[ When Harold and Betty Woodward became engaged at Christmastime... ]

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Dec 15, 2002 by Capital-Journal

When Harold and Betty Woodward became engaged at Christmastime in 1950, they kept Betty's engagement ring in the glove compartment of Harold's Chevrolet.

Betty was 15 and didn't think her parents would approve, she said. Harold was four years older. Soon, he joined the Air Force.

They married when Betty was 17, during her senior year of high school, because it seemed likely that Harold would be leaving for Korea. Betty went on to graduate.

The day they married, Dec. 22, 1952, in Burlingame, "There was a miserable rain and snowstorm and then it turned very cold," Betty said. Harold had bronchitis and lost his voice. "His 'I do' was whispered, but he did say it," said Betty.

Two weeks later, they withstood a shivaree by friends. "In our PJs, (Harold) was forced to wheel me down Main Street in Burlingame in a wheelbarrow and into a restaurant!" said Betty. "We were surprised and embarrassed by the whole thing."

Harold went to Korea the following July and served there for a year.

Their marital advice is, "Try not to get mad at the same time."

Newlyweds Bruce and Nickele Stiles Alderman met on an Internet Web site and later discovered they work at the same place.

Nickele's mother, Linda Stiles of Topeka, said Nickele visited several Christian matchmaking Internet sites. As a result, Nickele was visited by a Christian fellow from Norway, one from New Jersey and one from Colorado. But they just weren't the right match.

The man from Colorado suggested that Nickele visit the Web site of Bruce Alderman, where Bruce posted stories he wrote about wilderness hiking. Nickele did and then e-mailed Bruce to say she liked his stories. That led to their online friendship.

Several weeks later, Bruce and Nickele met in person. They discovered they work at the same company in Wichita and they have the same birthday.

They married four months later on their birthdays, Sept. 26.

Newlyweds Shannon and Terry Misner Dubbs, married Oct. 19, had a nice wedding day even though some things went wrong.

Terry said late guests were locked out and had to use a side door; bridal bouquets wilted after being kept cold; and the digital auto- focus camera used to take wedding pictures shot all pictures out of focus.

"We had a fun time, but the pictures are really bad," said Terry.

Others at the wedding have given them photos.

The wedding party decorated their car with lots of colorful Silly String, ribbons and heart-shaped helium balloons.

"They decorated the car so wonderfully that we got out of several (speeding) tickets" on their honeymoon trip to Colorado, Terry said.

Readers may recall reading of Terry and Shannon here when they were engaged. Terry and daughter Nicole rehabilitate injured birds of prey and raise motherless baby mammals.

Bob and Celesta Clark, married 60 years, met when Celesta's car got stuck in a mudhole on a country road, they tell us. Bob stopped to help and then went to get a tractor to pull her car out.

They had 11 dates before they were married and exchanged lots of letters while Bob was in military service. On leave during Christmas, Bob gave Celesta an engagement ring. They married a few days later on Dec. 19, 1942, in Overbrook, but an ice storm almost canceled their wedding. They honeymooned at the Jayhawk Hotel in Topeka.

Bill and Clarelyn Stewart, married 50 years, say they have known each other "forever."

"We grew up in the small town of Sylvan Grove. It was so small, everybody just knows everybody," they write.

Bill proposed to Clarelyn on the roof of a three-story house he was painting.

"I climbed out the window on the third floor to give him his lunch," Clarelyn says. "He looked at me and said, "So, do you think we should get married?"

After their Dec. 21, 1952, wedding, they were driving to Topeka to stay at the new Jayhawk Junior Motel, but "a horrible blizzard was blooming and we got caught in Manhattan and never made it to Topeka," the couple recalled.

Their advice for a long and happy marriage is: "Just say, 'Yes, Dear!' "

Nancy Tompkins is The Topeka Capital-Journal's social news reporter. She can be reached at (785) 295-1297 or at ntompkins@cjonline.com.