Gail McGhee and Clyde Martin married on the 3rd of June in 1945. Fifty years after that, their children held an anniversary party for friends and relatives to celebrate the occasion. Leading up to the event, Clyde repeatedly said, “I’m not going to be there.”
His daughters, knowing how much he disliked fuss and formality, worried that he would carry through on his threat. Fortunately, as the special day came, he put on his dress slacks and a nice shirt to attend. Mom wore slacks with a pink blouse accented with a scarf.
Clyde and Gail Martin with daughter Cynthia and her family.
Their daughters decorated the hall with the rag rugs that Gail and Clyde wove on a wagon wheel. Baskets of sunflowers added more color to the event. Their daughter, Shannon, made a banner that was supposed to say, “Fifty years of growing together.” Instead, it said”growing tougher,” but that was solved by cutting off the last word.
Their son, Owen Martin, made a grandfather clock for them. He was a skilled cabinet maker.
Slide Show at the Anniversary Party
Press the pause button to stop the show so you can see the beautiful rugs the folks made.
The family groups wore matching shirts so friends and family could easily match which grandkids went with which of Gail and Clyde’s 5 daughters. Each of the six children had a photo board of their life and there were photo boards showing Gail and Clyde over the years.
Discovering Mom 