FAMILY ANNIVERSARY POEMS
This poem was written by Errol E. Pond, son of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene E. Pond, and grandson of Mr. and Mrs. William Bell Conklin. Errol wrote this in honor of his grandparents' 50th Wedding Anniversary. It was read by Errol at the anniversary celebration held on February 17, 1974, at the Dexter Community Hall, Dexter, New York.
LOVE IS GOLD
Though
the present is best when it is past
We wish that it wouldn't go so
fast.
But when we stop to think of it,
We often laugh or smile a bit.
Since
then the world has seen such strife,
Whether the fault of him or of his
wife,
As she does her chores with cloth or
broom,
She hears of all of our world's
gloom.
They did
find time to play around,
So, now in this world many more are found.
First came the one for me they give the
blame,
She is the one they call Elaine.
Of whom
was next, let me think hard,
Ah, Yes!. Of course! It was
Leonard.
(Not bad when running out of time,
And just can't think of a word to
rhyme.)
But now I've thought of the appropriate
word,
As in his job, is of course, his
herd.
Then,
there is of course the man called Rolly,
Though he works so hard he stays quite
jolly.
He is the one who operates a truck
And quite handily generates a
buck.
To end
this rhyme it seems too early,
Now I know who's next, it's
Shirley.
She's the one who has come to be
Al's.
They now have two very fine
gals.
Of
course she is not the least at the last,
But is an important member of this
cast,
Joan is the one for whom many
fought,
But Basil's the one; she fell for
him,
Now we are charmed by Scott and
Kim.
At
least! That brings us to the end of the line.
Oh, Heck! There's Beck! That nephew of
mine.
In trying to realize all they have
done,
We could go on till the end of the
sun.
The
point to be made,
Is together they stayed.
Because of them, so much love we have
found
The next anniversary poem was written by Minnie Gladwyn Conklin for the 25th anniversary celebration of William and Carrie Chapman Conklin who were married at the Conklin Homestead in the Town of Hounsfield in Jefferson County, N. Y. The couple was honored at the Conklin home on October 4, 1918. Perhaps one day I will post a photo of this nice- looking couple taken soon after their marriage. For the genealogy of this couple, you might take a look at my WorldConnect Database. There are a couple of delightful letters written by Carrie in my Old Letters Section (see homepage).
You want to know about--let me see--,
'Twas a bonny morn, but a little chill
(I think I'm right--we'll leave it to Will.)
A young man hurried the morning's work,
He never had quite the heart to shirk,
But a date was on and at his request
Dad and mother and all the rest
Quickened their pace, for with such a date
It wasn't the thing to come in late.
At the noonday hour a happy pair
Came walking demurely down the stair
With John and Gertrude on either side
To help the minister make a bride.
A few short words and an earnest prayer
For the happy couple kneeling there,
Then Brother Ernst made the glad acclaim
That Carrie Chapman had changed her name.
Congratulations and wishes said
We went to a table with dainties spread
And ate to the health of the bride and groom.
To Brother Bert and Gertrude again
Came the honor of taking them to the train.
Pardon, dear friends, the nonsense mood;
Thank God that memory, for our good,
Omits the sad and leaves the gay
Glad thoughts to cheer us on our way.
For there were faces with us then
Whose smiles we shall never see again
Till we meet at last in our final home
Where sadness and partings never come.
I wish they might look on this happy scene,
And know that the years that come between
Can never blot from memory
That the best we are and hope to be
We owe to the counsel, love and prayer
Of the dear ones waiting over there.
Memory again takes a backward glance--
You remember the night Will went to the dance;
Not for pleasure we must admit--,
But gravely looking for Dr. Witt;
And Mrs. Miller came with a whirl,
And Aunt Minnie held a brown eyed girl.
A little girl who had come to stay
To brighten the days and cheer the way.
God grant that the girlie they held so fast
Be their joy and pride while life shall last.
And now as kinsman, neighbor, friend,
We come that each may help to lend--
A hand by presence, gift and song,
By friendship tried and proven strong
To cheer your hearts and pave the way
To make this anniversary day
A milestone on the journey home
To point to happier years to come.
And you may reach the golden bar
Where all the sunset pleasures are;
And then we'll come again if fate
Will grant, and help you celebrate,
Or meet you in the home above
Where all is joy and peace and love.
Minnie A. Conklin
Here's an anniversary poem (loose use of the word, poem) written by our daughter, Tara, for her grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary. She responded to my urgent E-Mail message asking her to quickly write some sort of poem so that we might have it when we left from our Ashland home for Watertown on the following day. The obedient daughter she is, she followed thru with this silly little piece -- not fine-tuned she warned us. It was a hit and provided lots of laughter at the time in 1997. It popped up again at Grandpa's funeral two weeks ago (November 24, 2000), relieving our sorrow, momentarily. That time it was read by Martha Farone, Uncle Ed's daughter-in-law. Martha did a great job and with only 5 minutes' notice, too. Thank you, Martha. (by Shirley Farone, owner of this website.)
AL & TILLIE
Listen, friends, as we tell a tale
That started long ago,
Of Alfred and Matilda
Back sixty years or so.
It began in 1916
In Watertown, New York,
When Mary and Luigi
Were visited by the stork.
And only six months later,
Down in Utica town,
Came baby boy Alfred S. --
Our patriarch of reknown.
Now Alfie grew to be a man
And hung with Ralph and Joe.
He collected bills and joined the Corps
And what else, we don't know....
Now Tillie, she was quite the gal
Over at Watertown High.
She was a true Gibson girl
At the laundromat, me-oh-my!
The year was 1936
That fate caused them to meet.
'Twas Tillie for Joe and Gina for Al
A combination that COULD be beat.
They traded girls, they traded guys,
And in the following year,
Al asked Till to be his wife.
He did it without fear.
So off they went to church one day,
April tenth it was...
Ed and Will witnessed their vows
Like all good siblings "does."
Well ten months later on Jefferson Street
Their glee could not be matched.
The neighbors calculated months
Till Baby Al was hatched.
Now Pop worked hard to feed the group.
He worked for Benny Marks.
He pounded nails at old Pine CampAnd then he packaged parts.
The family moved to Olive Street
And out popped baby Louie.
Tillie lived close to her Sis
She had so much to-do-ee.
And would you know they moved again
To Willow Street -- in January
To their surprise, they had a girl --
It was their sweet Rosemary.
(Can this go on, our Tillie pined,
A baby every year?
Let's stay right here on Willow Street,
And then I will not fear!)
While Alfie was out making dough
Young Tillie she did mop
And wash and iron and straighten things.
The cooking never stopped.
The kids, they battled bravely
And called their mother "Hon."
"Out in the garage," she'd say to them
And smacked 'em on the buns.
They welcomed Carl and Linda--
They now had grown to seven.
They lived at 724 Hancock Street
A little slice of heaven.
Dorr, the milkman brought the milk,
Spaziani's brought the bread --
Lots of bread, ONE glass of milk,
Or Hon would have your head.
"Get a moving," Till would shout,
"Your cereal's getting cold."
The bowls were huge, filled to the brim
Much more than most could hold.
And then one day in '44
Before the war was won,
Al offended Tillie,
To Fort Knox did he run.
There he learned the Morse Code
While Till missed him, she found.
"No problem, Ma, you watch the kids,
And I'll board a big Greyhound."
Well, it wasn't too long after that,
The U.S. dropped the bomb,
And Alfie got to come on home
To kids and dog and Mom.
To Thompson Park on summer nights
After platefuls of spaghetti,
And playing games out in the street --
These things kept homelife steady.
The year was 1958.
When Al went to the farm.
There lived a girl named Shirley --
He really loved her charm.
While Al was off a-wooing,
Louie joined the Marines.
Who incredibly can pick up car...
It must be all them beans.
When Lou came home from Tokyo
He found to his surpise
A man named Dean, that girl named Shirl--
The family'd grown in size.
Pretty Mary Lou Pecori
And a girl named Peg O'Neil
Also joined the family
Our boys' hearts they did steal.
For Till and Al this was the start
Of kids leaving the nest.
The grandchildren -- they were soon to come --
We know that they're the best!
Nineteen sixty seven came
And Air Brake work was slow,
So Pop leased out a poolroom
Where the guys got hungry, you know.
He fixed an awesome ham and cheese.
Could lay on the pastrimi,
He loved to make them sandwiches
And that ain't no salami.
Carl and Louie helped him out
They went to join the clubHistory was made in '69
They called it Mr. Sub.
As far as family business goes
This was mom and pop
Alfie mixed the meatballs
And Tillie slung the mop.
They worked so well with sandwiches
They quit that old Air Brake
For R & R they cottaged
At that place down on the lake.
Pop built this place himself, you see
His carpentry skills were dandy.
Noni kept the broom on hand
In case it should get sandy.
Well, life went on, as it still does
Non and Pop are dear
If it weren't for those two sweethearts
We might not be here!
And now we wish them all the best
Keep jumping that jump rope
And take your pills and nurse your ills
And fill your hearts with hope.
Written by a granddaughter, Tara L. Briner
Read by granddaughter, Andrea M. Green
at the
Farones' 60th Anniversary Party
held at
Benny's Steakhouse
Watertown, N. Y.