Senator, Mrs. Norris special to couple

Harold Larmon was put down for number 65 for the pewter replicas being made of the life-sized bronze sculpture of Sen. George Norris. A fitting number, it turns out.

The number 65 is special to Harold and Marion Larmon. It's the number of years they will be married in October. They were wed in 1942 at a Washington wedding that Sen. Norris was invited to but couldn't make.

As it turns out, Norris had some other business to attend to at the time: as a U.S. Senator, he had to attend a special session in Congress that day. But Norris' wife Ellie attended the wedding and afterwards hosted a dinner for the couple.

Harold and Marion understood the Senator's absence. As Marion put it, "The war made a lot of decisions for us," including the timing of Harold and Marion's wedding.

Lives were scattered in 1942 as everyone did their part for the war effort, whether it was collecting cans, exchanging college for basic training or recruiting women to aircraft factories.

And so it was with Harold and Marion, who left their studies at the University of Nebraska to serve their country. In the months leading up to the wedding, Harold was at an officer training program for the Marines in Virginia and Marion was a U.S. Justice stenographer in San Diego. They kept in touch with telegraph messages as the telephone was too expensive. Their marriage took place Oct. 10, 1942 shortly after Harold was commissioned as a second lieutenant.

The actual ceremony was a small affair, with a few friends and family attending the wedding in a chapel at the Washington Cathedral. Among the treasured gifts the couple received were painted ivory bookends from Sen. and Mrs. Norris.

The above story was forwarded to me by Lorri Sughroue, the Gazette's city editor. She received the tip for the story from Duane Tappe, the site supervisor for the Norris Home in McCook.

Duane's the one in charge of selling the pewter figurines of the life-sized statue of Sen. Norris. The statue is now being created by Gary Ginther and Jon Leitner, sculptors who graduated from McCook High School in the 1960s and now have studios at Harry Strunk Lake near Cambridge.

The figurines are available for sale for $125 each. Twenty five dollars of the cost will go to the sculptors for their time and materials. The other $100 will help finance the creation of the life-size sculpture. All donors will be recognized through a listing of names in the Dedication brochure, Tappe said.

Congratulations to the Larmons and thanks to Lorri for her excellently told tale of the 1942 wedding. She's a gifted writer who, hopefully, will soon start a column of her own.

Of all the ideas I've heard for the 2008 location of the McCook Farmer's Market, the one I like best is to move the market to the C Street block between Norris Avenue and West First Street. You know the block I'm talking about. It's the space often used during Chamber events such as Heritage Days and Crazy Days.

The reason I like the C Street location is that it puts the Farmer's Market in the midst of the downtown business district. This would give retailers a better shot at attracting Market customers to their stores.

While we're on the subject of downtown business, thought should be given to turning the former Ben Franklin store into a mini-mall for small specialty vendors. By McCook standards, the former Ben Franklin store is huge and nearby parking is limited. Unless the store is separated into smaller spaces, I fear it will continue to stand empty, just as are several other locations throughout the town.

On other fronts, progress continues. U-Save Pharmacy & Medical Supply opens today in the new location on North Highway 83. Congratulations to Angie Langan and Dave Smith. It was a huge commitment to take on a project of this scope, but they have pulled it off.

Also in progress are work on the Klein's Motor Electric, Viaero and Sear's buildings. They're looking great, too. I'm looking forward to the series of grand openings which will take place in the weeks to come.