A 100 year old love story…I think.

The following is another of the reprinted news stories from one hundred years ago as reprinted by the local newspaper, The Arizona Daily Star as part of the centennial celebration.

I find this one particularly charming because there is a nice little romance involved. 

May 9, 1912,

Uncle Sam’s mail brought Mrs. Lorene Wagner of Cleveland, Ohio, and “Billy” Wilson, deputy sheriff of Maricopa county, Arizona, together.

They were married at 6 o’clock Monday evening inthe superior court room at Phoenix by judge J.C. Phillips.

Accompanied by her 6-year-old daughter, Mrs. Wagner arrived in Phoenix Saturday evening.  She came in response to a letter from Billy, asking her to come, look him over, and make him her husband, if he suited.

Some weeks ago sheriff Jeff Adams received a letter from Mrs. Wagner, who requested his help in finding her a husband.  She knew all kinds of eastern men, she said, but she wanted a breezy westerner, one who has the “heritage of the desert.”  That is she didn’t express it in that language, but she made it plain that she wanted a western husband, Arizonian preferred.

The letter was handed to Wilson, with a suggestion that he answer it.  Billy read that letter over a hundred times, and finally decided that he would reply to it.  It wasn’t days before he got another letter directly from Mrs. Wagner.  Many other letters traveled back and forth and finally they decided that Mrs. Wagner should come to Arizona.

On Sunday, Billy, Mrs. Wagner and her little girl drove over the valley, getting acquainted and talking over the future.  Mrs. Wagner liked the bluff, hearty deputy sheriff, and last night they agreed that they would make the mistake of their lives if they failed to become man and wife.

The next day Billy was busy making the preliminary arrangements and personally inviting all the friends he could find to be at the superior court.  He is just as proud as he can be, and it might be stated that since Mrs. Wagner was introduced at the courthouse, there are several young bachelors around there who are sorry they didn’t answer the letter instead of leaving it to Billy.

She is a rarely beautiful widow, still on the sunshiny side of 30.

As Mr. Wilson is one of the officials of the superior court, now in session, he and his bride will not take a wedding trip till later in the summer.

This story opens up all kinds of questions for me.  Did Mrs. Wagner and Billy kiss at some point during their “get acquainted” drive?  I’m guessing if the little girl was along, there wasn’t anything especially passionate about the kiss, if  indeed there was one, and certainly nothing any more provocative than a kiss occurred.

Did Mrs. Wagner decide Billy was acceptable simply because the idea of climbing back on the train and going all the way back to Ohio with a kid in tow was too excruciating to contemplate?

I feel like this story needed a follow up.  Did they live happily ever after?  What was her first name?  What became of the little girl? I wonder what the age difference was between Mrs. Wagner and Billy since she was on the “sunshiny side of 30.”

Someone who is not me should write this story and fill in the blanks.