A Wedding Recorded--52 Years Later

I was sure our wedding ceremony had been recorded but the tape was missing.  Then, as a process of this move, I found five tapes in the top of a closet.  One was not in a package; four were unlabeled.

I brought the tapes to the 304 room at the St. Joseph Public Library and the first technician asked, "What are these?"  A second one told her they were reel-to-reel tapes but told both of us that they had no player for listening to them.

So what does one do next?  Go to Facebook and ask for help.  `Our daughter-in-law Susan thought her dad might have one somewhere.  A former neighbor linked me to an audio service that charged $30 each to see what was on them.  Our house buyer and now a new Facebook friend sent me notice of an estate sale here in South Bend that had a tape recorder for sale.

On Friday morning I drove south of town in a heavy rain and made a visit to an estate sale.  The ranch style house was full of stuff--books, dishes, lamps, and furniture.  I was led to a tiny den with a very old recorder with a tape still in it.  We checked to see if it worked and yes, it did, as a man's voice emerged from its speakers.  But it was $35-not the possibly $10 I expected.  I offered $20 but was told that there could be no bargaining until the last day of the three day sale.  I called Jim who said he wouldn't get it but I could do what I pleased.  I called Susan who said she had forgotten to ask her dad about it during her weekly call.

So what did I do?  I had never bought anything from an estate sale in my life, but I bought it--especially keeping in mind that I had just spent $35 treating a friend to breakfast.

It was incredibly heavy so a gentleman carried it to our car.  When the rain stopped hours later, Jim carried it upstairs to our apartment.  And then the struggle began to get it running and to find what was on the unpackaged mysterious tape.  I heard organ music and was optimistic.  After going forward and backward some, we found Flor Peeter's "The Lord's Prayer" sung by our friend Boyd Mackus.  Then we heard Jim's dad introducing us as Mr. and Mrs. James Vander Kam.  I was in tears.  It was so clear.   A long lost important object in our lives was found.

We had dinner plans but when we got home, we skipped the first half of the NBA finals and rewound some more tape to hear Boyd singing "Whither Thou Goest" and to hear our vows.  We had wondered for years if I had promised to obey but....I did not!  We heard the beautiful prayer from the church's form for marriage ending in the hope of our celebrating the marriage of Christ and his church someday in heaven.

How appropriate for us right now to hear Ruth's words sung--"Whither thou goest, there will I go also"--as we make the 8th big move in our married lives.  And how good to hear our vows "for better, for worse; for richer, for poorer; in joy or in sorrow; in sickness and in health.''  We have experienced all of those.   And how grateful we both are to listen to these words together almost 52 years later.

--------------David Banga digitalized the tape for us and sent it to us as an attachment to an email.  And the tape recorder went to Matt Wynn at the 304 Room at the St. Joseph County Public Library who said he would cherish it!