My parental grandfather, Olin Warner, Sr. was the 5th of 6 boys born to Carrie (Terry) and John B. Warner. My grandfather was only five years old when his mother, Carrie (Terry) Warner died suddenly and it was only 10 years later that his father, John B. Warner passed away. My grandfather at the age of 15 then went to live with his older brother John Wesley and wife Alice (Aldrich) Warner. Olin and Wesley, and later with their wives, continued a close bond.
My paternal grandmother, Agnes (King) Warner was known for
the lists she kept. Whether she was
getting ready for Christmas or planning a 40th Anniversary party you
can be sure Grandma had a list going.
Several years ago while visiting my cousin Diane in Colorado she shared
with me a small green leather notebook of my grandmother’s. While enjoying my grandmother’s familiar
handwriting and looking through the notebook I found a variety of lists,
recipes, etc. One of the lists that caught my eye was the following:
How exciting to find this list of information for the 40th
anniversary celebration of Alice and Wesley Warner from 1958! Alice and Wesley were married on 9 November
1918 and made their home in Riverhead, New York.
This was a typical list of my grandmother’s. Grandma was obviously in charge of planning
the party and she listed everything out to the smallest detail. It’s so interesting to see the menu and the
cost of the party back in 1958. McCabes
was a stationary store in the town of Riverhead, so, I am guessing that was for
purchasing the invitations. There were
also flowers and hmm…prizes. I am guessing that the ‘clock’ was the anniversary
gift for the happy couple.
I do have some
questions though:
- what was the ‘Hall’ where the party was held?
- is this a complete list of those who actually attended?
- was the party actually held on the 8th of November instead of the 9th, their anniversary?
Thinking about the details of this list got me to wondering,
if, like so many other events in my grandparent’s lives, was this recorded in
the local newspaper? Growing up I
remember that on Monday mornings the local reporter, Laura Rodgers, for the
area where we lived would call my grandmother and ask what the family had done
over the last week. Was there anything
to record in the newspaper? I am so
grateful today, as I search for family information to fill in the daily lives
of my ancestors, that so much was recorded in the local newspapers. Was this event recorded there also? Could the newspaper account answer some of my
questions and give me more details of this event?
When searching for old newspapers for Suffolk County, New
York my first stop is usually the free online newspapers through New York Historic
Newspapers. The newspapers I was
looking for in Suffolk County only go as far as 1940. So, that didn’t work. While visiting Riverhead, New York this
summer I decided to see what I could find in the local newspapers for 1958. Surely the local newspaper had copies
somewhere? The current local newspaper, The Riverhead News-Review, directed me to a nearby library (Mattituck-Laurel Library) where I found out
they only had a few years and not the one I was looking for. Disappointing! A second call to the local newspaper told me
they were in the process of digitizing all their editions so they had nothing
available at the newspaper office but directed me to the Riverhead Free Library where they should have the microfilms of the years I was looking
for. A trip to the library finally yielded
the microfilm for 1958. Yea, success for
step one! Then I began searching for the
newspapers for November and December 1958.
I was sure I would find something under the ‘Riverhead’ news section
since my great Uncle and Aunt lived there.
I searched through several weeks and kept thinking Grandma, don’t let me
down. The party HAS to be in the paper. Finally, I found the article I was searching
for as a general article in The News Review, Thursday, November 13, 1958
edition on page 9:
Transcription:
J W Warners Observe 40th
Mr. and Mrs. J Wesley Warner of Riverhead were pleasantly surprised by their friends, neighbors and relatives on Saturday evening, Nov 8, at the Aquebogue Congregational Church dining room. The occasion was in honor of their 40th wedding anniversary.
A buffet supper was served climaxed by the “bride and groom” cutting a beautiful wedding cake.
Mr and Mrs Warner were the recipients of numerous lovely and useful gifts.
Present were Rev and Mrs Robert Samuelson, Mr and Mrs Abe Denholz, Mrs Berger, Mr and Mrs Robinson Goodale, Mr and Mrs Robert Dillilngham Sr, Mr and Mrs Lawrence Hulse, Mr and Mrs Roscoe Palmer, Mr and Mrs Halsey Penny, Mr and Mrs Henry Vail, Mr and Mrs William Vail, Mr and Mrs Raymond Young, Mr and Mrs William Young, Mr and Mrs Horace K. Hallock, Mrs Hulda Diamond, Mrs Milie Downs, Mrs Roswell Corwin, Mrs Florrie Mammen, Mrs Ted Breiling, Mrs. Addison Whitman Sr, Mrs Robert Guy Sr, Mrs Iona Wright, Mr and Mrs Milton Warner Sr, Mr and Mrs Hollis Warner, Mr and Mrs Olin Warner Sr, Mr and Mrs Olin Warner Jr and Mr and Mrs Allen Farrell.
We don’t often get to know how our ancestors celebrated this
type of occasion or who our ancestors’ friends were or who would have been at a
party like this.
What fun to look back in time and see what was done, say for
an anniversary party, in 1958. As for my
questions I now know:
- the “Hall” that was rented was at the Aquebogue Congregational Church
- the party was on a Saturday night (8th) and wasn’t on their actual anniversary on the 9th. Renting of a church ‘Hall’ would make sense that the party was on Saturday night instead of Sunday.
- the clock was one of many gifts given
The newspaper article gives a little more information but is
very close to the account found in my grandmother’s list. What fun to add the newspaper article to my
grandmother’s list. This helps the event
become alive for me and I feel like an observer of the 40th anniversary
party.
If I had been able to search for this online it would have
been difficult to find without just using the word 'Warner' and searching through
pages and pages of findings. I would never have thought to look for ‘J W Warner’. A
good reminder not to limit yourself when searching in online databases.
Was the picture above found amongst my grandparent’s photos a
picture of Alice & Wesley from this party?
I have no way of knowing. It
could have been. What a handsome couple!
Alice and Wesley never had any children, so, I am honored to remember them here
today.
Happy Anniversary Alice and Wesley!
Enjoy the journey,
Debby
