January 8

Today is the anniversary of my father's birth. He would have been 102 today, as he was born January 8, 1912. He lived a healthy, active life until about 80, when consequences of bone cancer began to impinge on his lifestyle. (He had to give up tennis and competitive sailboat racing at about that age, but he continued driving and did some woodworking for a few more years.) He died in the autumn of 1996, age 84.   R.I.P. Nick.   Nathan P. Nichols (1912-1996).

January 8 is also the anniversary of his parents' 1902 wedding. William Stanley Nichols (born 5-4-1872) married Nellie Eusebia Johnson (born 12-11-1874) on January 8, 1902.  They celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary fifty years later in Danvers, MA, and I remember a few details about the occasion.

My grandparents "Nana" and "Granddaddy"  1952

My sister and I were dressed up in matching gold dresses and attended a ceremony and reception at a church in Danvers.

I thank my cousin Dave Brewster for scanning old Kodachrome slides taken by his father David and his uncle Dudley, and sharing these images with me. I had not seen these photos before.  I do remember, clearly, that the fancy dresses were a bit stiff and scratchy. "Skritchy" is the word that instantly comes to mind as my body shudders in remembrance. I was never very comfortable in dress-up clothes. My sister may have been more comfortable; look at this wonderful photo of Jean:  

Here's a photo of my father, all dressed up for his parent's Golden Anniversary, which coincided with his 40th birthday: 

My mother, Janet Cutler Nichols, was 39, approaching her 40th birthday in a few months. Here she stands with Nana (her mother-in-law, Mrs. William S. Nichols): 

I do not remember anything about a special dinner at Pine Knoll in celebration of this Golden Anniversary, but the photographs taken by the Brewsters prove that we were there at the formal dining room table as Granddaddy --with gold crown on his head-- carved turkey. His son Edward Holyoke Nichols (my father's older brother) can be seen in the foreground. 

 Note the golden candles on the tables in this large Pine Knoll dining room:    

Although the picture quality is poor, I am delighted to see this documentation of the Pine Knoll dining tables decorated with golden grapefruit (a very traditional beginning of any dinner at PK) and golden candles for this anniversary dinner. Note the large China cabinet in the distance. There was a fireplace to the right (not visible in this view) and a row of south-facing windows on the left, usually filled with plants, making this basement room quite lovely.