Sweethearts Wed on Soggy Flint Michigan Day (1946)
It was a cool and wet Saturday afternoon at the corner of 5th Avenue and Saginaw Street in Flint, Michigan. On Saturday, May 4th, 1946, 22 year old high school sweethearts, Betty Grace Sears (1924-1981) and Michael John Hanley Jr. (1924-2015), celebrated their wedding day with friends and family at St. Michael Catholic Church.
Here they are with joyful grins standing outside the church after the ceremony. Perhaps they are waiting for a car to take them to the reception. The original black and white photograph was colorized by Okkama Colorizations at The Psychogenealogist.
This Google Maps screenshot appears to show the very corner where they stood almost 75 years ago.
Here is that same corner looking in the opposite direction. You can seen the building off in the distance matches the one in the wedding photo. Known as The Industrial Savings Bank Building at the time, it now goes by the Northbank Center.
Michael had recently returned from active army duty in World War II and Betty was working as a stenographer at the Newall & Braun insurance agency in Flint. Here is an earlier photo of Betty, Michael, and Michael’s mother, Alma Ratz Hanley (1894-1979).
Left to right: Betty Grace Sears Hanley (1924-1981), Michael John Hanley Jr. (1924-2015), Alma Ratz Hanley (1894-1979)
The 1945 Flint City Directory lists Betty living at 302 Mary and working at Newall & Braun.
Here is a back cover advertisement for Betty’s employer in the same city directory.
About 600 miles to the south, in Louisville, Kentucky, perhaps at the very moment Betty and Michael were saying their vows, a crowd of about 100,000 watched Assault win the 72nd running of the Kentucky Derby by eight lengths on a sloppy track at Churchill Downs. This rare 35mm original film of the event evokes a sense of the era.
It seems likely that a reception was held at the home of Michael’s parents, Alma and Michael John Hanley (1890-1964). Here is another beautiful photo colorization of Michael and Betty standing at the punch bowl. Betty’s sister, Mary Margaret “Peggy” Sears Smith (1928-2008) pours them a glass.
You can view all of their original black and white wedding photos at the gallery below (you can also view it here at The Psychogenealogist Flickr Page).