Family Photo and Love - #52 Ancestors

Merritt and Maude Emma Agard 60th Wedding Celebration

This family photo exemplifies love as each of these couples married young and stayed happily married until death did they part. They served as a strong moral core for their families and for everyone who knew them. They used their talents to the benefit of the communities in which they lived.

The photo was taken in 1983 on the occasion of the 60^th wedding anniversary of Merritt Martin Agard and Maude Emma (Hardenbrook) Agard. The couple on the left is their son John Richard Agard and his wife Beverly (Shepard) Agard; on the right, Edward Francis Nunn and Carol (Agard) Nunn (my parents). The photo was taken at our family restaurant, Taughannock Farms Inn, overlooking Cayuga Lake near Trumansburg, New York.

Merritt’s version of how he met Maude: It was at one of their church suppers (Jacksonville M.E. Church) that he caught Maude Hardenbrook’s eye. Maude had attended with another young man from the community. Merritt, being mischievous, turned the lights out during the supper. While the lights were out, he raced in, took Maude’s hand, and took her away from her companion.

Maude on the other hand liked to tell the story that on one of their first dates, Merritt tried to kiss her and she slapped his face. In any event, they sorted all that out, were married, and celebrated their 60^th anniversary in August 1983.

From their wedding book: They were married at Willow Creek on August 22, 1923 by the Reverend R. L. Smith. Witnesses were Helen Atwater and Alfred Hopkins. Guests were: Mrs. E. Hardenbrook, Mr. Enos Hardenbrook, Mrs. Arthur Agard, Mr. Arthur Agard, Mrs. Menzo Wortman, Mr. Menzo Wortman, Mr. W. L. Twekin, John W. Agard, Mary A. Simpson, Moreia Higgins, Fred D. Higgins, Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Agard, Frank J. Beardsley, Mrs. F.J. Beardsley, Adalade C. Tucker, Mr. and Mrs. John Rightmire, Delia Rightmire, Mr. and Mrs. C. Owen Carman, Dorothy M. Vann, M. Gertrude Godfrey, Eleanor M. Drew, Mrs. Walter Higgins, Mary Higgins, Leon Drew, Walter Higgins, Emily H. Gardner, Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Darling, Cornelia B. Thompson, Mrs. C. H. Smith, C. H. Smith, Kenneth Hardenbrook, Alice D. Sherman.

J. Richard Agard and Beverly Jean Shepard were married July 1946 in Sage Chapel on the campus of Cornell University.

Edward Nunn and Carol Louise Agard were married September 12, 1941 in the rectory of Immaculate Conception Church in Ithaca, New York with J. Richard Agard and Adeline Agard in attendance. The reception was held at her parent’s home on Jacksonville Road. Photos of their wedding can be found on an earlier blog.

I miss these loving members of my family.