Dancing

One of my favorite stories of my Grandma & Grandpa Wager is the story of how they met. My grandparents grew up in Rensselaer County, NY. They met in the early-mid 1930s. Rensselaer County is in Eastern NY, about an hour east of Albany. It borders Massachusetts and Vermont. It is a mountainous area, very rural. It is the same area in which I was raised. I remember it as always being a little more poor than other towns, other areas. I imagine it was the same in the 1930s, as the rest of the country struggled through the Great Depression.

Grandpa grew up in Berlin, in my hometown. Grandma grew up in Petersburgh, the town to the north of Berlin. Neither of their families were well off, but Grandpa's family might have had it a little better than Grandma's. Grandma's family moved a lot. She even told us that during the Depression at one point the five of them lived in a tent above the Mohawk River.

Grandma and Grandpa knew each other, and both told us that they liked the other one from first sight. But at the time, Grandma would only go out with boys who had a car. Cars were still a rarity in those days, especially in rural upstate NY. So Grandma would go out with the boys who had cars. They would pick her up at her house and take her to the dance; where she would dance with my Grandfather all night long. When it was time to go home, she left with a guy who had a car. When Grandma would tell us this story, my sister and I would laugh and giggle- we couldn't imagine trying to get away with something like that! A girl doing something like that would get a reputation, would be a flirt, or a tease. But it wasn't like that in Grandma's day, and I don't think she was the only girl to do this.

Grandpa and a friend were both saving for cars, but neither had enough. Together, however, they could purchase an old Tin Lizzy. And then they were able to take their girlfriends to the dances. Once Grandpa got the car, Grandma only had eyes for him. They were married May 15, 1938. Their wedding announcement was in the paper-a big deal in 1938. They were married for almost 62 years when Grandpa passed away.

The other day I realized I never saw my grandparents dance. Dancing was such a big part of their younger days. There was one house in Petersburgh, a large house with three floors. My grandmother told us that when she was a young girl, the third floor of the house was a huge open ballroom. Maybe they continued to dance, but I just never had the opportunity to see them. They weren't really big on parties. We didn't go to restaurants that had dancing. I hope they did keep dancing, I like the thought of them dancing.

My dads' side of the family has had a lot of parties over the years: birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, retirement parties. I have seen my Dad's parents dance more times than I can count. I even know their song, 'The Tennessee Waltz'. When Grandma & Grandpa Primeau would take to the dance floor, everyone would step back and watch. At least while they danced to 'The Tennessee Waltz'. I tried to square dance with my grandparents and their friends once, and got a lesson of a lifetime! Those older guys could 'swing your partner' like you wouldn't believe!

But I never saw Grandma & Grandpa Wager dance. I imagine they were beautiful together. Grandpa was tall, some have said he looked like Errol Flynn. Grandma was about 5'6" or 5'7", with dark hair and shapely legs. I saw a picture of her as a young woman, and noticed that we have the same legs. I imagine they moved gracefully, effortlessly. In my mind, I could watch them dance all night.