Elton and Esther

On October 2, 1933, my Mom and Dad kind of eloped. It was the time of the great depression, Dad was "riding the rails" back and forth from South Dakota to Iowa to work for a farmer. It was harvest time and days were filled with picking corn. In those days, corn was picked by hand and the more bushels you could pick, the more money you made. Dad made a fast trip home one week end -- he and Mom had conspired to get married. Neither of their parents approved of the other, so being they were in love with each other, they made their own plans. It was fast and quick and Dad was on his way back to Iowa. It was three weeks before they saw each other again. Dad went back for Mom, they took off for Iowa together and their life as a married couple began. Dad told me this story at their 60th anniversary dinner. All the years while growing up, I knew their parents were against the marriage and sometimes made life difficult for them, but, they survived. Love conquers all !!!