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Memories of Golde Dicks Markham (1996) Golde Markham Dicks 81/125

Eric and I were married January 8, 1928, on the front porch of my home—which now

belongs to Charlie and Pam Cribbs—Fay’s granddaughter. Essie Tyre (Stalvey) and Gussie
Dicks McCall stood with me. I didn’t call them “bridesmaids”; I just asked them to stand
with me.

This wedding was very informal. My best friend, Mabie Jones (Page) played the
wedding march on the piano. Ewel Stalvey and Edward (“Bussy”) Pearce stood with Eric.
The minister was Reverend M. Jamerson, pastor of First Baptist Church in Lake City.
All of our wedding party has since gone on to the great beyond except for two. Gussie

Dicks McCall, my cousin, attended the ceremony. Gussie’s health isn’t good since she
recently had a stroke. Mabie Jones Page, who has lost her eyesight and her hearing, also
attended. I was older than everyone else in our wedding party, except Eric, who was two
years, four months, and nine days older.

We didn’t have a reception. We didn’t have a set of dishes much less china. All we had
to drink was milk, tea, or water out of jelly glasses and pint jars. Ma and Pa discussed a
reception but decided it would be too much of a strain and an embarrassment since we didn’t

have much food or a set of dishes. Ma would have had to make a cake because there was no
bakery in Lake City which specialized in making wedding cakes.
We received many useful gifts. Mr. Joe Young gave Eric money. Mr. Fred Young and

his wife gave us an electric toaster oven. Mr. Tai and his wife gave us a set of silver plated
flatware. We got towels, sheets, pillow cases, and all of the usual things.
Since Eric had only a week off from work, we couldn’t take a long honeymoon. At
this time he was the bookkeeper for the James E. Young Hardware Company. After the

ceremony, we headed for Jacksonville. This was my first trip to Jacksonville, but Eric had
been there a few times. We arrived at the hotel by sundown. We both were starving because
we had .been too excited all day to eat anything. The hotel had a nice dining room, and we

ate supper and breakfast in the hotel dining room. We took in a couple of movies that week.
I had been to only one movie before. In 1928, the movies were silent. All the characters’
words were printed out on a large screen that rolled.
We left Jacksonville on Thursday to spend the night south of Macclenny with Eric’s

Grandmother Johnson. She had just lost her husband the summer before and was thrilled to
death that we stopped by to see her. Both of Eric’s grandmothers liked me, and they took

me right into their family. It was so cold that night and the next morning that I thought I
would never be warm again!

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