to view as a PDF - Hansen`s Sno-Bliz

Special Brides Issue
DIXIE
The
Times-Picayune.
THE
HANSENS
AFTER
50
YEARS
January
23,
1983
THE
WEDDING
OF THE
YEAR
50 YEARS LATER
By Pat Sims
he first time Ernest
Hansen saw Mary
Gemelli, she was arguing
T
business.
Being a sensitive soul, he
left, but after a couple of
backward glances, he was
hooked. He knew — somehow
— that she was the girl he
wanted to marry and at their
next meeting he told her so.
She laughed at t h a t , b u t
apparently something had
clicked with her, too.
Eleven months later, on
with her brother
Angelo: He wanted her to
trade her two-door sports
coupe with the rumble seat
for his more pedestrian Ford,
but she was having none of
it. When Hansen suggested
she give in gracefully, she
told him to mind his own
Mary Gemelli and Ernest Hansen got married in the
midst of the Depression and Prohibition. But that didn't
scale down their celebration. There was a 21-member
entourage to escort them down the aisle and an opulent
bash at the top of the Jung Hotel. The Hansens and
their friends got together 50 years later to remember
the big day. There were kisses and hugs and food and
drinks and stories traded with members of the wedding
party. There was (see inset, left to right) groomsman
Peter Loisel, maid-of-honor Irma Loisel Seibert,
groomsman Jack Scardino, bridesmaid Esther Abadie
Daly, the bride and the groom, groomsman
Joseph
Gemelli, matron-of-honor Lily Lomonaco Doyle, flower
girl Lillian Adams Liposky and junior usher Gerald
Gemelli.
November 16, 1932, they
were m a r r i e d a n d on
November 16, 1982, they celebrated
their 50th wedding
anniversary at Gallier Hall.
I n s i d e t h e i r h o u s e on
South Roman Street where
they have lived for 40 of their
50 years together, the Hansens
sit talking, surrounded
by memorabilia. There are
pictures of them as a young
couple, just married; of Mary
as a girl, hair neatly parted,
looking innocent and expectant;
of Mary and her parents
and brothers, looking
more like four brothers and
sisters than parents and
children.
On the dining room table
are souvenirs of the Gallier
Hall reception: silver goblets
engraved with their names, a
pair of gold and white wedding
bells crocheted by a
friend, a bottle of champagne
with streamers still attached,
PHOTO BY ELIOT KAMENITZ
WHEN WELLWISHERS
GATHERED TO
HONOR THE
HANSENS ON
THEIR 50TH
ANNIVERSARY,
THE TALK TURNED
TO MARY'S RAINBOW
WEDDING.
which, with typical generosity,
they h a v e offered to
uncork on the spot.
It is a r a i n y S a t u r d a y
afternoon and the Hansens
are discussing their wedding,
the Gallier Hall reception 50
years later and what happened
in between. Mary, sitting
at the dining room table,
does most of the t a l k i n g ,
with Ernest in an easy chair
nearby, clarifying a point
here and there.
First it was snowballs.
That was the avenue
through which thousands of
New O r l e a n i a n s c a m e to
know Mary and Ernest Hansen.
Over time. H a n s e n ' s
Sno-Bliz (in business now for
43 years) became something
of a legend. In some families
several generations became
customers. In local papers,
articles detailing the snowmaking machine invented
and patented by Mr. Hansen,
Mrs. Hansen's trips to select
the ice, the washing of the ice
and the painstaking daily
concoction of the flavors
became de rigueur when the
subject was snowballs. Later
it was their son Gerard who
brought the Hansens some
measure of fame, when he
w a s elected m a g i s t r a t e of
Criminal District Court.
But on N o v e m b e r 16,
1982, when over 200 wellwishers gathered to honor
the Hansens on their 50th
anniversary, the talk turned
to t h e w e d d i n g 50 y e a r s
before, Mary Gemelli's rainbow
wedding, which had
been large and beautiful and
elaborate, and which had
been, many insisted, THE
wedding of 1932.
Continued on page 10
Mary and Ernest Hansen:
still cuddling after all
these years.
n Wednesday,
N o v e m b e r 16,
1932, Al Capone
was appearing in
c o u r t in m a n a c l e s ; Leon
Trotsky was just emerging
from exile in Turkey; Babe
Ruth was negotiating a new
contract; Franklin D. Roosevelt,
who only a week before
had scored a stunning defeat
o v e r H e r b e r t H o o v e r to
become president-elect, was
recovering from a bout of
influenza; and thanks to the
anti-prohibitionists, "real
beer" was being promised by
Christmas.
On t h a t d a t e in a n d
a r o u n d New O r l e a n s , the
Chalmette Chapter of the
Louisiana United Daughters
of 1812 was urging its members
to protest the use of the
word "hell" in motion pictures;
G e o r g e Raft w a s
appearing live at the Saenger
(25 cents for matinees, 35
cents after 6 p.m. and kiddies
15 cents any time); Trixie
Friganza and Her Discoveries
could be seen on stage a t
Loew's; Ann P e n n i n g t o n ,
"said to possess the best
shaped legs in America and
the originator of the Black
Bottom d a n c e , " had j u s t
arrived in the Crescent City
and was to appear "supported
by Phyllis Hunt, Hot-Cha
Girl, and Lindy Coons,
Crooning Master of Ceremonies";
Miss Fairfax was
h a n d i n g out advice to the
lovelorn; m e n ' s overcoats
were on sale for $3.95; furnished
a p a r t m e n t s were
being offered up at a weekly
rate of $5 dollars and pork
chops were going for 15 cents
a pound.
But the big news that day,
according to the New Orleans
States, was the weather — a
cold 33 degrees was forecast.
That alone made November
16 something of a novelty for
tropical New Orleans. Coupled
with the occurrence of
the wedding of the year, it
became downright historic.
For Mary Gemelli a n d
Ernest Hansen, it could have
been raining or snowing or
s u n n y and they probably
wouldn't have noticed. All
they know was that it was
their wedding day and there
were h u n d r e d s of people
waiting to witness the big
event. It was an event noteworthy
not only for its style
and size, but also for its timing
— it came smack in the
middle of the Depression.
Mary Hansen remembers
the Depression — the people
who came into her father's
produce store and said there
O
ON MARY'S WEDDING DAY,
GEORGE RAFT WAS APPEARING
LIVE AT THE SAENGER; TRIXIE
FRIGANZA COULD BE SEEN ON
STAGE AT LOEW'S; MISS FAIRFAX
WAS HANDING OUT ADVICE TO
THE LOVELORN; MEN'S
OVERCOATS WERE ON SALE FOR
$3.95; AND PORK CHOPS WERE
GOING FOR 15 CENTS A POUND
was no money to feed the car (her brothers had them,
kids and who were given free too), and when the time came
packages of spaghetti by her for her to be married, her
soft-hearted m o t h e r . S h e father was prepared to see to
remembers the people on the it that his only daughter had
corner who rented a house nothing but the best.
Her wedding gown came
from her father, but didn't
pay rent for seven months, via the Emporium clothing
a n d t h e girlfriend whose store on Canal Street. "A
wonderful job with the telephone lady from the Emporium had
company somehow to fly to New York to bring
evaporated after the Crash, back my gown," Mary says,
so the girl was forced to sell "because my father didn't
oranges on the street, and t h i n k a n y t h i n g in New
Orleans was good enough for
eventually caught pneumonia
me." The New York trip netted
and died.
a flowered lace veil and a
For Mary Hansen, things
weren't nearly so hard. Her h i g h - n e c k e d w h i t e s a t i n
father had come over from dress, loaded with lace, scattered
with seed pearls at the
M e s s i n a , Italy, w i t h h i s
brother (the father of Joe neck and wrist and equipped
Gemelli the clothing store with a train so long that half
o w n e r , w h o would l a t e r of it was later cut off and
s t a n d a s a groomsman in made into a dress.
Mary's wedding), and started
The wedding was a rainbow
from scratch with a tiny produce
wedding, so J o h a n n a
business, which grew roses were flown in from California
into four prosperous stands
"I would never forget
at the Magazine Street Market
them because they were so
and a grocery store at beautiful," Mary says. "They
959 St. Mary Street with a were two-tone, like an orange
14-room apartment upstairs a n d a pink or flesh. The
for his family. Across the inside was one color and the
street w a s Mayor A r t h u r outside was another color.
O'Keefe's house and nearby They had to match the rainbow
was St. Alphonsus School,
wedding, you know,
which Mary attended. Holy which was the colors of the
Cross where her b r o t h e r s rainbow."
s h o n e as football s t a r s
T h e m a t r o n of h o n o r ,
(Angelo, the younger of the dressed in pale pink, was the
b r o t h e r s a s g u a r d a n d only one of Mary's attendants
Dominic, because he w a s
not two-toned. All the
short and fast, as scatback) rest of the bridesmaids wore
was clear across town.
crepe dresses accented with
"My father's business was velvet and turban-style hats,
g o o d , " s a y s M a r y . " H e the h a t s a n d sleeves one
believed in quality and — I'm color, the dresses another.
not bragging — but his produce, E s t h e r Daly, t h e n E s t h e r
Abadie, who was one of the
his fruits and everything
had to be a No. 1. He b r i d e s m a i d s , r e m e m b e r s
wouldn't use any seconds. those dresses: hers was lilac
They all came to him for crepe with pea green velvet,
quality. He had a lovely personality,the others various combinations
of blue and pink and
too. He was well
yellow
and orange.
liked. That's why his business
The day of the wedding
was so big."
At 16 Mary was given a Ernest Hansen arrived at St.
ERNEST HANSEN, TUXEDOED AND
EAGER, ARRIVED EARLY AT ST.
ALPHONSUS CHURCH. CROWDS
HAD ALREADY BEGUN TO GATHER.
MARY HAD BEEN UP EARLY HERSELF
PUTTING ON HER G O W N AND
HAVING HER HAIR DONE BY THE
LADY FROM MAISON BLANCHE
WHO'D BEEN SENT OUT TO HELP.
Alphonsus Church, tuxedoed would be opened by two
and eager, well before 10 "infant ushers" so that the
a.m., the time Mass was to wedding p a r t y (23 in all,
begin. Crowds of people had including bride and groom,
already begun to gather, but bridesmaids, groomsmen,
his bride-to-be was nowhere flower girl and ring bearer)
to be seen. She had been up could walk through. Officiating
early herself, putting on her
was Father Thomas
gown, having her hair done Caron, who had specially
by the lady from Maison requested that he be the one
Blanche who'd been sent out to perform the ceremony.
to help with the bridal preparations.Singing her heart our all during
In fact, she'd been all
the Mass was a Mrs.
ready to leave and had gone Lynch, a customer of Mr.
down on her father's arm to Gemelli and member of the
say goodbye to her sister-in- St. Alphonsus choir, who
law, who was going to miss h a d likewise requested a
the wedding due to the birth place in the festivities.
of a son five days earlier. "So
here my father walks in with
me," she recalls, "and I walk
o Ernest Hansen, it
in there and my sister-inmust have seemed a
law's in bed with the little
fitting occasion to celebrate
baby. She looked up at me
and she drew in her breath the spirited campaign
and she started crying.
he'd waged to win the
When she started crying, my hand of Mr. Gemilli's Mary
father started crying and I Victoria. After their first
started crying. They had to meeting, he'd made regular
take me back to my room trips to Mary's house whenever
and patch my face, so I ran
he could spare time from
late and Ernest was worried."
his job as apprentice at
S a y s E r n e s t , "I Bishop-Edell Machinery
Works on Lafitte. Most days
thought I'd lost out."
Finally, her face repaired Mary would be s i t t i n g in
and her composure regained, front of the store with her
Mary w a s on her way to seven girlfriends (who would
church. By the time she got later serve as her bridesmaids)
and he'd stop to talk.
there, people were "upstairs,
downstairs, on the altar and The attraction, it turned out,
outside in the streets." No had been mutual right from
one who knew the Gemellis the start; Mary just hesitated
— and there were quite a few to say so. "I was afraid to
— wanted to miss seeing Mr. admit it because he was so
Gemelli give his youngest handsome," she says now.
child a n d only d a u g h t e r And, thanks to a strict and
protective father, "I wasn't
away.
I n s i d e , t h a n k s to Mr. used to talking to boys that
Lamana of Lamana-Panno- much."
Finally, after countless
Fallo, who was in charge of
"conducting" the wedding, conversations in front of the
dealing with the florist and store and one memorable
supplying the limousines, drag race to the cemetery
palms filled the church from (which Mary won), Ernest
back to front. In the center of worked up his courage and
the church were white beribboned asked her out. Apparently
gates, covered with impressed by his perseverance,
her parents agreed to
flowers, which, during the
let her go, but only on the
course of the ceremony,
condition that she bring
T
LOUIS PRIMA AND SHARKEY
BONANO PLAYED AT THE LAVISH
RECEPTION AT THE JUNG ROOF.
"IT WAS PROHIBITION," SAYS
MARY, "SO ALCOHOL WAS
FORBIDDEN. BUT MY FATHER HAD
DRINKS FOR EVERYBODY. THE
WAITERS WOULD BRING IT OUT
ON THESE SILVER TRAYS WITH A
DOME ON TOP."
some of the girlfriends along.
Despite the presence of the
girlfriends, t h a t first date
was magical. Ernest's friend
Louis Prima, with whom he'd
gone to school and played
football, was turning 21 and
there was going to be a party
for him at The Golden Pumpkin
at West End in celebration.
When they walked in
t h a t night, the b a n d was
playing and Mary and Ernest
danced for the first time to
"Stardust." From then on,
they say, it was their song.
(Later, Mary says, every time
they went out and there was
a band, "Ernest would sneak
behind my back, go up to the
band and say, 'Play "Stardust
." ' ")
Two weeks after their first
date, a cedar chest emblazoned
w i t h J o a n of Arc
a r r i v e d for M a r y from
Ernest. "He worked fast, he
didn't lose any time," says
Mary.
"I w a s n ' t going to lose
her," says Ernest.
The cedar chest seems to
h a v e t u r n e d t h e tide in
Ernest's favor. "Then my
parents saw that he was serious,"
says Mary. Mr. Gemelli,
who up until then had
claimed no man good enough
for his daughter, decided it
w a s time he got to know
Ernest. Almost immediately
they hit it off.
"He was strict but he had
a heart of gold," says Ernest.
"He loved his daughter and
whatever she loved, I guess
he loved. My father-in-law
liked me, see, that's what it
was. Once he thought a lot of
me, I was in. He ran everybody
else away."
On September 16, 1932,
Mary and Ernest announced
their e n g a g e m e n t a n d on
November 16, 1932, eleven
months after their first meeting,
they were married.
Once the Mass was over
that cold November 16, the
bridal party struggled
through the crowds of people
("They had policemen to
make them stand back so we
could get out," Mary remembers)
to waiting limousines
so they could proceed to their
n e x t s t o p : C. B e n n e t t e
Moore's at 109 Baronne in
the Beer Building, one of the
top photographers in town
and a popular choice for wedding
portraits.
From there it was off to
the J u n g Hotel's Florentine
Room for the wedding breakfast.
Says Mary, "They called
it the lunch, we called it the
breakfast, but when we got
there it was lunchtime, time
we took pictures."
A rest followed, d u r i n g
w h i c h t h e bride a n d her
bridesmaids retired to one
suite, the groom a n d his
groomsmen to another. Four
hours later they all emerged,
clad once again in wedding
finery, and ready for what
promised to be a huge and
lavish reception at the Jung
roof.
For starters, there were
n o t one b u t two b a n d s :
Ernest's friend Louis Prima's
band, and Sharkey Bonano
and his group who played
quite frequently at the Silver
Slipper in those days. Then
there was the food — a seemingly
endless supply — and
the alcohol. "It was Prohibition,"
says Mary, "so alcohol
was forbidden. But my father
had d r i n k s for everybody.
The waiters would bring it
out on these silver trays with
a dome on top."
Meanwhile, the members
of the wedding were putting
on a sort of performance for
all the guests. "You know
how they parade around at
the Carnival balls?" says
Mary. " T h a t ' s w h a t Mr.
Lamana had us do. There
was no receiving line — he
MARY AND
ERNEST DROVE
TO BATON
ROUGE, WHERE
THEY SPENT
THEIR HONEYMOON
AT THE
HEIDELBERG,
THE FANCIEST
HOTEL IN
TOWN.
conducted the Grand March
and we walked around and
a r o u n d while everybody
viewed us."
That Carnival image stuck
in Esther Daly's mind, too.
"It was like a Carnival ball
where you see the king and
queen and crowds of people,"
she remembers. "It was gorgeous.
And everybody that
went to the wedding was just
dressed up to kill. Mary's
father had gone all out for
her."
Mary's brother Angie, a
musician on the Orpheum
Circuit and co-owner with
Stephen Loyacano of the
Chez Paree nightclub, served
as master of ceremonies for
the event. The crowd that
gathered to watch him and
t h e w e d d i n g p a r t y soon
exceeded the expected number:
300 invitations had been
sent out, but even more had
been i s s u e d by word of
mouth. "My father was a
businessman," says Mary,
"and everyone, knowing that
he was going to give a big
wedding for his only daughter,
wanted to come be there,
so he j u s t told them they
could come. Well, there was a
thousand up at that roof and
a lot more people who were
insulted because they hadn't
been asked to come."
The reception was to last
until midnight, but about 11,
Mary and Ernest were
whisked off to their suites to
change into their traveling
outfits, Mary's a blue coat
s u i t with fur collar, blue
shoes, blue hat and gloves,
a n d E r n e s t ' s a navy blue
suit.
As they came out on the
stairway and Mary threw
her bouquet to her bridesmaids,
Mr. Gemelli came up
to his daughter with a final
suggestion. "Why don't you
take your brother Angie with
you?" he said. Angie politely
declined. "Not t h i s time,
Pop," he said.
For three hours Mary and
Ernest drove along frozen
roads to Baton Rouge, where
they spent their eight-day
honeymoon at the Heidelberg,
the biggest and fanciest
hotel in town. On returning
to New Orleans, there was
one last ceremony: the cutting
of the wedding cake at
Mary's parents' house. The
cake was from Baehr's Bakery
on Magazine Street, stood
almost 4 feet high and came
complete with ribbons for the
bridesmaids to pull, one of
which was attached to a ring
inside, which marked the
lucky winner a s the next
bride.
"Today's weddings, after
you go to the reception, you
cut the cake and eat it," says
Ernest, "but you didn't do
t h a t in t h o s e d a y s . You
waited until you came back
from your honeymoon."
The delay, it turned out,
hadn't helped much. "When
we came back from our honeymoon
PHOTO BY BRYAN S. BERTEAUX
honeymoon, the cake was stale,"
Mary and Ernest at the
says Mary. "It was hard as a shop with their
trademark
rock. Everybody got a big Sno-Bliz machine in the
kick out of that, though; that spring of 1978.
was funny."
The wedding over, Mary
and Ernest moved into a little
house on St. Mary Street. Mary and Ernest knew during
their growing-up years in
They s t a y e d six m o n t h s
before the Depression caught New Orleans, the customers
up with them and they were they met and became friends
forced to move in with her with through the snowball
p a r e n t s . For the next 10 business and the contacts
years, the Hansens and the made during various political
Gemellis lived together, until campaigns and you come up
t h e H a n s e n s b o u g h t t h e with quite a few friends,
house in Broadmoor, where friends likely to want to help
celebrate a 50th wedding
they still live.
Fifty years of marriage anniversary.
saw the births of two sons.
t was with this thought in
Ernest Jr., now a pediatrician
mind t h a t sons Gerard
in Thibodaux, born 11
and Ernest began in September
months after the wedding,
Gerard, the criminal courts
to plan a surprise
judge and of five grandchildren;
Ernest Sr.'s invention celebration for their parents,
of the snow-making machine one which would include a
and the successful business Mass. a renewing of vows,
that resulted; his retirement a n d a big r e c e p t i o n . "I
after 45 y e a r s from t h e wanted it to have a little
m a c h i n e s h o p a n d t h e i r class because the original
work for a number of local wedding had so much class,"
says Gerard, "and I wanted
political figures.
Add together the people to have it in Gallier Hall
because I know how much
I
ON RETURNING TO NEW
ORLEANS, THERE WAS ONE LAST
CEREMONY: THE CUTTING OF THE
WEDDING CAKE. THE CAKE WAS
FROM BAEHR'S BAKERY ON
MAGAZINE STREET, STOOD
ALMOST 4 FEET HIGH AND CAME
COMPLETE WITH RIBBONS FOR THE
BRIDESMAIDS TO PULL.
mother loves it."
With the help of former
bridesmaid Esther Daly, he
attempted to locate all the
members of the original wedding
party. "One day when
my parents weren't home, I
took a picture of her wedding
picture," he says. "We took it
to Mrs. Daly and asked her to
tell us people's names, and
help locate them."
By the night of November
16, over 200 friends and family
h a d been c o n t a c t e d ,
including eight of the original
wedding party. Mary a n d
Ernest, who by now knew
p l a n s for a 50th wedding
anniversary were afoot, but
had no inkling of just how
big t h e e v e n t would be,
entered Gallier Hall in special
anniversary clothes they'd
picked out for each other,
and began to notice with
some surprise, the number of
people milling about.
"At first I thought they
were there for s o m e t h i n g
else," says Mary, "but then I
saw my son and daughter-inlaw and their children and I
kissed them. And that fast
the photographer, Dale Crozier,
said 'Step over here,
PHOTO BY G. ANDREW BOYD
BY THE NIGHT OF NOVEMBER 16,
1982 OVER 200 FRIENDS HAD BEEN
CONTACTED, INCLUDING EIGHT
MEMBERS OF THE HANSENS'
ORIGINAL WEDDING PARTY. MARY
AND ERNEST ENTERED GALLIER
HALL AND BEGAN TO NOTICE
WITH SOME SURPRISE THE
NUMBER OF PEOPLE MILLING ABOUT.
we're taking these pictures themselves
known, and soon th
for the paper.' Then Esther, Hansens found themselves in
one of my bridesmaids, came a crowd of old friends.
walking in with a big envelope
Then there was a Mass
— it was filled with some conducted by Rev. David A.
prayers she had for us — and Boileau and Rev. Cleve Dowling,
she hugged me and 1 said
the Hansens renewed
'Oh, Esther,' I was so surprised.
their vows, and passages
Then I turned around were read by Gerard's 9-yearand saw my matron of honor old twins, Ashley and Allison,
coming in."
and Ernest's children,
More guests made themselves
17-year-old twins Margaret
Ann and Mary Ann and son
Ernest III.
The Hansens' venerable
Afterwards, t h e r e were
more pictures. "They took
Mecca for flavored-ice
pictures galore, galore,
lovers at 4801
galore," says Mary; pictures
Tchoupitoulas
Street.
THE HANSENS
GREETED THEIR
FRIENDS, POSED
FOR MORE
PICTURES, AND
DANCED TO
THEIR OLD
FAVORITE,
"STARDUST."
of Mary and Ernest alone, of
the twins (both sets), of all 34
of their family members who
h a d been a s s e m b l e d , of
E r n e s t a n d Mary feeding
each other pieces of cake.
T h e r e were g u e s t s like
Moon and Verna Landrieu
and their daughter, Mary;
Judge Sal Mule; cousin Joe
Gemelli; Judge Walter
Marcus; a n d close family
friends Sam and Celia Katz.
Letters and commemorative
scrolls had been received
from Attorney General William
Guste Jr., former president
Jimmy Carter and his
wife Rosalynn, Archbishop
Philip H a n n a n a n d Pope
J o h n Paul II. There was a
certificate from Gov. David
Treen proclaiming the Hansens
colonels and a letter
from Mayor Dutch Morial
offering congratulations.
"The Hansens were beside
themselves with pleasure,"
says a friend who was there
for the event. "It was sort of
a perfect night. There was no
ill will of any kind."
For the guests there was
d a n c i n g to Willie G r a y ' s
band and, like 50 years earlier,
more food a n d drink
than anyone could consume.
"Honey, did we have a ball,"
E s t h e r Daly s a i d l a t e r .
"There was all sorts of food
there and one long table with
nothing but raw vegetables."
The Hansens greeted their
friends, posed for more pictures,
and danced to "Stardust."
And, s a y s E s t h e r
Daly, " W e all s a t a n d
thought about the day that
we stood for Mary."
n one wall of the
house on Roman
Street, are three
p i c t u r e s , atop of
another: Gerard and his wedding
party, Ernest, Jr. and
his. and Mary and Ernest
O
"PEOPLE TODAY
WOULD THINK
WE WERE SILLY,
BUT THAT'S
WHAT HAPPENED,"
SAYS
MARY GEMELLI
HANSEN OF
HER 1932
WEDDING.
with their attendants. Mary
points to faces in her picture:
"This young fellow passed
away last year and this one
passed away, he drowned
when he went fishing. This
little girl I wouldn't know if I
hadn't seen her since then,
this little girl is now married
a n d h a s c h i l d r e n of her
o w n . " She points out her
brother Angie, who was best
man and Esther Daly, who
was dressed in lilac and pea
green that day.
In a cabinet are mementos
of 50 y e a r s of b i r t h d a y s .
Mary's birthday is February
22, George W a s h i n g t o n ' s
birthday, and so every year,
Ernest h a s crafted, out of
metal, hatchet candleholders, hatchet candle
snuffers, hatchet jewelry, all
engraved with d a t e s a n d
birthday wishes and words
of love.
Mary looks at the pictures
on the wall and smiles at the
thought of her rainbow wedding.
"People today would
t h i n k we were silly, b u t
that's what happened," she
says. "It was a rainbow wedding,
and, do you know, I still
meet people today who
attended my wedding, and
they say, 'You're the Gemelli
girl that had that big rainbow
wedding.' A lot of people
have never forgotten it.
"Today you would laugh
at it, you would say, 'Aw,
they're trying to put on a
spectacular.' "
"But that was the custom,"
Ernest says.
Mary Hansen smiles
thoughtfully at her husband
and says, "Maybe he was
meant for me, huh?"
Ernest gets more comfortable
in his chair, smiles back
at her and says, "This was
the greatest love match since
Romeo and Juliet."