The Wedding of Walter Stratton and Fern Gumz - May 1937

It was May 1937 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.  The daily newspaper, the Oshkosh Northwestern, cost only 2 cents and was filled with news from across the world, from across the U.S., and from across Wisconsin.  President Franklin Roosevelt was still virgorously pursuing solutions to the ongoing Great Depression, including an attemp to initiate his Social Security program and an effort to expand the Supreme Court.  In society news, the notorious mistress of the former King Edward VIII of England, Mrs. Wallis Simpson, was given a divorce decree, leaving her free to marry the man who gave up his crown for love of her. 

Across the country, labor union activity kept the business world in an uproar.  In Hollywood, members of the Screen Actors Guild, led by President Robert Montgomery, joined moving-making craft unions in a strike.  In Kenosha, Wisconsin, members of the A.F. of L. and the C.I.O. bickered amongst themselves, in spite of a declaration of an "immediate need" for labor cooperation.



In the Algoma Street Methodist Church in Oshkosh, the Reverend Harry Illingworth joined a young couple in marriage--Walter Charles Stratton and Fern Susan Gumz.



The groom was 27 years old, the son of Ellison Stratton and Marie Draves Stratton. He was born in Coloma, Wisconsin, a small farming community in neighboring Waushara County, and had moved to Oshkosh as a teenager.  He was a graduate of Oshkosh High School, and remained in the city even after his parents had left Oshkosh to move to Berlin in Green Lake County, Wisconsin.

The bride was the daughter of August Charles Gumz and Allie Blake Gumz. She was 28 years old at the time of her marriage and had lived her entire life in Oshkosh.  One year older than her new husband, Fern met Walter while also attending Oshkosh High School.

According to the Oshkosh Northwestern, "The bride, given in marriage by her father, wore a white lace-over-satin gown. She carried an arm bouquet of yellow roses."  Fern's wedding dress remains in the family, now with her granddaughter, Lorraine Dias Herbon.

The maid of honor was Frances Frank, and Marguerite Johnston served as bridesmaid, the two girls being long-time friends of the bride.  According to the Oshkosh Northwestern, "Miss Frank wore yellow net over taffeta of that color and Miss Johnston's frock was green net over green taffeta. Both carried mixed shower bouquets."

The week before her wedding was filled with parties for Fern.  Her mother, Allie, gave a card party and supper in honor of her daughter, at which Fern received many pre-wedding gifts.  The young ladies of the Henderson Hoyt five-and-dime store, where Fern was employed in the office, gave a party for the bride at the Colonial Inn.  A final party was given by Fern's two bridal attendants and her sister, Mrs. Miriam Knaggs, at which a midnight "lunch" was served and decorations were provided in the bride's wedding colors of green and yellow.

At the wedding, the groom was attended by one of his older brothers, Darwin "Doc" Stratton, as best man. James "Jack" Gumz, the brother of the bride, served as groomsman. The ushers (not pictured here) were George Sheffer and Lee Hartman.

It is a quirk in the nature of love that, in Fern's high school scrapebook, many of her friends speculated that Lee Hartman would be the man to win her hand in marriage.  That Lee lost out to Walter was just good fortune for young Mr. Stratton.

The bride's parents, Allie and August Gumz, had been married in February of 1900.

Allie was the daughter of John Arza Blake and Ann Eva McCammond Blake.  John Arza had been born in New York State, coming to the Oshkosh area as a young child with his parents on a trip that included a voyage on the Erie Canal.  Ann Eva was born in Canada, also coming to the Oshkosh area as a young woman.

August was the son of Albert Gumz and Bertha Schumacher Gumz.  Both Albert and Bertha were born in Prussia, soon to be a part of a united Germany, and met and married in Oshkosh in 1873.  Albert was a part-time local politician, and he and Bertha raised 12 children during their 50-year marriage.

Allie and August were the parents of nine children, including Fern. Daughter Florence had died at the age of 2 and daughter Dorothy had died in 1931 at age 27.

The groom's father, Ellison Stratton, was the son of Edwin and Mary Stratton. Edwin was born in England and apparently moved to the United States in the early 1850's. Not long after his arrival, he married Mary Miller and began a family that would include seven children.  Little is known of the groom's mother, other than that her maiden name was Marie Draves and she was 16 years younger than her husband.
 

Ellison and Marie had married on May 2, 1885, in the town of Berlin, Green Lake County, Wisconsin. Fern and Walter would honor Ellison and Marie's 50+ year marriage by chosing May 2 as their own wedding day.

After a reception at the home of the bride's parents on Prospect Avenue, the newlyweds were expected to take a short trip to Sioux St. Marie before returning to Oshkosh. Upon return, Walter would resume his employment at the Singer Sewing Machine Company and Fern would return to her work at Henderson Hoyt. At some point early in their marriage, the newlyweds visited Niagra Falls for a true honeymoon.

Walter and Fern posed for photographs on the desk of the Maid of the Mist, both dressed in the required rain gear as they traveled under the falls. Their marriage would last until Walter's death in 1986, just a few months shy of their 48th wedding anniversary.










This little fellow was a wedding present
for Fern and Walter, a decorative piece
to sit on a kitchen windowsill.  He is now
in the possession of the couple's
daughter, Punky Stratton Dias.