1967 Engagement Scrapbook of Tom and Karen

This poem - written by me in the spring of 1966 - started a 43 year relationship between Tom and me!! My friend across the hall told me of her brother who was coming out to BYU to visit driving his brand new 1968 Red Baracuda. And so - being the "goofy" sophomore I was I wrote him the poem:

Ode To Brother
by Karen

I know a girl - her name is Barbs
She has a brother who drives a car
Barb knows me and can verify
Karen is stunning - stupendous and so
beautiful you want to cry!
So why not come and see Barbs
And then you can give the girl next door
A ride - she loves cars!

So - a year later - Tom showed up at my door at Wymount Terrace (the quad reserved for single girls) - took me out for a root beer ice cream cone and Tuesday we celebrate our 42nd wedding anniversary!

Karen and Tom and the Baracuda - spring 1967 - Wymount Terrace- BYU - Provo, Utah
1967 - Wymount Terrace Invitational -- Tom and Karen (my middle sisters dress)
After a month Tom brought be roses and perfume to celebrate a "month" (must have been serious)!
Brought them while I was studying for finals!
June, 1977 in Shoshone, Idaho. Tom had taken me home from BYU to meet my family. And then, he flew to Salt Lake for his room mate Butch's wedding and came up to see me!
I spent the summer as a counselor at Camp Ta Man A Wis Girl Scout Camp! Tom was working as a Chemical Technician at Allis Chalmers in Wisconsin.

Tom sent me notes and letters. I sent him notes and letters. We played "battleship" via the mail!
I flew to back to meet his family in August! Here we are the night we announced our engagement! Tom proposed - we decided to marry in June after I graduated. Tom would go back to school at BYU and finish his degree and I would work as a Professional Girl Scout. (the plans changed but I did graduate, Tom got his degree and I was a professional girl scout - we just did it another way).
Again...
Tom's family gathered to hear of our engagement. Back row - Robert Steffen Gill, Harriet Ann Krythe Gill, my good friend from BYU, Grandma Laura Krythe, Me and Tom
middle row: Aunt Elsie, Uncle Frank, Aunt Hazel, Aunt Bea
front row: the brothers 2 and little sister 1
Such a big, wonderful loving family I was going to be a part of!! (they talked kind of funny though - that midwest accent!)

Photo Booth pictures

Tom's 1956 Plymouth! After getting engaged he traded in the Barracuda and got this in return.
The house on 82nd Street....I got to stay with my future sister in laws (3 windows upstairs)
A card from Tom after we were engaged and I was back at BYU - inside it says "but just this once!

card from me to Tom!

In the Salt Lake City Sunday Tribune they published a front page of the society section feature of our house on University Avenue. One of the pictures was of Sandy and me - the two engaged girls.We lived right across from BYU Academy. There were 12 of us in the house - we ate dinner together every night - each paid 20.00 a week for groceries. We rotated cooking and cleaning responsibilities and some boys paid to eat with us.

While living there that fall I spent my time working as a janitor at the brand new Richards PE building from 4 - 7 every morning. Loved Saturday because some of us would go out for "fish and chips" after work. I also knit a sweater for Tom (humongous)! And I tried to get more beautiful....once I decided to rinse my hair with beer. While doing so one of Tom's friends came to the door - I had the beer bottle in my hand (he let Tom know).

My sister and I were both scheduled to get married the summer of 1968 so our announcements went in the paper in Shoshone at the same time.

Our "cross country" relationship was tough on us - the phone bill was high - and so during my Christmas visit to Wisconsin we decided that we would get married in Februay, live in Wisconsin and I would finish by correspondence. (At the time I couldn't understand why my parents were SO upset!! But - 43 years ago and madly in love it made perfect sense to me!)
1967 New Years Eve. New Years Eve was on the Sabbath - so the dance and party at the Church started at midnight. Toms sister (who is my age)_ and I had fun getting ready!!