[Granville-Hough] 1 Feb 2010 - Marriages, Then and Now

[Trustees for Granville W. Hough]

Date: Mon, 01 Feb 2010 08:18:47 -0800
From: Granville W Hough <gwhough at oakapple.net>
Subject: Marriages, Then and Now - 1 Feb 2010

  I may be repeating myself, as I cannot always remember the 365 stories 
of 2009; however, here is one recollection that I like.
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Marriages (Then and Now):
I read that ôtraditionalö weddings, with all the trimmings, now cost on 
the average across the U. S. $27,000, with the high in New York City of 
$40,000, and averages going down to about $18,000 in a few states. And 
yet we know that fifty percent of these great social events have to be 
redone within a few years. It seems to me to be a great waste of human 
resources.
Just think about all the marriages performed in SullivanÆs Hollow by 
Justices of the Peace W. M. Howell and J. F. Harvey. Did any of those 
marriages cost $100? Well, the license in Raleigh might be $5.00. What 
did the JP charge, $1.00, $5.00? I can hardly imagine $10.00, as such a 
price would have caused to couple to seek someone else to tie the knot. 
A mayor, or Member of the Board of Supervisors, or even a hireling 
minister, would probably have been happy with $5.00 in Depression days. 
A few got the license, started a family, and never got around to filing 
the return which stated who and when the license was carried out. Maybe 
they did not have the $5.00, or whatever the JP wanted. Were these 
marriages successful? There were of course marriages where the couple 
slept together each night, quarreled each day, parented ten children, 
continued quarreling through their fiftieth anniversary, were buried 
next to each other, and probably quarrel today in Paradise. Divorce 
happened, but it was not in style. Most couples just plainly and simply 
loved each other, morning, noon, and night. The price of the wedding had 
nothing to do with it. Grandpa Hough