Augsburgers celebrating 70th Valentine's Day

Berne Tri-Weekly News:

It was 73 years ago when Paul Augsburger was invited on a "blind date" with Ivan Sprunger and Erline Steury. Ironically, the mystery girl of that night was to become his wife, Edith, three years later on Jan. 18, 1942. They were married in the Berne Evangelical Church (then Defenseless Mennonite Church, says Paul) by Rev. Noah Schmuker.

At the time, he was 21 and she was 20; Paul's brother, Justus (Bud) Augsburger served as the best man and Doris Moser was the maid of honor. Their intentions were to spend their honeymoon in Chicago but they were turned back by a snowstorm and ended up spending their first night together at a motel on U.S. 30 east of New Haven.

Paul noted that they had already made plans for the marriage and sent the announcements out when the announcement came on Dec. 7, 1941, that the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor.

"I knew that at some point I would have to serve," said Augsburger. "We already had everything planned so we decided to follow through with the wedding."