- "If the marriage is annulled I will re-marry him when I am 18."
Fifteen-Year-Old Bride Tells Her Own Story
as told by Marjorie Marion Lalonde
(Exclusive to Perth Courier)
"I do not want my marriage annulled, I am completely happy with Jack and want to remain married to him, and if the marriage is annulled I will re-marry him when I am 18", stated the pretty brown haired, 15 year old bride of nine days.
These words wer emphatically and sincerely spoken by Marjorie Marion Lalonde as she demurely sat by her mother and told her life story and the circumstances that preceded her marriage to John Michael Lalond, 42 year old bachelor, to whom she was married on February 7th at Watson's Corners.
Mrs. Lalonde and her husband reported to the Perth Headquarters of the Ontario Provincial Police on February 13th at 9:15 in the morning and informed Inspector T.W. Cousins that they had heard the Police were looking for them. Inspector Cousans informed the newly-weds that the bride's mother had laid a charge of abduction under the criminal code, against Mr. Lalonde and that a warrant for his arrest had been issued. Mr. Lalonde surrendered himself to the Police and was placed in temporary confinement in the County Jail.
The young bride readily answered all questions that were asked her in this personal interview and was aided by her mother on some matters. Everything she stated was voluntary.
Marjory Marion McGonegal was born on Christmas Day, 1936, the eldest of four children of Mr and Mrs Elwood McGonagal, in Lanark Village. Here the infant grew and developed into a young, attractive well-mannered girl who made friends easily and always willingly and ungrudgingly helped her m other about the house. Marjorie moved to Minden, Ontario, at an early age and with the family resided in a substantial seven-roomed house. Here the father worked as a carpenter and here also wa born William, Marjories eldest brother.
In 1940 the father joined the Army and, after 15 months over-seas he returned to Canada and was discharged because of a bad case of asthma. When he returned to Minden it was soon discovered that climatic conditions were not the best, so the family decided to return to Lanark County and settled in Balderson. Wnen Marjorie became of school age they again moved back to Lanark Village so that she might attend the Public School.
I liked Public school very much, made friends very easily and took an active part in the school sports", said Mrs Lalonde as a faint glow developed in her brown eyes and fond memories evidently crossed her mind, "but I was not too fussy about continuation school."
when asked what her ambitions for the future had been, she said that she had either wanted to become a teacher or a hairdresser. "I always enjoyed styling the hair of the other kids at school and felt that this was what I would like to be". Mrs. Lalonde took an active part in the United Church CGIT Groups and always assisted her mother with work at home.
"How did I first meet Jack? My mother introduced me to him at a wedding reception and we danced together. Mother knew him when she was young and they grew up together. After our first meeting Jack came to the house to see me and we went out together for 18 months before we were married."
"Before I met Jack, things at home went very well, I helped about the house, got the evening meals and assisted with the dishes and inside chores. My parents always treated me well and gave me a little spending money. We lived in a seven-room house in Lanark and had plenty of food and heat. Ours was not a rich family, nor were we poor".
"But, after I met Jack, things at home changed and mother began to forbid me to see him."
At this point Mrs. mcGonegal explained that when the two began to go together neither she nor her husband objected because they never dreamed that it would develop into anything. However the majority of the time that the couple went out, the mother and father usuallly accompanied them. Only on a couple of occasions did they go out themselves and then they phoned to inform the parents that everything was allright and told them where they were.
"No definite action was taken by my mother or father until some person complained to the Children's Aid Society that I was staying out late with an elderly man and visiting his room in a hotel in Perth," frankly stated Mrs Lalond, "but this report was ----- On the night in question I was with my mother, it was about eleven o'clock, and mother asked me to return some car keys to Jack's room. I took the keys to him and then rejoined by mother and we returned home. This complaint was the cause of the objections of my parents and from then on they forbade me to see Jack."
Soon after we first met, Jack came to se me about once a week we usually stayed at home or went to a friend's house and played cards, other times we came to Perth and went to the show. Jack stayed at the house on the occasional wee-end before the complaint was lodged, but after this he was forbidden to come to the house."
What did you do then? "We used to meet after school and Jack would pick me up in his car, on Sundays he would meet me on the street and w would then go for a drive and visit a friend's house and play cards. I did not want to stop seeing him nor did he want to be separate from me."
How long were you planning to get married before you did? "For about two months, even if mother had not gone away we would have married. Jack and I talked it all over and we realized the difference in the ages, that the marriage would likely be annulled and that we were doing so against my parent's wishes".
If you realized all this why did you go ahead? "We hoped that it might not be annulled, but if it is, when I am 18 we will re-marry. We had the rings ordeered early last February and decided that when mother was away would be our best chance. We went toCarleton Place on the 4th of February and applied for our licence. Jack told that his age was only thirty seven because if there was another war he wanted to rejoin the army. He was overseas for 6 years in the last war and injured in action."
Where were you going to live? "Jack owns property in Carleton Place and is having lumber cut in the bush so that we can build our own home".
Did you intend to work? "No. Jack does not want me to work, he says that he is quite capable of keeping both of us. He works in the bush in the winter and is now cutting ties for the railroad, he purchases the trees from the farmer and then resells them to a firm that supplies the rairoad with ties. In the summer he sell magazines andmakes very good money. There was no question in my mind that he could not properly support me."
When asked if she could keep house, Mrs McGonegal said that her daughter could cook, sew and keep house as well as she, a woman who had been married 18 years.
If the marriage is annulled what will you do? "If it is, I really do not know what I will do. My mother wants me to go back to school, but I will not go to school agian in Lanark or Perth, and, I will not go back to school unless I am made to. I imagine I would look for work and put in the time until I was 18.
Did you receive any money from Lalonde before you were married? "He gave me a bit but I received a small allowance from my parents. After we were married Jack gave me some money for a wedding present and extra spending money. I really did not need it but he gave it to me anyway. He was going to give me so much each week for the up-keep of the house and I know that it would have been enough."
Where and when were you married? "We were married on February 7th at Watson's Corners in the United Church by the Reverend D.J. Campbell.
After the wedding they borrowed a car because the groom's had no brakes and was in need of repair. The couple went north for their honeymoon and reached North Bay before they heard the Police were looking for them.
For the ceremony the bride wore a wine suit, white blouse, grey hat and accessories. While being interviewed she wore her wedding ensemble and a smartly tailored green coat. when looking at mrs. lalonde no person would ever think that she was only fifteen yers old, nor would anyone think that Mr. Lalonde was 42, both are deceiving in their ages.
Are you completely satisfied that wat you did was right? "Yes, I feel that we did the rignt thinbg, we loved each other and wanted to get married, nothing could have stopped us. We were going to do it anyway whether mother was away or not. I have been very happy since I have been married and do not want it to end. We have a place to live until we build a house in Carleton Place."
During the interview Mrs McGonegal said very little but was in general agreement with her daughter. The one thing that she was insitent on was that her daughter complete her education at school, and after she reached the age of 18, Mrs McGonegal did not mind what her daughter did. The mother said that they never realized that teh meeting with Lalonde was so serious and only after a complaint was laid against them did they begin to worry. Mrs McGonegal was of the opinion that, if the complaint had not been laid, by some person unknown, the marriage and romance would never have taken place.
The young bride was not upset by the interview and readily annswered all the questions and was glad that she could explain things as she saw them.
She frankly concluded - "I do not want my marriage annulled, I am completely happy and want to remain married to Jack. If it is annulled we will re-marry when I am 18. That is what we want and that is what we intend to do."
The Perth Courier
Perth, Ontario, Canada
Thursday, February 21, 1952, pp. 1, 12
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1936 - 2003 (66 years)
