Honeymoon Train

 I worked today and I got to travel to Wellsville, Ohio. A beautiful bright sunny winter day with clear roads. No snow for a few days, but under thirty two degrees keeping the snow white.
I grabbed my phone camera as I knew I wanted pictures. I was also excited that it was such a wonderful winter day, as I believe Grandma and Grandpa Evans married in February. They either married in Wellsville or took a train, called the Honeymoon Train to West Virginia to get married.
This was a popular thing to do in the late nineteen-teen's. My mother had Grandma's Bible with a clipping on the Honeymoon Train. West Virginia didn't require a license or waiting time to marry. I wonder more and more about the story of Hazel and Lew.

I also wonder about Hazel's younger sister, Arvella or Jim. When did she marry? The cousins are about the same age. I know Jim, five years younger than Hazel, attended the Fredonia Teachers College. I don't know if she taught. Her first husband's name was Ralph Slater, with whom she had five children. So many questions that are unanswered for now.
I imagine the wedding day for Hazel and Lew. Were they in love? Was it a cold day, like today or a rainy, dreary winter day, kind of warm? Imagination is what I have now. And I always wanted to use the Honeymoon Train in my writing as soon as I read that article.
In Country, I plan on using that.

Wellsville is a old town on the River. They spruce the river bank with white benches. Some houses are spectacular and others are worn down. It nestles in a few blocks before the steep hills start. I know there are houses up in the hills. Someday, I'll go to visit the museum and get more information on the Honeymoon Train and pottery and everything else that once made this town a place to go.