Vicki Prentice

Nov 46 min read

Happy Anniversary, Babe!

It's been a long while since I posted on my blog, and so here I am after one mighty long absence. I began my blog a little over four years ago with the goal of sharing my life story as part of a legacy I want to leave for my children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren (when they come along). It's not that I haven't had many stories to write since my last post. Life has indeed been happening, and there are many more stories to tell.

In this post, I want to focus on this: Today would have been Bob's and my 46th wedding anniversary, but he's not here to celebrate it with me. We made it to our 45th, which was quietly celebrated in pretty much the non-traditional way because Bob was dying of cancer. We had no way of knowing just how long he had left, but as it turns out, it was only another 23 days before he left me so he could stand before his Savior and Lord wholly healed.

I have contemplated many ways to celebrate this first anniversary without Bob. Yesterday, our oldest son, Josh, and I went to Taco John's for lunch, which is exactly what Bob and I would have done. (There's a reason for that "detailed" in a previous blog post.)

Josh even ordered his dad's favorite meal–a taco bravo and a taco burger.

This post is also part of that "celebration" without Bob. As I reflect on the many years of our marriage, I can't help going back to the day it all started: November 4, 1978. We were young—he was 20 years old, and I was only 19.

The day was spent in the usual flurry of excitement getting ready for the big event, though our big event was very simple and small compared to weddings these days. We, like many young couples, opted to break the tradition of the groom seeing his bride for the first time as she walked down the aisle. Tradition gave way to practicality when we decided to have pictures taken before the ceremony.

So, it was nearing time for pictures, and Bob and his groomsmen were nowhere to be found. Luckily for Bob, they showed up just in the nick of time. Seems they were all hungry and had to grab a bite to eat... and celebrate just a few more minutes of his singleness. LOL! Here are a few highlights in photos taken by Pat Miller.

As I went through the photos, I could feel the joy of having all of my grandparents (Ruth and Dewey Ackerson and Glenn and Leoma Nolan) and our folks (Cecil and Sharon Ackerson and Robert and Ramona Prentice) be part of that day and believe that they were all there to greet Bob on his first day in heaven.

We were married at 2 p.m. at the United Methodist Church in Staples, Minnesota. Pastor Edward Stevens officiated.

If memory serves me correctly, one of the songs our organist Donna Miller played before the ceremony began was one of our favorite love songs, EVERGREEN, made famous by Barbra Streisand. Another song I remember Donna playing was a song by Chicago, COLOR MY WORLD.

After a beautiful prelude, Donna played JESU, JOY OF MAN'S DESIRING, as I entered the sanctuary, all eyes on me. I remember my dad was shaking like a leaf! I was supposed to be the nervous one, but I am pretty sure I did more to hold Dad up than he did to hold me up. I also remembered Bob's face. I could tell he adored me and that I was about to make him the happiest guy in the whole USA.

The ceremony itself wasn't very long, less than 30 minutes. It was traditional, simple, and very beautiful. We used to have a cassette tape of the ceremony, but I don't know where it is now (and even if I did, how in the world would I play it?) I do remember a certain two-year-old niece crying during part of the ceremony. Anyway, of course, we said our wedding vows, exchanged rings and lit the unity candle.

Our soloist, Myron Halbersma, sang two songs: WEDDING SONG (THERE IS LOVE) and WE'VE ONLY JUST BEGUN (made famous by Karen and Richard Carpenter).

The Certificate of Marriage was signed by Angela Danielson, my best friend from college and Matron of Honor, and Scott L. Prentice, Bob's younger brother and Best Man. Other attendants were Lois Frank, one of my college friends; my sister Jacki; Bob's older brother Tony; and a friend from broadcasting school, Pat Gilligan. My brother, Scott Ackerson, and Bob's friend, Tom Fricke, were ushers.

We didn't have a wedding dance like couples do nowadays. Our reception followed right after the ceremony. Since it was held in the church basement, we toasted with punch. A lady named Mrs. Killian baked and frosted the cake with a beautiful lacy frosting. I added the silk roses and ferns myself. The floral arrangements were all made of silk and were done by a lady named Nyla.

The servers at the reception were Ina, my best friend from sixth grade, Melissa, Marn, Mary, Sue, Sandy (all high school friends), and LaVonne (Mary's mom). Sadly, I have lost track of many of them.

After cake and punch, Bob and I opened our gifts in front of our guests. People don't do that anymore, do they? Before leaving on our honeymoon, we stopped off at my grandparents' home a few blocks from the church to change and grab a sandwich. Grandma Nolan had insisted on preparing a wonderful luncheon for the out-of-town guests and family. That was so sweet!

Our honeymoon began in St. Cloud, MN, only a little over an hour away. I remember walking into the room, looking at Bob, and saying, "Do you think it would be all right if we went and got something to eat? I'm starved!" It turns out he was starving, too, so we went to Ground Round, where we ate chili. It was the first time either of us had eaten chili with cheese and onions on top of it. (I know. Bad idea to do onions on your wedding night! But it was really good!) Well, that's all I will say about our wedding night.

The next day, we drove to the Hotel de France in Bloomington, MN, where we spent the next couple of nights before heading home and our jobs in Huron, SD.

I had stayed at the same hotel a year before for an interior design conference and thought it was the prettiest place. When we walked into the honeymoon suite, Bob had a dozen red roses waiting for me. I had never had that many red roses before (though in the early days of our friendship, Bob had three sweetheart roses delivered to me when I was sick. Needless to say, when I told my mom, she said, "He's a keeper!"

We had fun exploring downtown Minneapolis for a day and ate lunch at a place called Annie's Parlor, where they made the best milkshakes ever! We also ate dinner at the hotel's French restaurant one night. That was such a treat! We both tried escargot (not too bad, but I don't think we ever ate it again in the next 45 years), and I ate Duck A L'Orange. If Bob were here, I could ask him what he ordered, so we don't get to relive that part of the memory. Anyway, for dessert, we ordered cream puffs. Neither of us had ever had real French cream puffs before. Let's just say they were délicieuse.

I have thoroughly enjoyed it and feel so much happier dwelling on the good memories (at least for now). I loved listening to the songs I have linked here. As popular love songs of the '70s, we listened to them many times over the years. I have enjoyed going through our wedding album and scanning photos to share with you all. It's been therapeutic to write a blog post again. Thank you for indulging me as I took my little journey down Memory Lane.