At a Catskills resort, playing tennis.
I imagine my parent’s story is pretty typical for the Depression era. My mom was a teacher in a one-room elementary school in the sandhills of Nebraska, and she (along with her 3 sisters) lived at home with my grandmother, a widow who rented out a spare bedroom for extra income.
My dad (a Mississippian) was working for one of the economic recovery agencies (WPA? CCC? I don’t recall) as a dragline operator on some kind of flood-control project on the Loup River (this was around 1938). He rented the spare room in my grandmother’s house, and the rest is history.
They knew each other in high school, but I don’t think they were friends; they just had a few classes together. Mom went away to college, Dad stayed in town. When Mom came home for the summer after her freshman year, she ran into Dad at the grocery store where he was working. Dad asked her out, they fell madly in love, Mom dropped out of college, and six months later they were married. 53 years later, they still fawn all over each other like they’re on their first date.
I was told (by them) that they met in a bowling alley while both were bowling for other teams. Don’t know many details, but they were married in 1952 and were still married until my mom’s death in 1991.
They went to High School together. Family lore says that Dad ripped a fart in class and blamed it on Mom.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Never knew my father, but he was a truck driver and she was a “shop girl” when they met, so I’m assuming it was because of proximity when he was picking up goods. My mother met my stepfather when she was working as a cashier at a hotel and he was a bartender there.
I’m pretty sure my folks first met at church. Dad was nineteen and had moved to our town with his older sister. Mom had been at this church all her life, when dad and sister arrived and became members. He told a mutual friend he was thinking of asking mom out, and later, with prodding, finally did. She said she already had a date, and he said “break it.” She did. After rwo weeks mom said she knew he was “the one” They were married for over sixty two years, he died five years ago.
University. Which is also, as it turns out, where my kids’ parents met… Not in class, because my dad was a grad student at the time, and mum had finished her degree and was working for a researcher. They met in some sort of progressive student politics context - could have been about Vietnam (later, I was responsible for my mum missing the biggest anti-war protest march in the country. Dad didn’t miss it tho’). Mum says they’d row out on Lake Burley Griffin and talk about Physics - or, more precisely, “I was willing to be talked to about Physics ;)”
I’ve heard a number of different stories about the actual circumstances, but they were definitely in law school together. Celebrated their 61st anniversary this year.
A mutual friend where they worked.
Same college; my dad took her roommate out on a double-date.
My parents went to the same school.
They were married for just over 60 years, then both passed away within a month.
Once Dad told me “I admired your mother for ages and finally plucked up courage to ask her out.”
I later mentioned this to Mum and she said “I knew he was the one for me for a long time before he said anything!”
Pen pals while my Dad was serving in China during WW II.
They were both from Wisconsin (mom from Port Washington, dad from Green Bay), but both of them were living in Los Angeles - my mother was a stewardess for United Airlines, my father was in industrial sales.
They met at a party, introduced to each other by someone who realized that they were both from Wisconsin, and might thus have something in common.
Summer stock theater production of Dracula. My dad played Renfield, my mom played Meena. Meena was to die off-stage and needed to sound like she was being choked to death, so my dad mock-choked her.
At a bar just about 3 miles from where I now live. The place has since been converted to a house but it’s still there. She was 24 and he was 21.
My mother’s uncle owned a pharmacy and she often hung out there. One day my father walked in, noticed her and starting chatting her up. They were married for 35 years until his untimely death at 63. Three years later, she married his kid brother (whose wife had died about a year after my father) and stayed married for 19 years until she died at 78.
My parents met in 8th grade, in art class. At some point there was a city-wide aviation-themed art competition for young artists, and they both won first prize. The prize was a ride in a biplane (this would be in the 1920s). My mom went, and was introduced to Orville Wright. My dad’s mother wouldn’t let him go, because it was too dangerous.
When the Depression hit, they both left home and moved to NYC, where they may or may not have lived together for a while.
A friend of my mom’s was dating a friend of my dad’s, and I guess both circles of friends just started hanging out together more. The friends of my parents who were dating eventually got married and later became my godparents.
My dad was my mom’s sister’s boyfriend’s fraternity brother. So, either an introduction by her sister or a 1940’s frat party. My mom and dad were pretty big partiers so I’m going with frat party.