The Wedding of the Marsh
A satirical look at a rural wedding that turned into a chaotic, memorable spectacle, as reported by the local paper.
I wonder if it was the old lady or what, that caused such 'row' in the neighborhood on account of that wedding on the marsh, to judge the richest bit of the burlesque and character it was, the following is the story current in that section regarding the affair. It was the place of the old man's host, and the social ritual was in full bloom, and the formal ball was in progress. The ladies were all in their Sunday best and looking charming. The ceremony had been performed and the feasting was in high spirits. All of a sudden, a man entered, the likes of whom no one had ever seen before, dressed in a style that would be the envy of the most eccentric city dandy. He didn't know anyone, and no one knew him. He looked them up, as if to say 'sir,' to the amusement of the whole assembly.
“It was the place of the old man's host, and the social ritual was in full bloom.”
This story offers a rare, humorous glimpse into the social life of late 19th-century Snohomish, showing that small-town news was just as invested in local gossip and character studies then as it is in our modern social media age.
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