Early Married Life

Aug 1, 1964—Perhaps inspired by the 1963 cross-country trip with her brother Pat and his family, Ruth agreed to drive the car of a fellow teacher from Maryland to San Francisco as part of their honeymoon. This Buick Skylark was used for the wedding so the other car was ready for the big journey.

Aug 1964—Jim’s parents Adolph & Mildred in front of their Escondido, CA home where they met Ruth for the first time at the end of Jim & Ruth’s cross-country honeymoon travels.

Aug 16, 1964—Adolph & Mildred outside American Savings & Loan Association, 15725 E Whittier Blvd, where Christ The King Lutheran Church (Wisconsin Synod) was meeting for services. The church bulletin for August 16, 1964, read, “Visiting us today: Mr. & Mrs. James Neumann of Towson, Maryland. Jim is the son of Mr. & Mrs. Adolph Neumann of this congregation—he and his bride are visiting California on their honeymoon.”

Aug 1964—Ruth & Jim visited Disneyland, where Jim got Ruth a large stuffed animal that she had to carry with her onto the plane for their flight back to MD. At the time, Jim & Ruth could scarcely have known that six years later they would live only ten miles from Disneyland.

Aug 1964—After flying back from their cross-country honeymoon travels, Ruth & Jim moved into the bottom right apartment at 222 Donnybrook Ln, Towson, MD. The apartments had been recently renovated for students attending nearby Towson State University. They lived here for two years, while Ruth taught at Hamilton Junior High School in northeast Baltimore and Jim was teacher and principal at First Lutheran School in Towson.

1964-65—Vera, Jim & Ruth in front of the Unisphere at the New York World’s Fair.

Aug 1966—Ruth & Jim with her parents on the front porch of their Kingsville house around Ruth & Jim’s second anniversary.

Oct 2000—Just over 34 years later, Ruth & Jim are joined by son Steve’s family & daughter Debbie’s family on the front porch of the Kingsville house.

Aug 1966—From the apartment on Donneybrook Ln, Ruth & Jim moved into this lovely brick row house at 1603 Thetford Rd in Towson on/about their second anniversary.

≈1966—Jim’s parents were unable to afford the journey to MD to attend Ruth & Jim’s 1964 wedding. Probably sometime after moving into the Thetford Rd house, they made the trip to MD. Here are Jim & his parents standing in the front yard of Pat & Mildred’s Kingsville home.

Christmas 1966 or 67?—Jim surprised Ruth with a beagle puppy tucked inside a shoebox. They named her Holly in honor of the season. Holly was so little, they had to return her to her mother before bringing her home permanently. Ruth still has this blanket.

Aug 1989?—Ruth & Jim visit their old home.

Oct 2000—Steve, Amanda & their boys join Ruth & Jim in front of the Thetford Rd home on the occasion of Ruth’s mother’s funeral.

This is the rear view of the Thetford Rd row house as seen during Ruth’s Sep 2012 visit. Though they struggled to conceive—and even underwent testing in search of answers—it was in this home that Ruth & Jim would eventually begin their family. It was also from here that they would unexpectedly depart for an entirely new life 3,000 miles away in California.

≈1968—Ruth & Jim purchased a “Daffodil Yellow” 1966 Plymouth Fury III 2-door convertible from the owner of Brooks Buick in Baltimore (similar).

Jul 14, 1969—Ruth & Jim set out in the Plymouth on their second cross-country odyssey. Unique for the era, the car was equipped with air conditioning. Ruth kept a brief journal of the trip writing, “It was great to have an air-conditioned car going through Kansas since the temperature was in excess of 100° and the humidity was high.”

After years of concern over not being able to conceive, Ruth discovered—just before their departure—that she was about one month pregnant. Best enjoy those carefree days on the road while you can! You may wonder what it cost to fill up the big tank? No worries…Ruth kept notes on that too. Not per gallon…but $4.91 on average to fill the tank!

Jul 17, 1969—”On the way to our motel in Kayenta [AZ], we drove through Monument Valley. Besides seeing many unusual rock formations, we saw many animals—sheep, cattle, horses, and jackasses—some of them in the middle of the road.” —Ruth’s journal from the trip

Jul 16, 1969—”Another early start got us to Denver shortly after 9:00 AM. Earlier, when we stopped for breakfast, we heard [on the radio] the blast off for man's first trip to actually setting foot on the moon.” —Ruth’s journal from the trip

Jul 20, 1969—Ruth & Jim arrived in Casa Grande, AZ on the evening of July 18, 1969. Pictured are Jim & his brother Bob’s family—Dorothy, Ruth-Ann, & Jonathon—attending Sunday services where Bob was pastor on July 20. The following day, they drove to Escondido where they surprised Jim’s parents. Despite their plan to play it cool, Jim blurted out “Ruth is pregnant” as soon as they opened the door.

Jul 26, 1969—Ruth & Jim stayed with his parents from July 22-26. Probably on July 26, they stayed at his sister Jean’s house in Glendora (pictured). They had more on their mind than the pregnancy, as this was also the summer between Jim’s job of eight years at First Lutheran School ending and his starting at Baltimore Lutheran High School.

Jul 26, 1969—This time with color film—Back: Jean, Jean & Jim’s first cousin John Desmedt, Jim, Ruth, & Mildred. Middle: Susan and Karen. Front: John and Cheryl. From Glendora they continued to Sacramento—via 17-Mile Drive—and stayed with Ruth’s brother Paul and his family. Then it was on to Eugene, Port Angeles, Mt Vernon. Spences Bridge BC, & Banff.

Aug 1, 1969—Jim at Lake Louise in Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies. Possibly on August 1, 1969, on his and Ruth’s 5-year anniversary.

In the summer of 1969, the American side of Niagara Falls—specifically the American Falls—was temporarily “turned off” by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to evaluate geological damage to the falls. Engineers built a large rock-and-earth cofferdam across the Niagara River to divert the water toward the Canadian Horseshoe Falls. Jim & Ruth hoped to witness the blockage, but Ruth was not feeling well toward the end of the trip, so they cut south from Schreiber, Ontario to Bay City, Michigan and then home.

Ruth at her baby shower.

Ruth enjoying cake at her baby shower.

Feb 15, 1970—27 days before giving birth.

Feb 22, 1970—Ruth in the Thetford Rd kitchen 20 days before giving birth.

Five years and seven months had passed as the young couple settled into married life in Towson, each carving a path into their own career. Now, Ruth was resting on the verge of two seismic shifts: the arrival of her first child and the daunting not-yet-known leap from lifelong Marylander to Californian.