Anniversaries

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Mike and Betty Crowell,Dennis and Susan Herrmann, David and Sandy McGeehee, Tom and Dorothy Attaway, and Carmen and Paul Polhemus gather around their joint anniversary cake during the celebration in honor of their milestone anniversary.

Five Golden Rings....  Childhood friends celebrate milestone anniversaries

 

     Five D’Hanis friends and their husbands recently celebrated 250 years of marriage.

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Five decades of devotion…

 

The children of Rick and Rose Calle Aelvoet happily announce their parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. Rick and Rose were married July 10, 1971, in Selma, after being introduced to one another at a 4-H Vegetable Show in San Antonio by Rick’s cousin, Larry Persyn. Once married, they lived and worked on the family farm in Von Ormy. Their farming would then lead them to living and farming in Sabinal, finally setting up permanent residence with the purchase of their Hondo farm in 1985. While Rick worked on the farm, Rose pursued licensing in Xray, Ultrasound and Mammography and still enjoys working in the field today.

Rick and Rose have been blessed with three children Kim (Dave), Chris (Cassie), Lauren (Philip), eight handsome grandsons (Mason, Cade, Owen, Landon, Dylan, Colten, Carter and Bennett) and one beautiful granddaughter (Amelia)

     All five couples married in 1971.   These ladies have been friends since early childhood (along with many other friends of course).

From the playpen to graduation, they rode bicycles, marched in the D’Hanis Drum and Bugle Corps, participated in competitive athletics, cheerleading and church.  Each of them can trace their family heritage back to the original German/Alsatian settlers in D’Hanis. The girls graduated and moved on to college and jobs.  

     Dorothy Fohn and Tom Attaway married on May 1, 1971.  Susan Rothe and Dennis Herrmann married June 12, 1971. Betty Rieber and Mike Crowell married June 26, 1971. Sandy Carle and David McGeehee married August 21, 1971, and Carmen Langfeld married Paul Polhemus December 26, 1971. 

     Each couple raised a family and are now enjoying time with grandchildren. The Crowells live in Hondo and the Polhemus family lives in Wimberley. The Attaways, McGeehees and Herrmanns live in D’Hanis.  

     The goal for these five couples was to have an anniversary dance that had the elements of the country dances which are part of their heritage. The initial choice for the place was the Holy Cross Parish Hall in D’Hanis. They had all danced there before as children, teens, and couples. They had watched their parents dance there. The original date was to be in January 2021, but COVID forced a delay, and the date was re-set to June. The damage to the Parish Hall from the recent hailstorm removed the Hall as an option.  With the same tenacity it takes to stay married for 50 years and more, the search for a place began. With many venues damaged by the storm, finding that the 140-year-old Quihi dance club was available, was a gift.  The choice was perfect for this group as it was built by Alsatians, and the ladies danced here as well. 

     The dance met the goal of the five couples and more.  Having four generations of people with roots and ties to D’Hanis join in the celebration was joyous. The dance floor filled with couples married more than 50 years to two-year-old children who had adoring family, parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents watch them.

     Keith Lutz, the DJ, and a friend to many in Medina County, gave the opening introductions, the prayer, and the toast.  He captured what the couples wanted to say to all about the blessing of a marriage, through good times and hard times. The dancing began with The Grand March and included classics such as the Schottische, the Chicken Dance, waltzes, two-steps, and pop music from the couples’ history. The Anniversary Dance was truly an occasion to honor the bonds of family, friends and marriage.