Long Term Lovers of Howard County
William Henry and Thelma Luciel (Murphy) Suter : 66+ Years
Married January 31st, 1936
It was the depths of the Depression when William and Thelma were dating. They recall standing in the breadlines at Fisher's Tabernacle. William worked as a paper boy, and they would hide love notes under rocks for each other. Later on, William worked for 11 cents a day for Western Union, while Thelma ironed all day on Saturdays for $.50. Back then, a marriage license cost $2.50. When they decided to get married, they managed to scrape together $2, but had to borrow the remaining amount. They were married on January 31, 1936, at Rev. Barker's house on South Main Street. Thelma had just turned 15 and William, 18 years of age. For their wedding night, Thelma went home to her mother, and William stayed at his aunt's house! Their first car was a Model A Ford roadster for which they paid $35.00, and when they bought their first house, they put $150 down and paid $15 a month. ~~ William served in the Army during WWII. He later worked at Chrysler and Thelma at Delco and J.C. Penneys, and built over sixty houses in Kokomo. Later on, they were the proprietors of Bill's Barbershop and Thelma's Beauty Salon. They also raised St. Bernards and Thelma volunteered at Howard Community Hospital. Interspersed with these activities the couple had 4 children, who now have added 17 grandchildren, 35 great-grandchildren, and 6 great-great grandchildren to their family line.
William Henry Suter, 1918 -
Thelma Luciel (Murphy) Suter,1921 -
