Page THE HERALD Wednesday February 1991 Special Valentines Day couples A if at tiH e Vznr Commitment and devotion keep romance vibrant Harry and Laura Moss By LISA BOONSTOPPELPOT The Herald Harry and Laura Moss have the commitment and devotion tnat makes love and marriage so special Despite a massive stroke that s left Harry in need of specialized care it s obvious their romance is as vibrant as ever The pair who ve lived together for 38 years are now separated by the stroke since Mr Moss is a resident in the chronic care wing at the Bennett Health Care Cen tre However they re together more than they re apart Mrs Moss visits her husband four times a week and together they play cribbage talk and remember the days when they danced in each other s arms It was at a dance where the couple first met Young Laura was planning to attend the An Royal York Railway Dance when her date cancelled Wan ting to go but needing a date her cousin rounded up a railway man tobeherblinddate Harry The dated in Toronto where they both lived with their fam lies back in the 1940s until Laura and her family moved to Georgetown But being a railway man would ride the trains to visit Laura in Georgetown and she would also make the trip to Toronto Marriage predicted by Patti By LISA The Herald When Knapton nee Got don was in kindergarten at M Z Bennett Public School in Ac ton she had a sleeping partner named Jimmy One day she came home and told her mom I m going to marry Jimmy Twenty five years later Patti married Jimmy Of course couldn t remember what she said to her mom all those years ago It was Jims father who teased Patti about it while she was In her teens After that prophetic statement Patti made in kindergarten the young couple forgot about each other as Jim family moved away fron the area It wasn un til when 18yearold Jim and his family moved back to live on Churchill Street they became reacquainted found out he was back because he was soon dating a good friend of hers who worked with her at Home Hardware She got her first glance of Jim when he visited his girlfriend at the store It was around this time that Mr Knapton would come in to the store and tease Patti that she used to be in love with his son Well was about to fall in love with Jim all over again that summer One day while at Acton Park picking up her sister she saw Jim who had by this time broken up with his girlfriend He was there we kind of met and we went over to the swings and he started pushing me on the swings remembers But he ask her out then One week later she met Jim in an unusual manner He was taking her sister home when he got pull ad over in their driveway by a for illegal passing Though he t impress Pat s parents too much that day he impress who agreed to out with him the next day hen he asked her out over the telephone Then came the famous state ment again The day after her date she was in the kitchen with her mom and she said I go ing to marry that man He was hooked before he knew it jokes today But the weekend after they went out Patti moved away to Toronto to start college which lasted for three years They would date on weekends when she came home and three years later to the day they dated he asked her to marry him That was Sept and they married on Sept 8 1984 at St Joseph s Church in Acton The couple lived on Main Street in Acton for three years but now reside on Bower Street with their two children a half year old Kurtis and four and a half year old Meghan Patti is a professional housewife while Jim is in part nership with his parents in A 1 Sanitation a company in the business of transporting hazar dous liquids Jim says we have a house healthy kids and we re together How much more successful can yoube v Jim and Path Knapton GEORGETOWN OPTICAL NO ONE EVER REGRETTED BUYING QUALITY MARKET PLACE PLAZA 8773562 HOURS MONDAY Tuo Saturday For four years the dating con until Christmas of 1942 when year old Harry presented yearold Laura with an engagement nng They were married the next August For several years the couple lived in Toronto before moving to Ostrander Street Georgetown so Harry could walk to the railway station where he was still working Laura was busy teaching dressmaking at night school Soon Harry and Laura got in volved in dancing which soon favorite activity We really loved to dance Every Saturday night we would go dancing with the Brampton Square Dancing club and if there was some danc event going on during the week we d go there to remembers Mrs Moss While talking about the past it Mr Moss remembers such good times as he gives an ex laugh and looks at his wife We would go to conventions at the Royal York where we d dance the whole weekend said Mrs Moss and I mean the whole weekend The couple moved to Barne after 27 years in Georgetown where they soon made lots of and began a tradition of spending winters in Florida ilien suddenly years ago last September Harry suffered a massive stroke Their life took a drastic turn as the couple were separated while Mr Moss remained hospital Mrs Moss found her life lonely as most of their fnends would leave for Florida during winter and she could no longer go When the Ben Centre was built they dead ed to move back to Georgetown The couple has to adjust to the change in their life Though Mr Moss is mentally capable of many tasks his physical limita lions mean he must make use of a wheelchair Because his limbs t very pliable he cannot go outside the hospital without use of But the couple has found new ways to enjoy each others com pany The pair often play crib which Mr Moss revealed with a mirthful laugh he taught his wife on their honeymoon Adjusting to this change in their life isn easy but Mrs Moss says it just something they have to deal with People ask me why I visit so often but I know he would do it for to do it for him I love him He my boyfriend That what call him and he calls me his old girl We ve never had a falling out or trouble between us she said We ve had a perfect mar nage STEVEN FOSTER BA LLB BARRISTER SOLICITOR 37 MAIN ST SOUTH GEORGETOWN ONT 3G2