| Dan
Martinets' grandfather was a tailor. A good tailor. He was so good he was in demand
to sew wedding dresses for Granger women. One such girl was Anna, who at 16 years
old was a somewhat reluctant bride. Arranged
marriages were common back in Europe and the tradition was not unknown to the
Czechs. Anna's parents had decided that the son of lifelong friends would be the
best thing for the girl who was becoming quite a beauty. Somehow, her measurements
were taken and delivered to Joseph who sewed a beautiful white gown for the upcoming
event. As the
day approached, Anna was undoubtedly anxious and on the day she was due in church
she disappeared. She was nowhere to be seen. The railroad stationmaster was questioned,
but he hadn't seen anyone in a wedding dress leave town that day. It's even possible
that they searched the "American" side of the tracks to see if she had somehow
gone to the wrong church. And
so it was that the groom was left waiting at the altar. Not too much attention
was paid to him for everyone was looking for Anna. Finally, after everyone went
home, the flowers wilted, and the sun was going down, a solitary figure clad in
white emerged from the cotton field in back of Anna's family's house. It was Anna.
She figured that the cotton field was the last place anyone would look, and she
figured right.
Now that everyone knew how strongly she felt (including
the groom), further plans weren't mentioned and the matter was dropped. Then Anna
disappeared again. The cotton field was the first place they checked, and when
they went to the tailor to ask if he had seen her, they were looking at a silent
sewing machine. | 
