DiAnn & Gary Svenson Stories

  In this last in a series of blog posts marking 50 years today since Gary & DiAnn Svenson married, The first two photos show them walking out of church after the service in Ossian. The third photo shows Gary & DiAnn on a little parade through Decorah on the Decorah Fire Department ladder wagon. Gary loved being a member, full-time fire engineer, and treasurer of the Decorah Fire Department, as well as the wonderful friends he made among his fellow members.  Extra special thanks to the late Willis and our beloved friend Norma Wangsness for their efforts and works of art in these wedding day  photos, wonderfully preserved  on the highest quality paper 50 years later.  Happy 50th anniversary, Gary & DiAnn!

  DiAnn and Gary and their wedding party are pictured here 50 years ago today, and 25 years ago today at a special surprise 25th anniversary celebration.  Pictured left to right in each photo is Linda Pankow Johnson, Betty Busta, DiAnn Ehler Svenson, Gary Svenson, Rich Svenson, and Kenny Lutkenhaus. Click on each picture for a closer look.  What memories would you like to share from either Gary & DiAnn;s wedding, their 25th anniversary party, or in general? Comment below. 

  This post takes a closer look at three details from Gary & DiAnn's wedding 50 years ago tomorrow: a scan of their wedding invitation, as well as two pages of DiAnn's notes from her personal wedding book, Click on each photo for a larger view. DiAnn's handwritten notes may have actually been made in 1975, the date she notes in the second scan. She notes details likc 2 baskets of pink and white mums for decorations. Sister Doris was apparently the organist for the service, with her cousin Lu Ann Wenthold serving as the solosity, singing "The Wedding Prayer. Host & hostesses were Carl & Sally Svenson and Jim & Mary Jane Suchan. On the third scan, DiAnn notes that her beloved cousin Lavonne Frana was the guest book registrar, and that the couple's godmothers, Bea Dempsey and Marie Frana cut the stunning wedding cake.  DiAnn notes that the Catholic Daughters prepared a very good dinner of  punch & crackers, roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, bu

  50 years ago tomorrow, Gary and DiAnn's wedding was in the previous St. Francis de Sales Church in Ossian, DiAnn's life long faith home. That church included the now uncommon ornate altars shown in these two pictures from their wedding.  Unfortunately, torrential rains in 1993 and tornadic proportion winds in the spring of 1994 fractured the supporting timbers in the church's gothic attic, separating the east wall to the extent that repair was not cost effective. DiAnn's mother Bertha's funeral Mass would turn out to be the 2nd to last Mass held in the church in January 1997.  Click on the photos for a larger look at the church interiors, as well as Gary & DIAnn from from their wedding day, October 21, 1972, and the other anniversary posts. 

  Click on each image for a closer look.  In today's images from Gary & DiAnn's wedding 50 years, ago, we first see DiAnn and her dear friend and personal attendant Kathy Schau. Kathy and her husband Irv joined Gary and DiAnn on their first date, which was to see the Charley Pride (DiAnn's favorite) concert at the 1971 Iowa State Fair.  The second images shows off the beautiful wedding flowers and DiAnn's "something blue." The third images is of matron of honor Betty Busta, DiAnn and bridesmaid Linda Pankow. All images show case the two shades of pink theme to Gary & DiAnn's wedding. 

  After yesterday's photo with Gary's surviving parental figure, today's 50th anniversary post focuses on this picture of DiAnn placing the corsage on her mother, Bertha Ehler. DiAnn unfortunately lost her father, Felix prior to their wedding. Feel free to click for a closer look at the pride on her mother's face. DiAnn and Gary married at Saint Francis de Sales Church in Ossian, where the Ehler family including Bertha had a deep history of participation and volunteering. After she sold the family farm, Bertha would eventually move into Ossian just a block away from the same church for many years.

When Gary and DiAnn were married 50 years ago this week, Gary had already unfortunately lost both of his parents, Sverre and Marie Svenson. His maternal grandfather, George Weflen was able to join the celebration. Gary, DiAnn and Grandpa George enjoyed connecting on their wedding day.  Grandpa George passed away the year following Gary & DiAnn's wedding. George opened one of the original lock boxes at was then the Winneshiek County Bank in approximately 1927. After Gary served as executor of his grandfather's estate, he took over that lock box for his own use. The lock box stayed in the same family for 94 years prior to its 2021 closing. 

In the first picture, DiAnn (Ehler) Svenson is shown  on her wedding day, October 21, 1972 in the candlelit St. Francis de Sales Church in Ossian. She's holding her bridal bouquet. a beautifully framed version of this photo remained in DiAnn's bedroom until her passing. The second photos captures Gary & DiAnn's bridal party - left to right is usher Irenus Baumler, DiAnn's brother in law; bridesmaid Linda Pankow, Gary's cousin; Betty Busta, DiAnn's friend and maid of honor; DiAnn and Gary; Rich Svenson, Gary's brother and best man; groomsman Kenny Lutkenhaus, DiAnn's cousin; and usher Dave Svenson, Gary's brother.

 50 years ago next week, DiAnn Ehler and Gary Svenson married in Ossian, Iowa. The couple's wedding present from DiAnn's mother, Bertha Ehler, was their magnificent 5-tier wedding cake, pictured in these photos. Bertha paid $60 for the cake in 1972, which amounts to $425.13 in 2022 dollars. The wedding cake was s light indulgence in an otherwise quite practical wedding.  In the first photo, Gary and DiAnn can be seen making the traditional first cut of the cake together. The second photo offers a broader view of all the cake's layers and includes the clergy who performed their wedding service, Father Charipar on the left, and Monsignor Peters on the right. The third photo is Willis Wangsness's capture of the cake itself. Feel free to click on the photos and scroll for a closer look.  25 years later, in 1997, Father Charipar came to Decorah to celebrate a special service marking Gary & DiAnn's 25th anniversary, a surprise party organized for them. 

 As what would have been Gary & DiAnn's 50th wedding anniversary approaches on October 21, click on the photo above for a larger view. Gary and DiAnn received this for their 20th wedding anniversary some 30 years ago.  The document details musical memories, headlines of the times, entertainment highlights, what was new and notes from their 5th and 10th wedding anniversaries at the bottom.  And to add a 30 years look at prices to follow up on this document in 2022: 3 bedroom home in Iowa: $190,223 Average income (household): $61,836 New Ford: $33,375 (estimates in the article may have been based on a Ford Ranger) Gas, 1 gallon: $3.71 (as of the day of posting this blog) Bread, 1 pound: $2.25 Milk, 1 gallon: $1.92 Bacon, 1 pound: $7.31