We’re in Eastman, Wisconsin right now on our virtual drive through Crawford County in Southwestern Wisconsin from Rising Sun to Prairie du Chien. St. Wenceslaus Church stands tall out on the edge of Eastman. That’s where Ann and I were married August 14, 1965. My brother Ed, and brother Phillip, we also married at St. Wenceslaus.

Father Baer was the parish priest for many years. He was a chaplain in WWII. He died in 1973 , age 71, and buried in the Church cemetery with a simple military marker. Heavy Irish descent here with names of Becwar, Boylan, Check, DuCharme, Garvey, Morovits, Mezera, and Kramer.

Two uncles and aunts, Arnold and Clara Scheckel, and John and Helen (Scheckel) Feye are buried here as well. My wife’s parents, Leonard and Loretta Martin are here. A good friend and classmate, excellent athlete, and student at Seneca High School, Bob Slama, died way too young at age 45. Bob was the manager of the Power and Light company in Richland Center when he passed away in 1987. He married Charlene Walker, who was a Wauzeka, classmate of my wife, Ann. Graduating class of 1964.

A good web site to use, by the way, is findagrave.com. Very helpful if looking up family history, or where a friend or acquaintance might be. You certainly don’t want to find your own name there! Better to remain above the sod, if you get my drift.

Fr.  Nobert J. Wilger was the presiding priest at our Aug 14, 1965 wedding. The interior of the church as changed little since that time. Fr Wilger was at various parishes in the La Crosse Diocese, but spend the his last 40 years at St. Mary’s in Altoona, where is pasted away in 2011 at age 87.

Ann and I went out east for our honeymoon. Across Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington DC, Gettysburg, Williamsburg, Va, Norfolk and Atlantic Ocean. We walked up the stairs to the top of the Washington monument. Took the elevator down. We were young and foolish.

In Williamsburg, we visited the church that George Washington attended. The church was not quite open for tourists that early in the morning. Very few people were around. We went in and sat in George Washington’s pew. It was roped off and we weren’t suppose to sit there. But we did anyway and took a picture. The docent arrived and “kicked” us out of there. Like I say, we were young and foolish.