September 1957 was an exiting month for me. I am engaged to Rose and we are to be married at the end of the month. I am working for Ralph Smith, a contractor and home builder. My job is carpentry. We have been building bi-level homes together since March of this year. I like the work and the pay is very good. The car I have is a 1953 Plymouth Cranbrook. It is is nice condition and drives well.

The wedding plans I leave to Rosemary and her family. However they want to have the church ceremony and reception, I let them decide. I ask my brother Bob if he will be the best man and a good army friend if he will be an usher at our wedding. Rosemary asked her friend Shirley, and her sister Ruth to be maids of honor. Her Mom and Dad ask if they can have a reception at home, in the basement. They are financially able to afford only a small party. This is fine with Rose and me. So, on Saturdays and Sundays I help Rose and her family clean and paint their basement to prepare for our wedding. We have an enjoyable week cleaning and painting. We al had plenty of jokes and stories while working.

Now Rose and I have rented an apartment located at the corner of Roscoe Street and Milwaukee Ave. It is a studio apartment consisting of a living room, bathroom and a very small kitchen. The living room had a Murphy bed in the wall so we don't need a bedroom set yet. Rosemary has a small portable stereo radio/phono that we use. We buy a kitchen set this weekend consisting of a table and four chairs. The first week we decide to paint the apartment. Every evening after work, we meet at the building and paint the rooms. The second week we begin cleaning everything and begin moving our possessions here, which are few. By the end of the third week we have our new home ready to move into. The fourth week we prepare for our wedding

Our wedding day arrives, the 28th of September, and as I remember it, everything was fine. Rose and I liked the party after the church wedding. The basement reception was great. Even though I can't remember much of that. All that matters is that Rosemary and I are now husband and wife. In the evening, when we are ready to leave on our honeymoon, and we go next door to Aunt Gene's and change into comfortable travel clothes to begin our drive to Oklahoma. This is where we are going stay for a week or so. A couple hours after driving we stop at a motel where we have a small dinner, a glass of wine and bed down for the evening together as a married couple. Early in the morning we continue our travel to the west, now as husband and wife. This is the greatest and most important September of my life.

We spend this week in Skiatook, Okla. We visit places in Oklahoma City for a day. Another day we wander around Tulsa until dark.

We use up another day at an Indian reservation, and the evening at a local rodeo. We traveled most of the countryside for miles around. And in the evenings, we stay at my sister and Brother in laws house. It probably doesn’t sound like an exciting honeymoon, however we enjoy every minute of our stay there. Rita and Bob are perfect hosts. We return to Chicago on a Monday and I call my boss to let him know I am ready to return to work. We plan to have Rose stay at home for a while. If need be, she will return to work. This September is the beginning of our new life, together.