On paper, Henry Vosti and Lois Curtis were an unlikely pair. He was the oldest son of a wealthy Swiss Italian rancher and he was Catholic. She was the youngest daughter of the brother of the founder of the town of Salida and she was Protestant. His father was arrested for illegally selling liquor. Her mother was the head of the town’s Women’s Christian Temperance Union. But they met, fell in love and were married for more than 50 years. Fortunately, Lois told me the entire story!
Henry Vosti was discharged from the U.S. Naval reserve in September of 1921. By November of 1921, he was the owner of a general merchandise and grocery store in downtown Salida, CA. The store sold all of the sundry and various food items Salida shoppers needed, including 12 different types of crackers.
Lois Vosti had grown up on a ranch in Turlock, but in 1921 her family moved to Salida where her father ran the town’s waterworks. Lois said that she and Henry had been dating for about two and a half years when they were married in June of 1926. That would mean they started dating after she graduated from Modesto High School in June of 1923. But they could have actually met any time after her family moved to town.
Lois said she met Henry when “she was sent to the store to buy bread and butter!” There was no restaurant in Salida. Bertha Eveland Curtis was a good cook and she loved to cook. She starting serving lunch for teachers and the principal from the elementary school at her little house on Curtis Street. Pretty soon friends from the Nestle’s plant in town also started stopping by for lunch. In the evenings, Jimmy Lee Curtis (Lois’ dad), loved to have friends over for dinner, and so there was often quite a gathering around the supper table (Lois Curtis Vosti).
All of this took a lot of groceries! Lois said when she’d get home from school, her mother would often say, “Oh Lois, you go to the store and get this and that.” “And that,” she said, “is how I met Henry.” Lois said she didn’t even know that Henry was interested in her until one of the girls whose folks had the local butcher shop said, “Did you know that Henry’s kind of interested in you?” Lois said, “That’s, of course, when I got interested in him too!” (Lois Curtis Vosti).
The two dated until Lois graduated from Modesto Junior College in 1926. They were married in June of that year. The local paper gives little hints of their courtship. In October, 1923. The Stockton Daily Record noted that Henry Vosti and Miss Lois Curtis were both visiting Turlock (Stockton Daily Record). They attended a local party together in February of 1924 where:
“A pleasant time was spent by a crowd of young people from Salida, at the country home of Mr. and Mrs. Kuesthard near Ripon Saturday evening. The evening was spent playing games. At a late hour, dainty refreshments were served by the hostess.” (Stockton Daily Evening Record).
In May of 1924, “Henry Vosti and Miss Lois Curtis were visitors in Hughson on Sunday” (Modesto Evening News).
That same month, the duo joined friends at the Winter Garden. The Winter Garden was a hall in town that held dances and other musical events just about every weekend…in fact, just about every night of the week.
In February of 1925, “Henry Vosti and Miss Lois Curtis and Mr. and Mrs. Frank Bonander motored to the snow line above Sonora on Sunday” (Modesto Evening News).
After two years of courting, Henry and Lois got engaged (I so wish I had asked for that part of the story). There were many parties and festive events leading up to the actual wedding (I’ll tell that story in the future), but it all started simply enough, with some trips to the market.
Henry Vosti – Vosti Family Tree – #1
Lois Curtis – Curtis Family Tree – #1
Sources:
Enjoy Party at Kuesthard Place; The Stockton Daily Record; 12 Feb 1924; Stockton, CA; retrieved 05 Jun 2020 from newspapers.com
Vosti, Lois Curtis; Personal Interview
Salida; The Stockton Daily Record; 30 Oct 1923; Stockton, CA; retrieved 05 Jun 2020 from newspapers.com
Salida: Modesto Evening News; 17 Feb 1925; Modesto, CA; retrieved 06 Jun 2020 from newspapers.com
Vosti, Henry; Modesto Evening News; 12 May 1924; Modesto, CA; retrieved 05 Jun 2020 from newspapers.com