Meeting the Parents in 1952

Later this year we will honor the 70th anniversary of my parents’ first wedding.   It was their one and only wedding, so don’t think you’ve  missed out on some information.  My mom talked about how they went on a few dates when she first started school.  Then my dad broke it off for a while because they weren’t the same religion.  My mom was a English/Irish/German Methodist and my dad was a Cajun Catholic.  But when Bob Landry realized he couldn’t get Miss Betty Lou Bucklin out of his head, they started dating again.  By the spring semester of 1952 at McNeese State College, they had decided that they were going to get married.

One of the things that couples usually do is go back to their childhood homes and meet their partner’s parent or parents.  In their case, all of their parents were alive at that time.  They even took a few photos with some family members at the Landry home.  This must have been when Mama met Mee Maw and Pee Paw.  For those not in the know, that would be Betty Lou Bucklin meeting Erie Patureau Landry and Robert Joseph “Rob” Landry, Sr. at their home in Lake Charles, Louisiana.  I don’t remember these photos when I was growing up.  My mom may have told me that they were from that fateful visit, but I probably wasn’t paying attention.  It’s a good thing she realized this and wrote the information on the back of the photos.  Thanks, Mom.

But I do remember the story she told me about the first time she met the Landry family.  The thing that was the most striking to my mom was the affection that his parents had toward their children.  Her family was a little more staid.  The English culture is more known for having a more reserved manner.  But it was more than that.  When Pee Paw came home from work, he greeted each member of his family with a kiss.  And it was not just the womenfolk. He also greeted his sons with a kiss.  On the lips. 

Now there was nothing wrong with this action, but my mom was definitely not used to it.  Like she would say to me, “I don’t want anyone kissing my lips but my honey!”  Of course her honey was my dad.  I must have heard this story when I was quite young, because I think it might have influenced my own behavior.  I remember discreetly avoiding my Landry aunts who would kiss us kids in greeting.  And we definitely avoided those dreaded kisses from our cousin Tez – she of the bumps.  As I’ve gotten older and have lost those aunts, I sometimes miss those sweet greetings. 

It’s interesting that this was the day that my mom met her future in-laws, but there is not a photo of her with them or of the two couples together.  At least we have the one of mom and dad.  I’ve shared the photo of my mom before, but it is worth sharing again.  It is such a striking photo of her.  I also like the photo of her with Dad’s cousin Sis and his sister Wana.   I asked Sis about the day of the meeting, but she didn’t remember it.  It wasn’t as monumental for her as it was for my mom.

Sadly, we don’t have any photos of the visit to my mom’s parents.  Her parents were Fred Bucklin and Myrtle Phenice Bucklin and they lived in Hathaway, Louisiana.  And again with this story, it is from my mom’s point of view.  The only thing I remember her telling me about was the meal that they had.  I don’t remember what it was that was served.  My grandmother cooked things like chicken-fried steak with white gravy or red beans and sausage.  It was probably something like that.  Something that my mom never fixed because my dad didn’t like them.  I like that kind of food, but we would only have it when Daddy was out of town.

So what happened was this.  When it was time for dinner, my grandmother probably called the family to the table.  I imagine she had tried her best to provide a good meal for her future son-in-law.  But when Bob Landry sat down at the dinner table and looked at the food provided, all he said was, “I can’t eat that.”  He didn’t make up some story about being allergic or something, he just matter of factly said he wasn’t going to eat it.  And he didn’t.  I don’t know what he did for dinner that night.  It was a bit shocking to my mom at the time.  Otherwise you wouldn’t be hearing the story. 

My dad always stood by his behavior and was glad he wasn’t stuck eating something he didn’t like for years to come.  I never heard my grandmother’s view of the story.  It must not have been a deal breaker, because they always seemed to get along fine.  She cooked things he liked from time to time.  She even let him have some of her divinity.