Grandpa Hansen

Grandpa Hansen is the sweetest and I love hearing about his romance with Mabel. He talks about her often and I find myself falling in love with this sweet woman who I've never met through his words. There is sorrow, yes, and plenty of bittersweetness to last a lifetime - but hearing Grandpa Hansen talk about Mabel makes me cherish my own sweet spouse.

For his birthday, Keith only wanted his family around him. He took us all out to Chuckarama and paid for us all to eat together as a family. Before leaving for Chuckarama, Keith brought almost all of his progeny together. He told us that he had lived for 34,675 days and that his secret to life was to just keep getting up in the morning. He thanked us all for coming, and, of course, he told us about Mabel.

In honor of his birthday, I wanted to share one of Grandpa Hansen's stories that he has shared with me:

When Sunday came, the four girls (Mabel and 3 other teachers she was living with) went to church. After sacrament, they went to Sunday School and Mabel sat across the room from Keith where they could see each other. She caught Keith's attention, and he thought he "might like to get to meet her." On Saturday nights, they had dances in the LDS Tabernacle Building (rec hall). So Keith asked her to the dances every Saturday night. This is how they courted. 

On Valentines Day, they had a gold and green ball. Keith took Mabel to it. She was the Queen of the dance. Afterwards, Keith drove her around for a little while. They parked by the temple and Keith proposed to her. She said yes but wondered when they might get married. She said that she would be very busy that summer, helping her parents paint their house, and that she wouldn't know what to do.

Keith said that they should get married on March 12th, his birthday, so that he could always remember their anniversary. She said that she needed more time to plan a wedding and that less than a month wouldn't do. 

After some convincing, and the help of Virgina Garner, who made Mabel's wedding dress, Mabel agreed to marry Keith in less than a month. 

Their wedding was beautiful and they honeymooned in Utah and drove through California seeing the homes of movie stars, and dipping their feet in the ocean at Santa Monica. At their reception, they had a live orchestra and danced of course. 

During their marriage, they continued to dance, even taking lessons from professionals. They learned the Foxtrot, the Rhumba, and as Keith puts it, some 'interesting dances' like the tango. 

When asked if Mabel was a good dancer, with a smile, Keith answered, "She was my favorite."

Grandpa Hansen, you are such a gentleman. It has sincerely been my pleasure to bug you every so often to share with me a new story. I love you and I am so grateful for you. Happy Birthday, Keith!