A Change of Heart at the Altar
After a high-profile abandonment at a wedding in Seattle, a man tracks down his bride-to-be in Tacoma to finally go through with the ceremony.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Alvin R. Lehman, who on April 4 failed to keep his engagement in Seattle to wed Miss Martha Christian, appeared in Sacramento claiming he had been threatened with death if he married her. He subsequently came to Tacoma on Saturday, reunited with Miss Christian, and they were married that evening. The ceremony was performed at the Arcade Hotel in the room of W. E. Lund, with Rev. A. R. Shelander officiating. The couple departed for Seattle shortly after.
“Lehman, who on Sunday, April 4, failed to keep his engagement in Seattle to wed Miss Martha Christian... came to Tacoma Saturday, met Miss Christian here, and they were married.”
The drama of a 'runaway groom' played out in the papers captures the intense public fascination with private scandals that defined the era's social reporting, a precursor to modern celebrity culture.
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