By Monica – Grade 5
October 20th, 1962 was a day that would change Ross Gillanders’ life forever. His friend Barb had invited him to a cocktail party and at the party he had been introduced to Barb’s roommate Carol. Ross found Carol to be very intelligent and quite pretty, with her blonde hair and blue eyes.
After dating for three months, the couple was invited to a party on a December afternoon. Ross decided he would propose to Carol at the party. When they got there they found out that a friend of theirs had gotten engaged earlier that afternoon. Although disappointed, Ross decided not to ask her, as he felt he had to wait for another more special day or time.
After the party, as Ross was driving Carol home, he decided that he just had to ask her. He pulled the car over to the side of the road, got out, and walked over to the shade of a nice big maple tree. Ross knelt down and “popped the question”. Right away Carol responded with a huge, “YES!”. Ross didn’t wait until a “more special time” because he just didn’t want to let Carol go.
A year later, on April 27th, they were married. One must wonder if the couple who sat under that maple tree would have thought that life would bring them all the magical things it did: three children, six grandchildren, and fifty-four years of marriage!
