Their Story
(Carol wrote this on the occasion of their
50th wedding anniversary)
Lou grew up in Idaho and Carol in Seattle. They
were first introduced in 1944 via the mail. Lou and Bob, a friend from Carol’s
church, were in the Army and stationed in Colorado when Lou invited him to
church one Sunday evening. There, Bob saw a girl in the choir he decided he’d
like to meet. Lou was to introduce them after the service, but by the time he
got around to it, it was too late. Bob had already met Annabell. Six weeks or so
later, Bob and Annabell were engaged.
Both fellows ended up in Buffalo Gap, Texas, with snakes and scorpions for
company while on bivouac. There, Lou asked Bob for the names and addresses of
girls he knew, since he wouldn’t be needing them anymore. A page of names and
addresses were given Lou. He wrote to each lady on the list and received on
answer back – Carol’s!
In October, Lou went home on furlough. He came to Seattle on a Friday evening
and left on Monday morning. Letters continued. He went to Europe not long after
that, serving on a hospital train during 1945. More letters were exchanged, but
there was nothing serious between them. Carol did spend her two-week vacation in
Idaho with Lou’s mother, as they had also been corresponding.
Lou came home in December, and on January 8, 1946, Lou called Carol to say that
he and his mother were driving to Seattle the next day. They arrived on
Wednesday before Carol came home from work. Lou’s mother had him drive his car
well into the driveway where Carol wouldn’t notice it. Lou hid out in Carol’s
bedroom while his mother hid in another room. What a great surprise Carol had
when she arrived home!!!! Late that night Lou asked Carol to marry him and she
said YES! They set the date for the following Sunday morning. When Carol’s
mother was told about the plans, all she said was, “You’ll never make it.”
The streetcars, telephone operators and newspapers were all on strike. The
generator in Lou’s car had died, so it was being repaired. Hitchhiking to and
from town, the ordered flowers and bought rings. So it was that after the Sunday
morning service on January 13, 1946, the Pastor told the congregation to stay
seated as they were about to witness a wedding.
Fifty years later, a quote from Paul Harvey seems appropriate…………
“They are not all slip knots.”
RETURN TO CAROL LOWTHER
RETURN TO LOUIS LOWTHER
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