Alice and Tony

• Published July 21st, 2010 by
• 4 Comments

    I first met Alice and Tony 10 years ago when I took their 40th anniversary portraits.  A few weeks ago we renewed our acquaintance when they came in to have fiftieth anniversary portraits taken.  Alice had to help Tony a bit with his walking but they looked great.  I make it a point when I photograph a wedding anniversary or engagement to find out their story.  We talked about a lot of things that day.  I got off topic and had to finish my conversation a couple weeks later when they came in to pick up their finished portraits.

  Alice came to Dover from Ft. Recovery, Ohio which is on the far western side of the state.  On her way here she stopped off at Denison University  for four years to get her degree.  She arrived here in 1958  with a teaching job at Dover High School.  She taught speech, English and drama.  As the drama teacher she also directed the high school plays.  It was through this part of her job that she would meet Tony.  It seems that a couple of her "matchmaking" students who knew Tony decided they would be a great match, so they got him to come to a dress rehearsal  so the two could meet.

  Tony had been in the U.S. Navy in World War II and was later called back as a reservist for Korea.  He would later work in the Dover post office for 27 years.  After he retired from the post office he sold real estate for Pissocra Realty.  After that he worked as a tour guide at Warther's  Tony is definitely a people person!

   Alice and Tony got married fifty years ago in the St. John's United Church of Christ in Dover.  The organist who played at their wedding, Margery Burkhart, still plays the organ there today.  They honeymooned in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania.   From the 50's through the 70's the Pocono Mountains were "the" place to go on your honeymoon.  

   Alice taught at DHS for ten years and then took twenty years off to stay home and raise their four children.  Alice and Tony now have fourteen grandchildren.  Back in teaching, Alice continued working with drama.   As a matter of fact, the current DHS drama teacher, Tom Morris, was one of her students!  I talked to Tom and got a few more interesting facts.  Tom said that Alice had directed his mother in a musical during her senior year in 1961.  Tom described Alice as an unbelievably creative director who was also a very talented seamstress.  Tom said, "She was just a wonderful person!"

  So if you run into Alice and Tony say hello and wish them a wonderful fiftieth wedding anniversary.

  Alice and Tony, thank you so much for letting me tell your story.