My Favorite Love Story
I love to ask couples how they met. I realized today that I am searching for a love story that rivals my favorite.
It starts on September 19, 1877, when Orson was born to Danish pioneer immigrants, James and Ane, in the northeastern Arizona territory. Eventually, the family moved to a farm in the high altitude of Alpine Arizona. The summers are warm, and the winters bring snow in this part of Arizona. 14 years later James won a 4-year contract with the U.S. government to deliver mail by horse between Springerville, Arizona and Luna, New Mexico.
Orson shared the responsibilities for the contract with his father James and his older brother (and best friend) Erastus. Each taking turns fulfilling the delivery requirements three times a week. As time went on, more often than not, it was Orson doing the horse and cart trips through the Escudila mountains alone. Orson’s father had built a small house and stable in Luna for him to stay overnight during these deliveries. Sometimes Orson would make a couple extra dollars picking up packages or passengers on these trips.
It was during these trips to Luna that he met another teenager Lora Belle Tenney. Lora was born into a family that had been in the United States since starting their American journey in 1638 Salem Massachusetts. Along the way, and generations later, the Tenney family became one of the first pioneer families to settle New México. It isn’t clear if Orson knew then he liked Lora during the chance meeting at church.
Life and time took them their separate ways. Lora loved school and had been unable to finish the schooling she desired. Being the eldest daughter in her family, when her mother became ill, it became Lora’s responsibility to take care of her mother and her younger siblings while her father, Samuel, ran the family sheep ranch. Lora took an interest in healthy eating when her mom became ill and learned what she could about nutrition as she prepared the family meals. At the age of 19, Lora met and married a man named John and went on to have two children. One boy and one girl. Eventually, Lora’s marriage to John became unfit and she moved with her children and parents to Thatcher, Arizona near the Mexico border. Shortly after the move she and John were divorced.
In his teens, Orson had enjoyed making tools for the farm. Not having the equipment of a blacksmith shop, he improvised. He used a section of rail as an anvil, his hammer and forge were homemade, he made charcoal for his cooking oven from pinion pine. Once the government contract was up, Orson got a good paying construction job. He was generous with his mother, often sharing half of his pay from his jobs with her. Orson was also a conservative spender and had started to grow his savings. Orson developed the reputation for being quick, strong and capable of finding solutions to make the work more efficient. One job led to another, eventually getting a job as the blacksmith, making and repairing some the tools that would be used to build the tunnels for the Roosevelt Dam. This is important for later – and is a part of what makes this my favorite love story.
Orson’s younger sister eventually married Lora’s brother. There, at his sister’s home, over a decade later, he saw Lora again when she came up to visit. After Lora returned to her parents’ home in Thatcher, her and Orson’s relationship flourished by letters mailed back and forth. Orson knew what his nest egg was for now.
When Orson talked to his brother Erastus about wanting to marry Lora, his brother warned against it because she was divorced. He was concerned Orson would be making a mistake. Orson defended her. When he proposed she required reassurance that he also loved her two children. She required a lot of reassurance about his feelings about her children before she would marry him. They did marry, and he adopted John Wayne who was 8 years old at the time and Ethel who was 5 years old.
Orson bought a blacksmith shop in Thatcher that mostly repaired wagons. Lora and Orson bought a home together nearby the blacksmith shop. They eventually raised all 6 of their children there, added on to the house several times, and lived in that home for 42 years.
But this isn’t where the story ends. Yes, they did get “happily ever after”, but that isn’t the only thing that makes this great. What makes this a great love story happens next.
In 1916 horses were sharing the burden of transporting goods and people with millions of Model T’s. The writing was on the wall for his busy blacksmith shop. In 1916, with Lora pregnant, the whole family went to Los Angeles for 6 months, so Orson could take a course in automobile mechanics. Lora and Orson’s oldest, Wayne, enrolled in a course on electricity while the rest of the children continued with regular courses in L.A. Education was very important to both Lora and Orson. After the classes wrapped up for Orson and Wayne, the family enjoyed a vacation on the way back to Thatcher in the California Baja of Mexico.
In 1917, their youngest son, my grandfather was born. They bought their first car that year. A Maxwell. As soon as Orson brought the new car home, he gave a key to his now 20-year-old adopted son, Wayne. Orson had stayed true to his promise to love Lora’s kids as his own. He adored Wayne as much as my grandfather. He adored all of his kids, and especially his wife. She happily returned his affections.
Two years later, Lora wanted to return to school. He was in full support of her achieving her dream. To help make it happen, Orson would open the shop and bring their toddler, Samuel, to work with him. He made a playpen for Samuel at the shop and managed the shop while Samuel played and napped. While Lora was at school Orson would also run back and forth from the shop caring for whatever was in the kettle for dinner that night and taking the bread from the oven. It delighted him to have a family growing in knowledge. Lora graduated from junior college in the midst of the depression.
As toddler Sam became a teenager, in 1930 they visited a barnstorming air show. Orson paid for his youngest son, who was fascinated with the planes, to go up for a ride in the plane. Sam went on to turn down West Point because Lora had a bad feeling about it. He did go on to become a pilot in WWII, then on to become one of the pilots that flew the generals in the U.S. Military around the globe after WWII, afterwards he taught cadets to fly during the Korean War eventually retiring as a Colonel.
Lora’s and Orson’s love story has an underlying theme of love, respect, acceptance, honor and support for each other’s dreams and aspirations while doing their best to enjoy each moment. This photo of them kissing was taken when they were in their 80’s – and according to Wayne who they lived next door to them – still very in love.
I’ve compiled this from written family stories I’ve been collecting over the year. - Rachel Skousen
