she was born and raised on a very quiet farm in Amity, Oregon.

My parents lived on the second floor at the front, just above the porch.

They had to share a bathroom with the other tenants!

I'm so glad we stopped and got this picture. The house is still there.

Afterwards we went to the Vancouver Museum to see the neon sign display.

It's fun to do things with my Dad!

2021: I posted the following photos this year, as I think they should be included in Dad's history.

On our way downtown, going down Kingsway, we turned right on Clark Drive, then left on E 20th Avenue, and stopped at 1267 E 20th. Dad wanted a picture outside this house, which is where Paul and Elizabeth Plesko once lived in the 1950's. It was still standing in 2006 but it was torn down in 2018 so I'm glad I got a photo. This house is where my Mom, Susie, stayed with her friend Rita in the spring of 1955 when she came to visit Vancouver on the Greyhound bus. Paul Plesko set a tape recorder under the couch to tape their conversation when Dad came over to visit. But they whispered sweet nothings which the tape recorder couldn't pick up!

Here are a few photos in the Vancouver Museum. Robert and Dad standing beside the boy mummy from Egypt, I believe. He lay there for years but I think he's properly put away now, although I think he should be buried!

Here is Dad standing beside the neon "Jesus, light of the world" sign, which the museum kindly kept after the Apostolic Faith church, which my Dad attended all his life and helped build and was also an usher and in the choir for years, closed and sold and relocated to Langley BC in 2001.

By Loretta Houben

Memory Monday

Every Monday I upload a new vintage photo, or discuss a memory from the past.

Slowly, over time, you will learn all about my life and my ancestors!

Here is my dapper young father, John Herbert Williams, known as Jack because his father's name was also John. He is strolling down the streets of downtown Vancouver.

Unfortunately there is no date, but I would say this was around 1950 - 1952, when my Dad was 21 - 23 years of age. Isn't he handsome? I believe the department store in the background on the left was Spencers. (maybe Spencers Emporium?)

Notice the lack of plastic shopping bags! Notice the lack of jeans.

I love this era! The women dressed up when they went out, even if it was just grocery shopping. I like being casual, but not all the time. Look at the hats they are wearing!

My handsome Dad at the age of 21.

I don't know the name of the man standing beside him.

His good friends, Paul and Elizabeth Plesko are in front of him, with Elizabeth's sister Mary Nagy. My Dad hung around with them a great deal.

Sunday School Christmas Programs

Do you remember Sunday School Christmas programs?

Maybe your church still has them.

Being a paper packrat, I thought I'd begin to scan in some of what I've kept all these years.

Of course, my parents are the Big Packrats, so I've inherited some interesting stuff!

This Christmas program leaflet is from 1956!

If you click on the photos, you will be able to see details.

There were no computers in those days, so the programs were typed first, then sent to a printer.

I love this copy, as my Mom's name, "Susie Williams", is on the right hand side at the top.

My Mom taught me how to play the organ. She played well.

My Mom was only 23 years old when this Christmas program took place.

She was raised in the Apostolic Faith Church in Dallas OR. When she met my Canadian father, and moved to Vancouver BC, they both attended the little Apostolic Faith Church on the corner of Kingsway and Rupert. (the church with the neon sign; "Jesus, the Light of the World")

She told me that it was "sinful" to have a program on a Sunday, as it was too much work, so the program was always on a week night!

Oh, how times have changed.

You can see my Dad's handwriting half way up the right side.

He's marked "lights" near a sentence. He always manned the lights at the back of the church.

He was also an usher, as he loved to meet and talk with people.

I'll be scanning in more programs, so stay tuned.