Part 8: Married Forever, in love always

Norman and Bessie Erickson
13 March 1941, two days after
getting married

Norman and Bessie were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple on Tuesday, March 11, 1941 in the early afternoon. 

The following information was adapted from notes made by their oldest son Eric on 11 March 2009 on Norman and Bessie’s 68th Wedding anniversary

They didn't have bridal showers or receptions in those days, but Norman remembered that the ward choir got together and gave them a gift. Note: This was in the era where women were traditionally expected to make/have a trousseau - which could consist of everything from pillows to clothing.

Norman and Bessie left Archer, Idaho on Monday and drove to Brigham City, Utah with his mom, Gladys, and sister Olive who sat in the back seat with Bessie. Norman, Gladys, and Olive stayed with the Olsen’s (some of Gladys' family)

Bessie stayed with Henry and Jenny (Marble) Nielson. Jenny had been a missionary in Maine and knew the Small family. Henry Nielson, who worked in the clerk's office, helped them get their marriage license on Tuesday before they left for Salt Lake. Olive stayed in Brigham City with family and Norman, Bessie, and Gladys drove to Salt Lake.

When they arrived, Norman couldn't get the car trunk open to get their clothes. He had to bump it and pound on it to get it open. When they finally got inside he realized that he forgot his tie and had to go back out for it. They just barely made it to the endowment session.

They spent their wedding night at a motel on State Street in Salt Lake. They remained in Salt Lake and stayed the following night with Alfred and Beda Erikson. Alfred was Norman's Uncle (Herman's brother). Gladys stayed there as well. Bessie said that Beda didn't like her because she had someone else in mind for Norman so they slept in separate rooms.

They left Thursday morning and stopped in Ogden to have their wedding picture taken. Bessie had promised Grammie Small that they would have one done. They drove to Brigham City where they spent the night with the Nielson’s and Gladys and Olive stayed with the Olsen’s. They drove back to Archer on Friday and stayed for a few days at Herman and Gladys' home.

They returned to Maine for their official honeymoon and went to Old Orchard Beach.

Newlyweds
Bessie and Norman
Old Orchard Beach

Where the Erickson pie-tradition began

They had planned to stay about a year in Maine.

Bessie got her job back at JJ Newberry's. She remembered that all the girls wanted to know who that good-looking man was and enjoyed telling them that he was her husband.

Norman got a job as an ice man and worked 18 hour days for $2. He said he was wet all the time. After two days of that, he went to work at the airport in Bangor. He walked to work every day (distance of 2.5 miles one way). At work, he lit the lamps along the runway for evening landings, cleaned the planes, emptied the puke bags and pulled the chucks from the wheels when the planes were ready to take off.

In the fall, he went to work with his brother-in-law, Joy, in the potatoes. They hauled the potatoes in barrels from the field and would drive to the cellar to unload. The cellar was dug into one of the rolling hills in the area. They would pour the potatoes in the top of the hill and when they were ready to sell them, they would take them out the bottom of the hill, sort them into bags, and then deliver them around to Joy's accounts.

They were working together when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. Life changed for every American, but especially those in Norman's age group.

Norman and Bessie board a bus to
return to Idaho

Norman and Bessie left Maine in January (Here they are boarding the bus) to go back to Archer, thinking that Norman would be drafted. His older brother Howard would serve in the Navy and younger brother Stanley served in the Army.

With two of seven sons gone to war and the others married with families and land of their own, there wasn't enough help on the family farm so Norman was able to remain a civilian and work with his 63 year old father and teach 4-H.