Sepia Saturday 720. Q is for Question Is Popped: Mom and Dad get engaged. Seventeenth of 26 posts in the April 2024 Blogging From #AtoZChallenge. Theme, My Life: The Prequel (in Snapshots) — adding my parents’ story to the family history mix. Please join me on the journey.

My parents Norm and Peg (Laurence) Charboneau began dating in 1946. They had ups and downs, differences and reconciliations, and geographic time apart with letters to stay in touch.

Eventually, though — after two years of weighing the pros and cons — love won out and my parents decided to pursue their life together. That’s when they got engaged.

A New Jersey engagement

At the time of Dad’s proposal (assuming it was his idea, though more likely it was mutual) Mom was living in Atlantic City, N.J., and working at her first post-college job — teaching vocal music to students at Atlantic City Junior High.

Mom graduated from Potsdam State Teacher’s College, Crane School of Music in 1947 — having done her student teaching in Atlantic City. So when they asked her back for a permanent job, she accepted.

Meanwhile, Dad graduated in February 1948 after finishing up at Clarkson Tech in Potsdam, N.Y., following a break while he was in the Navy during WWII. He then found work in New Jersey, too, and moved to an apartment in Passaic after landing a job at the Dumont Television Lab.

The engagement goes public

My parents were making life plans together — and in the Spring of 1948, the day finally arrived to put a ring on Mom’s finger (you can see it twinkling in the photo above).

Today their engagement would be all over social media, along with photos of Mom’s hand flashing the ring in question. Back then, local newspapers were the way to go .

So my maternal grandparents Tony and Liz (Stoutner) Laurence wasted no time getting their daughter Peggy’s engagement announced in the April 24, 1948 issue of the Gloversville-Johnstown Morning Herald (shown below).

Word travels (relatively) fast

Of course, Mom’s classmate Mary Jean — who fixed my parents up on their first date — had been awaiting this news for awhile.

On a break from student teaching in 1946, Mom came home to Gloversville for the winter holidays and Dad went to see her. Returning to Potsdam, he ran into Mary Jean — and wrote to Mom about it on Jan. 5, 1947.

“I ran into Mary Jean on the train coming up. She practically drooled on me when I told her I was fresh from Gloversville,” Dad wrote. “I shouldn’t say this, I know, but I told her to see how soon the news would get back to me that I was engaged, married, or expecting. It’s happened before, so I won’t be so surprised this time.”

Adieu to the old beau

And what about Mom’s former college boyfriend Bruce Clark? Seems Dad ran into him, too. He described the lead-up in another letter to Mom dated Feb. 24, 1947.

“I can’t wait to see Bruce [Clark] next week to see what his reaction is going to be,” Dad wrote. “I’ve never had the experience of meeting a former boyfriend, nor have I ever been the former boyfriend meeting the new one, so I haven’t any idea how I’d react in his shoes. Time will tell, but I’m having some shatterproof eyeglasses made to be on the safe side.”

Dad wore the same glasses for his graduation yearbook photo that he had on when he and Mom got engaged — so I assume the meeting with Bruce went just fine.

Up next, R is for Recreation at Caroga Lake and Rebound on the basketball court. Please stop back! Meanwhile, please visit the other intrepid bloggers over at Sepia Saturday.

© 2024 Molly Charboneau. All rights reserved.

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