Grover's Take on Things

Today, July 11, 2018 would have been my parents’
75th wedding anniversary!

Readers of these pages will know that neither of my parents is still living — Daddy having died at age 64 and Mother passing away just days before her 88th birthday.

Were they still with us now, Mother would be 93 and Daddy would have celebrated his 100th birthday earlier this year. So, oh my goodness! If they were here, imagine the party we’d be having today!!

If you haven’t already read them, let me invite you to read the story of their meeting, brief courtship, and wedding day in two articles I wrote in 2012. I learned much more than I had known about that time after having searched and found the lady who was their Flower Girl (and Ring Bearer) in their ceremony. Her name, Janie Proctor, was written in Mother’s handwriting on the back of the copy of the above photo that was in our house all the time I was growing up. I incorporated Janie’s wonderfully memorable stories in these articles: 69 Years Ago and 69 Years Ago — The Sequel: The Flower Girl’s Story.

Among the myriad things you’ll learn from those “Flower Girl” articles is that, when Grover and Ruth decided to get married, they visited Grover’s uncle — George Gold Trevathan, a Baptist minister — to ask if he would marry them. He heartily agreed, and offered the use of his home in Pinetops, NC for the ceremony.

Both the wedding and a later reception were written up in Raleigh’s The News and Observer, in The Rocky Mount Telegram, and in a local, but otherwise unidentified, newspaper called The Booster. It would not surprise me if I learned that Daddy’s older sister, Ruth Proctor Covert, had written the copy — or even that she had pretty much planned the entire wedding. She was an amazing lady.

So, in honor of their wedding day, in honor of their 75th anniversary, and (most of all) in honor of Mother and Daddy, let me invite you to join me in a virtual journey back to that wonderful day in 1943, through the verbatim accounts from the newspapers. (Now, just because it got in the papers, don’t think this is going to be a Charles and Diana type event. After all, we’re talking about a quiet farm boy and a smart small-town girl. But that was love in their eyes that day, the same love that was with them all the rest of their lives.)

It’s early on a beautiful North Carolina Sunday morning, July 11, 1943. You’ve dressed in your “Sunday finest,” driven to Pinetops, parked the car as near as you can to the Trevathan residence, and entered the house.

Suddenly, it’s quiet, and all eyes turn to the top of the stairs…

          On Sunday morning, July 11th, in Pinetops, Miss Edna Ruth Hooks, of Apex, became the bride of Grover Belmont Proctor. The wedding was solemnized in a quiet and very beautiful ceremony, at 8:30 o’clock at the home of Rev. and Mrs. G. G. Trevathan, uncle and aunt of the bridegroom.
          Rev. Trevathan, Baptist minister, officiated for the double ring ceremony with relatives of the couple in attendance.
          Janie Proctor, tiny cousin of the bridegroom, was ring bearer.
          The vows were taken in the living room at an altar improvised of white flowers and a pair of three branched candelabra holding lighted white tapers, against a background of ferns and ivy.
          The bride descended the stairs unattended, and there met the bridegroom. They entered the living room together. For her wedding she wore a street-length dress of soft white sheer crepe, a tiny veiled turban, and all white accessories. Her flowers were American Beauty roses and lilies of the valley. The tiny Ringbearer wore a frock of pink taffeta and carried an old-fashioned nosegay of pink and white flowers.
          After the ceremony, Rev. and Mrs. Trevathan entertained the wedding party and guests at a wedding breakfast. They were assisted by Mrs. V. F. Bullock.
          The bride and groom later enjoyed a dinner given in their honor by several friends and relatives. Afterwards, they left for a wedding trip to Georgia and Florida, during which time they visited Mrs. Proctor’s brother, James Hooks, U. S. Navy, stationed at Brunswick, Ga., and his wife, the former Miss Lois Pritchett of Petersburg, Virginia.
          The bride is the attractive daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Harold Edgerton of Apex. She is a native of Apex and was graduated from high school there. She received business training at Apex and is now employed by Rogers Insurance Company.
          Mr. Proctor, elder son of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Proctor, of Rocky Mount, has spent the greater part of his life in Moncure, where he was graduated from high school. He is connected with the Seaboard Airline Railway Co., in a clerical capacity, now located in Apex.
          After September 1st the couple will be at home in Apex.

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          Mr. and Mrs. Henry Proctor, Sr., entertained with a reception at their home in Moncure last Saturday evening, July 17 from 8:30 to 10:30 o’clock, honoring their son, Grover, and his bride, the former Miss Edna Ruth Hooks of Apex.
          Mr. and Mrs. Henry Proctor were assisted by their daughter, Mrs. Otis Covert.
          Receiving at the door were Mrs. Covert and Mr. Proctor who presented Mr. and Mrs. Grover Proctor.
          Mrs. Grover Proctor wore a dress of white chiffon and shoulder corsage.
          The home was attractively arranged in colorful summer flowers and ferns.
          The guests were served in the dining room as soon as they arrived. Mrs. T. E. Hinton and Miss Dorothy Mae Burns presided at the punch bowl. Delectable sandwiches and sweets with salted nuts were served on a snow-white tablecloth. In the center of the table was an arrangement of summer flowers.
          A large number of friends called during the evening.

 

Thank you, dear Reader, for taking this virtual journey with me. Even with the somewhat dated “Social Pages” style of the writing, I can still mentally “see” the events unfolding. So in that sense, I have the rare opportunity of seeing my parents’ wedding, which took place 8 years before I was born!

Happy Anniversary, Mother and Daddy. I love you and miss you both so much! Do you mind terribly if we put off that big party I mentioned until we are all reunited again? After all, A Diamond (Anniversary) Is Forever !

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ARTICLE © 2018, DR. GROVER B. PROCTOR, JR. — ALL RIGHTS RESERVED