52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 7 -- Valentine

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My parents -- native Texans both -- were married in Oklahoma. Marietta, Oklahoma. Marietta, LOVE COUNTY, Oklahoma, to be exact. Love County? Seriously?

When I saw the "Valentine" prompt for this week, I called my mom and asked her to tell me the story of how she and dad ended up being married in Love County, Oklahoma.



Me: "Did you pick Marietta because it was in Love County?"

Mom: "Oh, no, we had no idea. We didn't know it was in Love County until we received the marriage license back in the mail. And boy, were we ever in love!"

Me: "So why did you decide to get married in Oklahoma in the first place?"

Mom: "Well, I remember it was the end of plowing season and I was helping your dad plow some neighbors' fields to earn some extra money. I remember we plowed about 200 acres for $200, and we decided to take that money and go get married.

"We had decided we didn't want a church wedding, and we'd already talked to Mama and Daddy [mom's parents] about getting married. They were going to California to visit LaVerne [one of mom's older sisters], so we told them we'd probably be married when they got back to Texas.

"Texas had a three-day waiting period after getting a marriage license and Oklahoma didn't, so when we finished plowing we decided to drive to Oklahoma and get married that day. We stopped somewhere else first but the office in that town was closed, and someone told us to go to Marietta, so we did.

"The justice of the peace married us in his house. His wife was one of the witnesses.

"We spent two or three days at that big lake up there. What's it called?"

Me: "Lake Texoma?"

Mom: "Yes, Lake Texoma. That was a big deal to a couple of country kids who hadn't really been anywhere before.

"I remember the first time I saw your dad. I thought, "Look at that good looking guy. I think I'll marry him."

And so she did on August 21, 1954, in Marietta, Love Co., Oklahoma.

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