GOLDEN WEDDING

The wedding party 50 years later
Doug Scheske - bestman, Ray- groom, Marilyn - bride
Doreen (Anderson) Tamlin -bridesmaid, Gaylene (Engen) flower girl

On Saturday I was thrilled to help my best friend from high  school days in Frontier, Marilyn Anderson, and her husband Ray Scheske, celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. A few years back I used to think that it was OLD folks who reached that milestone. Now that my friends are celebrating their 50th, those couples seem to be getting younger all the time!  In fact Marilyn is six days younger than I am!! 

Marilyn, Elaine and Marilyn's younger sister, Doreen

The three of us were reminiscing about the double duets we used to sing for Luther League programs back in the fifties.  Margit Svee was the fourth one, two on soprano and two on the alto part.
Sadly, Marilyn's older sister, Joyce Engen, suffers from dementia and is in a care home near Regina.  Doreen also lives in Regina so all three sisters are close by.  Ashley had so much fun playing with Doreen's granddaughter and blowing bubbles to enhance the pictures!

Marilyn and Ray were married in Moose Jaw on July 7, 1964 and left a few weeks later for Papua, New Guinea, where they served as missionaries for six years before having a furlough back in Canada. Marilyns' mother, Christense (Odland) Anderson, flew out for a visit at the three years mark.  Now the Scheskes are enjoying their retirement years in a cosy home just a few blocks east of Albert St. in Regina.  It is great to have them close by.  A highlight from last year was to attend a concert by The Tenors with them in Regina.

Their two daughters, Sharri and Lynda, were born in New Guinea. Sherri and her three daughters live in Ottawa while Lynda and her son live in Regina.  Here's a picture of their family.

Ray and Marilyn with their family
(the little hand down in the left corner is a little girl blowing bubbles for them)

I have been on the go for the last week so am behind with my blog posts.  I decided to start with the most recent event and work back in the week, especially since today is actually Marilyn and Ray's anniversary.  I remember coming down from Saskatoon for the wedding with my then boyfriend, Jerry Lundgren, in his new convertible.  We were both attending summer school after a year at university.  We both found other partners, he ended up in Saskatoon and here I am in Torquay.

I'll give you a quick rundown of last week and give some details on my next post.  Laurel and Ashley came down on July 1 for the annual Canada Day celebration at Oungre Park.  On Wednesday we had a three generations trip to Minot, ND where we spent the night at the Sleep Inn.  It's a great motel that is joined to the shopping mall and also has a pool with a big waterslide that Ashley loved.  We headed home on Thursday and left for Milestone on Friday, after I cut the grass and watered my little garden.  On Saturday morning we attended a memorial service for Terry Vinge, who was married to Howard's cousin, Freeman.  They had no family so all their belongings were to be sold and the proceeds divided among their chosen charities.  We found several items at the estate sale that was open to the family that afternoon and will be open to the public this weekend. Then we were off to the Scheske's for the anniversary supper before heading back to the Diekrager farm.  On Sunday we went to Dallas Valley Ranch Camp for the service at 11:00 and the lunch that followed, before heading for Regina with Dawson and Eric. Abbey was playing ball in a provincial playoff tournament that was rained out the previous weekend. Weyburn won their 11 o'clock game so we got to see the next one at 3.  They had to play in the rain for a bit and it was pouring when Abbey was put in to pitch.  Weyburn came from behind and almost defeated Estevan.  I think there was a one point difference.  Estevan went on to play in the final.  We picked up KFC and went back to the farm at Milestone.  This morning I headed home and that ends the highlights of this past week.  Aren't you glad that I didn't give you many details?  I'll add some pictures of those days on my next post (posts?).  See you later.  I'll be busy getting ready for our Erickson reunion next week so don't worry, my posts might be brief.  Check back and find out!