Wayne Ross and Roberta Phillians were married 62 years ago in this church in LaVale, MD on August 16, 1963. After my parents eloped they went back to Clarksville but didn’t tell anyone about their marriage until Christmas Eve of that same year. She was 18 and had just graduated from high school and he was a 21-year-old senior at Waynesburg College. It was their second attempt at eloping, the first time the minister wanted to call their parents! This is the closest thing to a wedding photo I have of my parents Roberta Phillians and Wayne Ross of Clarksville, PA. This was taken at her prom at Beth-Center High School in 1962. She made her own dress. On Christmas Eve they decided to break the news to their families. My mom thought her father was going to disown her, so she put on her favorite dress so she would at least have that. George might have been strict, but he didn’t disown his only child on that Christmas Eve. Nevertheless, my mom packed up her things that night,...
Family Stories from Southwestern Pennsylvania & Ohio