Good morning, everyone! As promised, here's the Connell golden wedding celebration as printed in the 19 March 1942 edition of the Altoona Tribune. Mind you, this is an extremely long article, so it will be split into two days' worth of "old news". Connell's Observe Golden Wedding A golden wedding party was held Monday, March 16, in honor of Mr. and Mrs. W. R. Connell's fiftieth wedding anniversary at their home and later with a program at the city auditorium. A 6 o'clock dinner was served at the Connell home on First Street West for the honored guests and relatives. The table was decorated in gold and white, with a three-tier cake, trimmed in gold and white, as the center piece. A program was held at the city auditorium, beginning at 8 o'clock, with a large crowd of friends attending. The first number was the Flag Salute, with three girl Scouts as flag bearers, followed by a song, "God Bless America", sung by Jeanette Stoffel, accompanied by Virginia Walters. A mock wedding ceremony was performed by Mr. N. D. Bailey, with Mr. and Mrs. Connell as bride and groom. Mr. and Mrs. H. Kersten were their bride of honor and best man. The flower girl was Barbara Ann Flyte, granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. Connell. She was accompanied by Sally and Nancy McGrouary, daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Robert McGrouary. Mr. and Mrs. Al Henning rendered "When You and I Were Young, Maggie," followed by a dance by Miss Jerry McBride of Eau Claire, accompanied at the piano by Miss Verna Ruth Ecker. A reading was given by Mr. Wm. Babington, Sr., and a clarinet duet, "Seeing Zelda Home", by Phyllis Decker and Helen Sauer was enjoyed. Miss Jerry McBride then presented a tap dance and song, entitled "The Wise Old Owl". "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" was sung by Mrs. George Larson and Mrs. Gorden Mills, with Mrs. Wm. Anderson at the piano. Ione Henning played a piano solo, "Farentille's Rustic Dance". Miss McBride was again presented in a tap dance and song selection, "I'm a Little Teapot". Lowell Pettis sang "Our Yesterday", followed by two saxophone solos, "Auld Lange Syne" and "I Love You Truly" by Lois Isaacson. Miss McBride presented an acrobatic dance and Joyce Harris and Helen Sauer rendered "Sweetheart, Let's Grow Old Together", followed by "Silver Threads Among the Gold", sung by Mr. and Mrs. Al Henning. A military dance and son, "We're All Americans", by Jerry McBride was followed by the entire audience singing "The Star Spangled Banner." A brief talk was given by Mayor Fred J. Gloede at which time he presented Mr. and Mrs. Connell a gift of silver from their many friends and associates in this city. Also Mrs. Connell was presented a gift from the Homemakers Club by Mrs. H. V. Kemery. Mr. and Mrs. Connell received a gift from the Sons and Auxiliary of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, it being presented by Mrs. Minnie Barrows. Mrs. Ora Reedle presented them with a gift in behalf of the Eastern Star. ++++++++++++++++ Quite a party, huh? And we're not done yet! I'll try to get the rest of this out to you tomorrow morning (after the turkey's in the oven), so if it's late, don't get too worried. Have a great day,everyone, and I will see you tomorrow! -- Nance