Courting in the 1930's

Courting: on a date at Balboa Island, late 1930's

 Growing up in their home I remember looking at this photograph and thinking it was sweet but I don't think I understood it completely. I knew the two people pictured where my grandparents but when you see them as parental figures, both in their 50's, it's difficult to imagine them as a young couple, kissing on the boardwalk. This was the beginning of my grandparents relationship. These are the days that they fell in love. Zim and Myrtle had their whole lives ahead of them. Possibility. Wonder. Excitement.

Myrtle and Zim, the beginning....

The time period was the late 1930's. They had both graduated from High School. And as fate would have it, they both worked at Kresses', a small department store in Alhambra, California. My grandpa worked in the back of the store, in the stockroom. He also made deliveries. Grandma worked at the glass counters in the front. She told me that her job was to sell gloves, hats, jewelry and other small items. There are no photos of the inside of that store but because I've heard stories and seen photos of similar stores from that time, I see it as if I'm watching a movie. I hear my grandparents voices while their are having conversations with customers. I can clearly picture my Grandpa lifting heavy boxes in the back of the delivery truck, my Grandma modeling a watch or a pair of gloves for a customer. As I've mentioned before, employees at Kresses were not allowed to date one another. It was strictly forbidden. Mrs. Dunn would not allow fraternizing among her workers. When Grandpa was in his 90's, I asked him to once again,  tell me the story of how they met...and he talked about "Old Lady Dunn" with the same disdain after all those years. She was quite a character. A bit rotund, as Grandpa would say. She apparently ran the store like a Navy ship. You either did things her way or you were told to leave. I don't even need a photo of Mrs. Dunn, after all of the stories I've heard, I can clearly picture her in my mind. Yes, my sweet grandparents broke the rules and hid their relationship. They dated in secret. My Grandma often said, "I wasn't going to let anyone tell me what to do!" She was feisty. She had spunk and I guess you can even say she had "attitude." Definitely not the same type of attitude as the young girls of today. She still had excellent manners. She just had her own way of doing things and was determined to do them. I really think that I learned this from her. Although, I could use a refresher course on the manners portion at times. Grandpa was a sweet, kind soul. He was gentle, somewhat soft spoken but still opinionated. I only saw him angry a handful of times in my whole life.  I see why she was attracted to him. I imagine their innocent flirting, their smiles to one another. The first time they held hands, their very first kiss.

"Brought me home from Kresses' in his dad's new Ford. Fooled me, I thought it was his."

 

When my Grandma was in her 70's, she decided to make an album of their lives. She organized all of the photos and then used a small felt marker to write notes and descriptions on the pages. I lost count of how many times I looked through that album. When she first showed it to me, we must have sat in the living room for hours while she told me the stories behind the photos. This was one of my favorites. Grandma had dated a man before she met my Grandpa. He did not own a car, so all of their dates were either walking to their destination or riding their bicycles. She said she wasn't going to do that again. She wanted to date a man with a car! Then, along came Zim. Handsome, young, strong, and he was nice! What a catch, she said. She was even more excited when he drove her home one evening, in a new Ford. Of course, after several dates, it was revealed that the car belonged to his father. Grandma said, "So much for that!" Yet, she continued to date him. She told me, "At that point, I was sunk. I already liked him."

Myrtle and Zim. I guess they were meant to be together. Grandpa also dated someone else before Grandma. He told me that she was beautiful but they didn't have that something special that he had with my Grandma. They just seemed made for one another. Of course, their relationship wasn't perfect. None are. But they were married for 67 years. No huge arguments, no separations, just a solid marriage. Every marriage begins somewhere...this was their beginning.