Mares Celebrate 54th Wedding Anniversary

Fair Oaks residents Leonard and Julie Mares celebrate their 54th wedding anniversary today, December 5.

Julie and Leonard are cousins, but didn't meet each other until their Aunt invited them both to Thanksgiving dinner, in 1938. "She was the one who arranged for us to meet. Leonard's mother had passed away, so Leonard and his father were both invited to dinner," said Julie. Asked if they hit it off right away, Leonard replied, "We were just pleasant to each other." But their Aunt kept arranging for them to meet.

Leonard was working for an aircraft company in Long Island, New York, and Julie was a legal secretary in Connecticut at the time. Julie would ride the train to work everyday and ride the train to her Aunt's house.

In 1941, Leonard went into the Airforce on active duty at Dwight Field and got into flying school at Kelly Field. Julie went to his graduation in Texas, and they drove back together to Connecticut. When Martin Company, where Leonard was working when he and Julie got engaged, found out they were to get married, the company provided them with all their furniture and an apartment.

Leonard and Julie were married on December 5, 1942. "All the people that went to the wedding had to go back to work after the dinner because of the war." Julie and Leonard were able to leave for a day, but Leonard had to be in constant phone contact, in case he was called back to the base.

Leonard later transferred to Denver, when Julie was expecting their first child. "I asked the Doctor if it was okay for Julie to drive to Denver and he said 'go ahead.' So I got a little first aid kit and we drove from Buffalo to Denver. That night we spent in a hotel in Denver, and Julie said, 'It's time,' so we went to the military hospital, and the next day we had our firstborn, Elaine. We didn't even have a place to live yet." Julie added that "It (Fitzsimmons Military Hospital in Denver) was the first hospital in those days where a woman was made to get up and go to the nursery to feed the baby. My relatives were appalled!"

The Mares stayed in Denver for three years, and were transferred to Germany after the war. "We spent three years there in the small village of Barvaria, just outside Munich. We spoke all of the languages, German, Czechoslovakian and English, so we were known as a point of contact. We really enjoyed living there," said Leonard.

They then went back to the states, to Biloxi first, where Leonard trained at an atomic school, then to Albuquerque. "We were nursemaids to the atomic weapons and we were assigned to England to a special depot," explained Leonard. "We felt quite at home in England." Julie enjoyed an active social life in England, playing bridge with the mayor and his wife, and attending the Queen's coronation. Leonard flew planes all over Europe, and down to Africa and Greece.

"We left in 1953 after the downsizing of the military. We went back to New York, but it had changed drastically, so we packed the car and went to Fresno, where Julie's parents were, and spent five years there. Then we went to Hamilton Air Force Base for three years." In 1962, Leonard heard of a job at McClellan Air Force Base, became a civilian, and worked there for 12 years. He has been retired for 22 years.

While at McClellan, Leonard received a Certificate of Merit award from President Johnson for developing a method of testing rocket initiators on the F-104 aircraft that saved the military thousands of dollars. "They flew the whole family to Washington to receive the award. We stayed overnight in Washington D.C., and we all got to meet the president."

The Mares daughter, Elaine, contracted a virus while in Germany, and passed away at the age of 4 1/2. Their daughter Pamela lives in Sacramento, and daughter Eloise lives in Davis.

When asked what they planned to do to celebrate their anniversary, Julie and Leonard laughed and Leonard said, "Hold hands! We're so happy to be with each other. Really, we've been every place we would have liked to have been."