Faye and Gordon: Our Story
A journey from the dance floor to a lifetime together.
Here we are after the wedding ceremony, posing in a car heading to our reception. After the celebration, we will be heading to Europe. How exciting is that!
How We Met!
Faye: My story about how we met.
I met Gordon at an Anglican Young People’s banquet. The old Hiawatha Lodge was the venue and the place I met the love of my life.
The evening began with a meal, followed by speeches and toasts. Gordon gave a toast—I don’t remember to whom—but it really impressed me. I was struck by his confidence, his articulation, and, I must say, his handsome face.
I must say his handsome face
At the end of the dinner, Gordon asked me to dance. I was thrilled, as you can imagine, but I responded with a “No, thank you.” My excuse was that I did not like country music, which was actually untrue. That is just what nerves will do to you! I was nervous because he was in university and I was still a high school student.
I was sure he would not ask me again, but hallelujah, he did! This time I said yes. We danced the rest of the evening, and he took me home—a bit late, according to my mother.
The next day, Gordon invited me to join him at Shingwauk Residential School to play baseball against the residents. We had a great time and won the game. I really wanted him to ask me out again, but he didn’t right away.
The next date was initiated by me. I wanted to take him to a school dance, which meant I had to call him.
My friends and I decided I should just do it. Dialing the number at the rectory where he lived with his parents took several attempts before I finally let the phone ring. I was nervous and sure he wouldn’t want to attend a high school dance. Much to my relief and delight, Gordon answered and accepted my invitation. That phone call resulted in us dating throughout the entire summer.
Gordon: My story about how we met.
I was a member of St. John’s AYPA (Anglican Young Peoples Association). As a member I was invited to a “rally.” The rally was held at the old Hiawatha Lodge. I bet, I was a speaker at same, but about what I have no recollection. A dance followed and I remember the girl with the most beautiful legs. We danced, and as I remember, she was overwhelmed by my abilities on the dance floor. I was equally inept no matter the dance. I believe I drove her home after the event.
I remember the girl with the most beautiful legs
A week or so later, Faye called and invited me to a girls invite dance at the YMCA on Spring St. and rest is history. We spent the rest of that summer together and then went our separate ways for our studies in Niagara Falls and Winnipeg. Faye beginning her 3 year programme and I my three years in architecture.
That phone call resulted in us dating throughout the entire summer.
How the summer cemented our future
Our summer fun included movies, meals and visits to my house. We even went to an Anglican camp in Whitefish Falls to an Anglican camp together. Spending time travelling to the camp and taking part in activities allowed me to get to know Gordon very well, and I liked what I saw.
My mother thought a lot of Gordon, and he was often a quest at our house. His parents were summering at their cottage in Bracebridge,and I was able to visit them there one long weekend. Gordon’s father joked that Gordon was “stealing from the cradle” because he thought I was only 11 years old! I must admit, I looked very young for an 18 year old.
One special date was at his house. He sent me a handmade invitation to a dinner he cooked the meal all by himself. He prepared a chinese meal of Chop Suey. I was so impressed by the invitation and the meal.
Every young person needs a chaperone right? Ours came in the form of my eight- year- old sister Sandra and our dog Bogey. They always wanted to go with us, and sometimes they did. It was hard to leave when those four big eyes were pleading with us to take them along.
Summer is over, Gordon goes West to Winnipeg Manitoba, and I go South to Niagara Falls.
As summer ended, Gordon returned to the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg to complete his last three years of his 5 year architecture degree. Meanwhile, I left to enter my first year of a three year nursing diploma programme at The Greater Niagara General Hospital School of Nursing in Niagara Falls.
A long distant relationship
Gordon was able to come home for three months every summer to work, but I only had one week off a year. During those summers Sandra and Bogey continued to spend time with him, even helping him with renovations at the camp! When I did get to visit home, I found that many of our dates still included a girl and a dog sitting on the front steps, waiting to join us.
One summer Gordon even drove his old Volkswagen all the way from Winnipeg to Niagara Falls just to visit me for a weekend. I also managed to fly to Winnipeg one winter. I was surprised my parents let me go! Gordon paid for the trip, and we were so happy to have that time together to cement our feelings for each other, of course, the visits were never long enough.
We became engage in July of 1959 when Gordon came for a surprise visit
I knew he was coming but not when. I was busy trying to get myself presentable for his visit when the housemother called to say an “elderly gentleman” was waiting for me in the lounge. I was shocked to find it was Gordon sporting a beard! He did look older, but at my insistence, the beard was soon shave off.
Gordon had arrived in his trusty Volkswagen Beetle, which had carried him all the way from Manitoba to see me.
The Volkswagen not only brought Gordon – it brought a proposal of marriage, which, I eagerly accepted. We bought the engagement ring together- a lovely diamond in a white gold setting.
A fun picture Gordon sent me while we were at school.
Gordon and his cars
I know the problem is down here somewhere.
OUR GRADUATION 1960
We finally graduate
After five years at the university of Manitoba Gordon, graduates as an architect.
After graduation Gordon started working In Perry Short’s Architectural Firm in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Gordon, worked from May until November up until our wedding.
After three years of studies I graduated from the Greater Niagara General Hospital School of Nursing, as a nurse. One became a registered nurse after writing and passing the Registered Nursing exams.
In June I was hired to work at the General Hospital. as a graduate nurse. You worked as a graduate nurse until you passed the RN exams. Which I did and became a Registered Nurse.An RN.
November was the month we were to be married. We became engaged in July 1959. After three years of separation and one year of being engaged we were married. The wedding occurred on November 26, 1960. The the same year we graduated
Our Wedding November 26, 1960
Our wedding occurred on a beautiful sunny day, which is unusual for November. It was also the day of the Super Bowl.This caused some distress to the football fans on our guest list. Despite this distress the wedding went on and to prove it below are some of our wedding pictures. You can also click the button and view a video featuring our wedding.
Some Wedding Pictures
entering the
church.
The Reception
After the Reception
(Groom’s Men)
Our Traveling Begins
The Honeymoon Starts
After the wedding reception we changed into our traveling clothes and left to start our honeymoon. We left on the five pm train, which was an overnight train, bound for Montreal. Traveling overnight by train was perfect. The hum of the wheels and the sway of the train rocked us to sleep.
We were fortunate to have very comfortable sleeping accommodations similar to the picture below.
Accommodations for night travel by train
Arrival in Montreal
We arrive in Montreal in the middle of the day and take a taxi to our Hotel in Montreal. It was the Hotel L’Elysee. The hotel was situated in Old Montreal along the St. Lawrence River. There was a street called Promenade du Vieux-Port that followed the river. The hotel was on this street. It was a stone building with Paved steps leading to a wooden entrance door.
“Hello and welcome Mr.. and Mrs. Smedley” was how the staff greeted us. A pleasant surprise for us newly weds. In short order a Bell Boy took us up a large wooden stairway to the honeymoon suite. The suite was a lovely, cozy room, but again, a surprise, how did they know we were newly weds?
The dining room had an old world charm to it. The tables were covered with white table clothes with candles that added to the romance of the room. We were ushered to our table by a very polite waiter.
Once we were settled at our table, the waiter offered us some red wine. Although a lot of people enjoy this alcohol drink, I did not. Alcohol was a drink I had never drank because I never wanted to loose control. In the spirit of the situaltion I did accept a small glass, however the taste did not change my resolve – not to drink alcohol. I decided it was not something I wanted to have any more of.
Our Dinning Experience
Our meal consisted of several very different courses all of them left us wanting more. This delightful meal was a wedding gift from a client of Gordon’s, Jim Rudack and his wife. Gordon designed their house on Florwin Drive, in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.
The next day we took a walk along the promenade. We joined many people who had the same plan. They were out enjoying the day and the view, as we were. As a bus was picking us up, in the afternoon, our site seeing was short. The bus was to take us to Quebec City, where we would be boarding a ship, to take us to England.
DESTINATION QUEBEC CITY
Quebec City being one of the oldest cities in Canada we were happy to have time to explore it’s quaint features. The ship we were to board was, the MS ITALIA an Ocean Liner. The ship was taking us to Southampton, England. At Southampton, we would leave the ship. We would then fly to London.
Some Views of Quebec City
We had a short visit with my Uncle Rich and Aunt Florence Grozelle on our way to England and on our way back home.
MS Italia a Passenger Ship
Takes us across the Atlantic
The MS Italia docked waiting for us to board
If you are interested in sailing vessels you may want to read what Google has put together for you.
Learn about the MS Italia
This information is from Google:This image is a photograph of the passenger ship MS Italia docked at a port. The text on the stern indicates it was registered in Panama, and the gangway identifies it as part of the Home Lines fleet. The MS Italia has a rich history; it was originally built in 1928 as the Swedish American Line’s Kungsholm, served as a US troopship during World War II, and was later purchased by Home Lines in 1948. It operated transatlantic passenger routes and later Caribbean cruises. For your genealogical research, photographs of ancestral ships provide wonderful visual context to your family’s immigration story.
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT MS ITALIA GENERATED BY AI
The”Italia” of 1950 was built as the “Kungsholm” (2) for the Swedish American Line in 1928. Built by Blohm & Voss, Hamburg (engines by Burmeister & Wain, Copenhagen), she was a 21,532 gross ton motorship, length overall 609.2ft x beam 78.2ft, two funnels, two masts, twin screw and a speed of 17 knots. There was passenger accommodation for 115-1st, 490-2nd and 970-3rd class. Launched on 17/3/1928, she sailed from Gothenburg on her maiden voyage to New York on 24/11/1928. In April 1932 she was refitted to carry 1st, tourist and 3rd class passengers and on 5/10/1939 commenced her last Gothenburg – New York voyage. Subsequently she was used until December 1941 on New York – West Indies cruises. She was bought by the US government on 13/12/1941, renamed “John Ericsson” and served as a US troopship. On 7/5/1946 she was chartered by United States Line and commenced New York – Southampton sailings. In February 1947 she commenced her eighth and last crossing from Southampton to Havre, Cobh and New York and on 7/3/1947 was damaged by fire in New York and repurchased by Swedish American Line. Sailed from New York for Genoa on 21/11/1947 and was refitted and acquired by Home Lines of Panama and renamed “Italia”. After refit, she was 16,777 gross tons and with accommodation for 226-1st, 296-cabin and 800-tourist class passengers. On 8/4/1948 she commenced her first voyage from Genoa to South America, and on 12/6/1949 started her first Genoa – Naples – Lisbon – New York voyage. In 1952 she was altered to carry 213-1st and 1,106-tourist class and on 14/3/1952 started her first New York – Hamburg crossing. On 29/3/1952 she started sailings between Hamburg, Southampton, Halifax and New York and in 1958 was altered to carry 140-1st and 1,150-tourist class. She started her first Cuxhaven – Zeebrugge – Havre – Southampton – Quebec voyage on 23/4/1958 and her first Cuxhaven – Havre – Southampton – Quebec – Montreal voyage on 23/5/1958. Her last Montreal – Quebec – Southampton – Havre – Cuxhaven – Havre – Southampton – Halifax – New York round voyage commenced 28/11/1960 and she then did a single crossing from New York to Halifax, Lisbon, Naples and Piraeus. On 4/9/1962 she resumed sailing between New York, Halifax, Lisbon, Naples, Piraeus, Messina, Naples and New York and subsequently sailed between New York and the Bahamas. In 1964 she became the “Imperial Bahama Hotel” at Freeport, Grand Bahama Island and on 8/9/1965 arrived at Bilbao where she was scrapped.
View the video featuring the interior of this amazing passenger ship
The seas were rough and the winds were strong
What a treat to be on a sailing vessel and to be going to Europe. At the start of our voyage we are in the St. Lawrence River for 3 days of our 12 day trip. While we were in the St. Lawrence River, the water is calm and the winds are pleasant. I did not think November the best time of the year to take an ocean cruise, because, this is when the seas are rough and the winds are strong – a recipe for sea sickness- for me.
Sea sickness anyone?
The first three days were the wonderful part of the cruise, I was happy and enjoying events offered. I was especially, eating and enjoying the wonderful Italian food- until we hit the ocean in the middle of the night. I woke up with a very sick stomach and felt miserable. Time did not heal my sick stomach, it clung to me causing a loss of all interest in food. You can’t even imagine what a horror that was. This was an Italian ship with delicious Italian food. (You can see the menus below).One never likes to see a doctor when you are on holiday, nor did I, so I managed to go to his office when he wasn’t there.
An Hilarious Event
The MS Italia offered a variety of events and activities for the passengers. Despite my illness we attended some events.
I remember attending a movie, which proved to be quite eventful. The seats where the movie was held were not fastened to the floor. This lack of anchorage resulted in the movie watchers sliding in all directions. Sometimes all were moving to the right or sometimes to the left. At other times we were moving forward or backwards. Quite a hilarious time, however, this frantic movement increased my severe seasickness.
Enjoying Fine Food and Pleasant Company
Our table mates: we visited the other couple at an Army Base in Germany where he was stationed
Photos By Gordon
Note the white caps caused by the very strong winds.
I hope you don’t get seasick viewing the pictures.
We were exploring the ship’s decks and looking for places we could get out of the wind. Note the great wave action of the water indicating how rough the seas were and how cold the weather was, it was-remember-November! No wonder I was seasick.
sOUTH HAMPTON
Solid ground a cure for seasickness-a welcome sight
You are viewing the busy port of Southampton. Gordon was interested in watching how the tug boat guided our ship to its the docking area. The pictures below show you some of the excitement around arriving at our destination.
Gibraltar
We were lucky on our flight from Southampton to London as it was a clear day, and Gordon was able to snap the pictures above as we flew over Gibraltar.
we land at gatwick Airport London
Reservations Needed
Apparently, we did need a hotel reservation in London. A cat show was taking place that weekend, and every room in the city seemed to be booked. It was quite a shock, we had assumed that a major city like London would have plenty of hotels available. Fortunately, a kind gentleman managed to find us a room for one night, as the cat show ended the following day. We hoped the hotel would be decent and that one night would be all we needed. To ensure we had a comfortable place to stay afterward, we booked a room at the Regent Palace Hotel for the next day.
How bad could one night, in a not so decent hotel be?
We arrived by taxi at this questionable hotel, received a key to our room and took a very old rickety elevator that shook us all the way up to the floor our room was on.
Opening the door convinced us that we would not choose this hotel again. or stay another night.
Would you have wanted to stay at this hotel? Here is what I remember about it. As soon as I opened the door, I noticed cigarette butts and ashes in the sink. There was dust everywhere, along with a terrible smell that forced us to sleep with the bed pulled up to an open window. It was far from a pleasant experience. Needless to say, we paid the bill and left first thing in the morning. Fortunately, we had already booked a room at the Regent Palace Hotel near Piccadilly Circus, one of London’s well-known tourist attractions.
THE REGENT PALACE HOTEL AND PICADILLY CIRCUS
I do not remember too much about the Regent Palace Hotel but I do remember that we did not have a bathroom in our room. A surprise for such a famous hotel. However, the room and the bathroom down the hall were clean. As my memory is failing me and I want to know more about the Regent Palace Hotel I visite Google who supplied me with the following Information.
Google and the Regent Palace Hotel
The hotel’s upper floors contained mostly single and double bedrooms, many of which did not have private bathrooms. The single rooms were extremely small, with just enough space for a bed, washbasin, chair, table, wardrobe, and window. Rooms facing the inner courtyard still received natural light, while the larger double and twin rooms offered more space and furniture. Bathrooms and toilets were shared along each passageway. Guests could ring a bell to request assistance from a maid, who would prepare a bath, bring hot towels, accompany them to the bathroom, and clean up afterward. Information provided by Google.
London and our must see list
Central City Sites
MUSEUMS VISITED
THE TOWER OF LONDON
TRAFALGAR SQUARE
ANOTHER MUST SEE
Saint Martins in the Field is in Trafalgar Square, Gordon would visit there at noon to enjoy the music.
LEAVING LONDON
The travels begin
London was fascinating we could not get enough of it. It was exciting to see in person the many places we had heard of or seen in books or on TV. We are leaving to begin the second stage or our honeymoon – travelling Europe. We plan on coming back to London to live and work for a while.
Don’t miss these travels.
Clicking on the button below will take you to the page where you will see images and text showing our experiences in the countries we visited on our spectacular honeymoon. We were entertained by flamenco dancing in Torremolinos, attended a bullfight in Malaga, and visited museums in Madrid. We also saw the Eiffel Tower and other well-known landmarks in Paris, in Holland we saw the the Red Light District in De Wallen, Amsterdam, as well as museums and art galleries. Then it was time to return to London, find a place to live, and for Gordon to look for work.
Do not miss clicking that button.
