Our 50^th Wedding Anniversary

by Sandi Hannig

Hank & I celebrated our 50^th wedding anniversary on Friday, September 3, 2010. We started our celebrating early by heading to Hollywood Casino around 3:00 on Thursday, September 2^nd. One hundred and one years ago, on this day, my paternal grandparents were wed. We checked into room 226 and gambled at the casino until it was time to have dinner at Final Cut Restaurant, which they had comped us. They had allowed $135 for dinner but we only used about $85 of it. Gambled some more then headed to our room. The next morning, our actual anniversary, we had some pastries for breakfast and headed back to the casino. We actually lost—go figure!

When we got home, we exchanged our gifts to each other. The day before, Hank brought me a beautiful planter. On the 3^rd, he gave me two cards, three poems, and $1,000.00! I gave him $50.00 worth of lottery tickets, dog tags with his rank and serial number from when he was in the Marines and a Memory Album with pages written by our children and grandchildren! We had also received a cookie bouquet from Jim and Sherry, a 50^th anniversary picture frame from Tom and Nancy, and an embroidered pillow that says ’50 Years Together”’ from Ernie and Darlene Gooch.

We both wanted to treat everybody for dinner rather than have a large party. I felt that having a party meant that people might bring gifts and that was not our intention. Plus being surrounded by our children, grandchildren, and Hank’s Mom was exactly what we desired. We got to Outback Steakhouse around 5:45 and the family arrived shortly after that. Drinks and appetizers were ordered (Blooming Onions and Loaded Fries) while everybody enjoyed each other’s company. Once everyone placed their orders for dinner, I stood up, thanked everyone for coming, and said that I had small gifts for everyone. Here is what everyone got:

.

Mom	A vase with artificial yellow flowers. I thanked her for raising such a fine son for me to marry.
Brent	Hank’s old Boy Scout Handbook since he went farther in Scouts than any other male in the family.
Kindra	A heart-shaped white rock from Kennebunkport, Maine to tell her I loved her for marrying Brent.
Wes	My senior report card from McNicholas (from 1958) since he is a senior.
Daniel	My First Communion certificate (from 1948) since Daniel took communion when he was about 6 years old.
Mike	$1 token from Grand Victoria Casino plus a gold Susan B. Anthony dollar since he liked to gamble at Grand Vic.
Jill	My old pearl necklace (date unknown) so she could pass it on to future generations.
Zak	A 1937 pamphlet that contained pictures of the 1937 flood. This was the year that my parents were married and Zak is a history buff.
Katie	My silver charm bracelet plus two Disney charms. Katie carried one of the charms (a wedding and engagement ring) on her wedding day.
Chris	A quarter token from Argosy Casino plus a gold Susan B. Anthony dollar. Katie drags him to casinos! J
Scott	A letter from the White House from 1984. I had written to see if America could have a national holiday in August (the only month without one) and call it Children’s Day. The letter was their response.
Tammy	Two X-rays of my broken leg from March, 1998, when we all went ice skating at their request.
Joe	Grandma Sis’s stamped metal disk with her address since she was in the delivery room when he was born.
Will	A letter from the president of Frisch’s Big Boy because he always draws Big Boy when we are there and gives the drawing to the manager. I had written them to suggest they open a restaurant downtown and only serve low calorie meals and even have a small chalkboard and chalk so customers could tally up the calories before ordering.
Julia	My gold charm bracelet plus a small emerald. Now both of our granddaughters had one of my charm bracelets.

Dinner was served and everyone seemed to enjoy the food. Afterwards, we headed for Jill and Mike’s for a party. Jill and Katie took Grandma home. There were balloons, champagne, cake, and gifts. We opened our gifts and got the most wonderful things! Grandma gave us some stuffed animals. We got a $25 gift card from Cracker Barrel from Katie and Chris. We got a DVD that Zak put together with pictures that Jill gave him, a photo collage with ten photos of Hank and I (the center picture is from our wedding with me looking at Hank with ‘cow eyes’. They gave me a memory book and then we got a paper showing they bought us a commemorative brick at Coney Island’s Sunlite Pool that will say: “Hank and Sandi Hannig, 50 Golden Years, 9-3-2010!”

I also want to acknowledge here that we received greeting cards from:

Brent & Kindra & Family

Jill & Mike

Katie & Chris

Scott & Tammy & Family

Mom

Barb & Ron

Scott & Sue

Chris & Coni

Nelson & Nan French

Marilyn Quinn

Ernie & Darlene Gooch

Judy Barta

Pat & Bob Bernard

The staff at 5^th 3^rd Bank in Cherry Grove!

After toasting using Katie’s and Chris’s reception glasses, I read what I had written to Hank for Valentine’s Day in 2002:

To my wonderful husband, Hank Hannig, who I don’t tell often enough that I love him. And rarely do I tell him why… until now.

• I love you because you scratch my head at night.
• I love you because you take out the garbage.
• I love you because you make fun of me reading the comics.
• I love you because you fill up my gas tank.
• I love you because you invest in your grandchildren’s futures by giving them money for stocks and bonds, buying them old coins, and hiring them so they have spending money.
• I love you because you take me on vacations and even let me go to Las Vegas because you knew I would enjoy it.
• I love you because you bring me food. I love when I haven’t even asked for it, like double butter coffee cakes from Mt. Washington Bakery and Graeter’s double chocolate chip ice cream.
• I love you because you always make me laugh.
• I love you because you like my cooking.
• I love you because you tell me that I’m a nice lady.
• I love you because you took such good care of me when I broke my leg. Before you would leave for work in the morning, you would get me down the steps, bring me the newspaper, telephone, clean clothes, and my breakfast.
• I love you because you take me golfing.
• I love you because you get up and go to work every day even when you don’t feel well.
• I love you because you pitch in with the housework and do such a marvelous job cleaning our bathroom and changing our sheets every week.
• I love you because you take your grandchildren to get haircuts.
• I love you because you are always willing to give me anything I ask for.
• I love you because you brag about me to other people.
• I love you because you are always willing to empty the dishwasher and start dinner, and even call me to ask what time to start it.
• I love you because you remember funny intimate stories about us.
• I love you because you let me watch my shows in the family room and even tape movies you think I’ll like.
• I love you because you always make me feel special.
• I love you because you take me out to dinner when I don’t feel like cooking.
• I love you because you always make sure I have a safe car to drive.
• I love you because you tell me I am beautiful.
• I love you because you are always willing to help your children whenever they ask you.
• I love you because you always tell me to enjoy summer because it is so short. You do this when I am trying to decide whether to go swimming at Coney or stay home and do housework.
• I love you because you love me! That’s the most important thing in life—have someone who loves you!
• I am ever so lucky to have you. I will love you always!

We feasted, ate cake, and partied! Chris’s best man, Travis, came over to take a group picture of us. This will indeed be included in our Christmas cards.

Thank you to everyone who made our 50^th Wedding Anniversary so wonderful. We will remember it to the end of our days!