New pastor arrived & our wedding, Oct 23 1943

Now came the time for the final preparation for our wedding. Max's, sister Louise told me one day "we as a family want you to have the large room upstairs in this large stone house. "There was a place where a cook stove could connect with a pipe into the large chimney. This large 40 by 40 stone house had a double chimney that came all the way from the full sized basement right through third floor, going out through the roof several feet into the air. There was a widows walk, which was a wooden fence about ten feet square around the chimney. This stone house was built by stone masons from Quebec. There were many houses built this way in that province as the women used to go up there to keep looking for th men to arrive back from fishing in the ocean, for many times they never did arrive back. The first owner who had this house built came west in the early 1900 & when the hard times came Mr Carpentar had to let it go back to the mortgage company. Max's father had bought it from the Carpentar family when they all moved back from northern Sask to get land near where several of his sisters & brothers were living around Oak Lake.

The dry years were worse in Aberdeen Sask so the Gompf family moved all their possessions by train to Oak Lake. Now Max & I would have a place to live as Max was needed to help with the farming. My future mother in law wanted to buy my wedding dress, with money from her cream cheques, we drove into Brandon about thirty miles away, we picked out a nice white long
wedding gown for $14.98. I had asked Rachel to be my bride maid, & Max's sister Louise to be my maid of honor. Max's two brothers were his best men. The date was set for Oct 23, in 1943. We were to be married in the church in Oak Lake where I had pastored. Max asked the pastor of the Gospel church in Brandon we knew to marry us. My parents came from Parry Sask. Ernie & Clara were just settled into the parsonage in town. I now met my first niece Sharon Elsie, when she was 6 months old. It was decided that my brother in law Ernie Sigglekow would walk me down the isle, then at the alter my father would take my arm leading me to stand by my future husband. I still remember that when the question was asked "who gives this woman to be married to this man," my father answered "I do". I could hear my future father in law, just behind us, weep, for this was the first one of his family he had been able to be at their wedding. His eldest daughter Florence was in Ont when she married but no one of the family could afford to go. His son Stan was married in Winnipeg. Only Max had gone to stand up with his brother but the rest had to be home to do the many farm chores. As we finished our vows after being pronounced man and wife, Max & I sealed this promise with a kiss, a pledge that our union was for life. God's word was a witness to that promise. We had a love for each other that lasted for nearly 65 years, then he left for his heavenly home. I still think of this love we had for each other. We went to the parsonage for the reception with a lovely luncheon given by the church & many from the town helped. These friends had given me the first bridal shower of Pyerx dishes. Which lasted for many years. We left by train that evening for Regina to spend the night at the Mc Veity family. Next day my cousins Harry & Cecile Johnson came to drive us to their farm in the Parry district. No one could come to our wedding from there as it was still harvest time for them. They had a wedding shower for us one evening. Harry Johnson used to tell me if I married a farmer he would give me a cow. He & Cecile gave us a cheque to buy a cow. We also recieved many useful gifts from friends and relatives. We returned to Oak Lake by train so we could move into our home in the two rooms in that large stone house with a number of this loving family.