Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Something Old, Something New

A few weeks ago, I posted a picture of the interior of the church in Wales where my Grandparents got married on my facebook account. The lovely Kim Dare was sweet enough to track down the name of the church, location and a current picture! As you can see, not much has changed in the last 67 years.

My Grandparents met at a dance hall in Cardiff, Wales. My Gram was working as a domestic and my Grandpa was stationed in South Wales with the United States Army. They married in June of 1942 and in 1945, my Gram moved from her home in Pengam to a tiny little town in Michigan to be with my Grandpa.

I just think it's wonderful that the church is still standing (and in fabulous condition) and I thought I'd share those pictures as well as some other period pictures of my Grandparents. (Many thanks to D. Wayne Hankins for the current photo of St. David's)

St. David's in Fleur-de-lys, Wales - 1942

St. David's, Fleur-de-lys, Wales, present day.

Harold and Ruby's wedding portrait. I almost wore that wedding dress when I got married. It fit perfectly, except for the unfortunate fact that I was a few inches taller than my Gram. When I tried it on, I remember being surprised that there was no train. She laughed and told me that everything was rationed - especially luxury items. Being in my early twenties and caught up with wedding drama, I told her that I could imagine that a train on a wedding gown was a luxury. But she said that most young women didn't even get a wedding dress - if they were lucky, they got a nice suit. It definitely put some perspective on my wedding planning.

The wedding party. The couple to the left also got married that day. The young girl next to my Gram is her younger sister Dilys.
My Gram, Ruby Green.
My Grandpa, Harold Bartz.

13 comments:

Cindy Spencer Pape said...

Awesome pics, and a great story!

Margaret Yang said...

"...where my Grandparents got married on my facebook account."

I had to read this twice, because I was wondering how anybody got married on facebook, much less Grandparents. (Facepalm)

Lovely pictures!

Anonymous said...

Love the pictures, Bronwyn! How exciting and beautiful.

Kelly

Anonymous said...

I never noticed how much Andrew looks like Grandpa.

Can I have a love story like they did? Or one with Red Hots, calculus, and Coca-cola?

Because that'd be swell.

Jess Jarman said...

Awesome pics. I love looking at old photos. The church is beautiful--even more beautiful in person I'd imagine.

Anonymous said...

Got teary-eyed seeing those photos you posted here *sniffs into hanky*

Very beautiful photos!

Kim Dare said...

It takes more than a mere 67 years to ring in any changes around here, lol.

Love the old pictures - and the story about the wedding dress.

Anonymous said...

And Ruby looks like Bronwyn...

Kelly

jijah montel said...

hi brownyn.. those are such pretty pictures.. beautiful couple.. beautiful church.. here in malaysia, technology arrived a lot later.. so we didnt really have the chance to embrace it like u did.. it is so interesting.. classic..

Anny Cook said...

Oh how wonderful that you have such delightful pictures! What a lovely heritage!

barbara huffert said...

What wonderful pictures! Such memories they must hold.

Unknown said...

Wonderful genealogy stuff. What a great friend Kim is to have tracked this down for you.

Sandra Cox said...

What a lovely couple! Thanks for sharing, bud.