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This photo of Charles and Zelda Hoover was taken around the time of their wedding in 1946. (Submitted photo / April 28, 2012) |
Zelda Hoover was buried 66 years to the day of her wedding to Charles “Charlie” E. Hoover Jr., whom she married on April 19, 1946.
They met as teenagers at Christian Endeavors, a youth program at what was then Grace United Brethren Church, now Grace United Methodist, where Zelda’s family were members. Charlie was attending with a friend who was a church member, then later joined the church himself.
Zelda was 18 months older than Charlie and wouldn’t marry him until he was 21. They got married one week after his 21st birthday and were married 52 years before his death in 1998.
“They had the same interests — family, church, music, and in their later years, dancing,” said son Lauren Hoover of Hagerstown.
Their daughter, Christa Hoover of Maugansville, always bought her mother a bouquet of yellow roses to mark the wedding anniversary. This year, the roses were placed in Zelda’s casket.
Zelda was a lifelong Hagerstown West Ender, born on Washington Street and raised on West Side Avenue. With no school bus service available at the time, she walked to Winter Street Elementary School, Woodland Way Junior High School and Hagerstown High School, from which she graduated in 1941.
The couple opened Hoover Electric Service, an electrical contracting company, in 1955, and ran the company together for 40 years .
“They were a team effort,” Christa said. “She answered the phone and did the bookkeeping. He did the work and the billing.”
Family was a focus. In the late 1950s, when the Hoovers built a cabin at Cowans Gap, Zelda’s parents also built a cabin nearby.
“We were always around family,” Lauren said. “We got together for holidays and birthdays. She was an organizer.”
Zelda was the second of Melvin and Mae Ridge’s six children, the first of three daughters. Their second son died three days after he was born.
The Ridges later endured the loss of their other sons within five months of each other. Trooper 1st Class Lauren Ridge was fatally shot on July 14, 1950, on Northern Avenue, beside the railroad tracks.
He was the first Maryland State Police trooper to be fatally shot in the line of duty. Lauren had survived five years of service in World War II in the South Pacific before that.
Kenneth “Kenny” Ridge wanted to be just like his big brother and joined the National Guard after high school. He was serving in the U.S. Army in Korea and returned for his brother’s funeral.
Had they realized it, Kenny was not obligated to return to Korea due to the Sole Survivor Policy adopted by the U.S. War Department, since he was the only surviving son.
He did return and the family received notice in January 1951 that he was listed as missing in Korea. On Dec. 31, 1953, he was officially declared dead by the U.S. government, said Lauren, who was named after his uncle.
Melvin Ridge refused to move, concerned that if Kenny returned, he would come to their West Side Avenue house. The Ridges did eventually move, but only because a family member bought the house.
Kenny’s parents would not have a memorial service for him, not wanting to admit he was dead.
“My grandparents’ faith is what pulled them through that,” Lauren said. “You talk about things being handed from generation to generation. Faith is, too.”
They met as teenagers at Christian Endeavors, a youth program at what was then Grace United Brethren Church, now Grace United Methodist, where Zelda’s family were members. Charlie was attending with a friend who was a church member, then later joined the church himself.
Zelda was 18 months older than Charlie and wouldn’t marry him until he was 21. They got married one week after his 21st birthday and were married 52 years before his death in 1998.
“They had the same interests — family, church, music, and in their later years, dancing,” said son Lauren Hoover of Hagerstown.
Their daughter, Christa Hoover of Maugansville, always bought her mother a bouquet of yellow roses to mark the wedding anniversary. This year, the roses were placed in Zelda’s casket.
Zelda was a lifelong Hagerstown West Ender, born on Washington Street and raised on West Side Avenue. With no school bus service available at the time, she walked to Winter Street Elementary School, Woodland Way Junior High School and Hagerstown High School, from which she graduated in 1941.
The couple opened Hoover Electric Service, an electrical contracting company, in 1955, and ran the company together for 40 years .
“They were a team effort,” Christa said. “She answered the phone and did the bookkeeping. He did the work and the billing.”
Family was a focus. In the late 1950s, when the Hoovers built a cabin at Cowans Gap, Zelda’s parents also built a cabin nearby.
“We were always around family,” Lauren said. “We got together for holidays and birthdays. She was an organizer.”
Zelda was the second of Melvin and Mae Ridge’s six children, the first of three daughters. Their second son died three days after he was born.
The Ridges later endured the loss of their other sons within five months of each other. Trooper 1st Class Lauren Ridge was fatally shot on July 14, 1950, on Northern Avenue, beside the railroad tracks.
He was the first Maryland State Police trooper to be fatally shot in the line of duty. Lauren had survived five years of service in World War II in the South Pacific before that.
Kenneth “Kenny” Ridge wanted to be just like his big brother and joined the National Guard after high school. He was serving in the U.S. Army in Korea and returned for his brother’s funeral.
Had they realized it, Kenny was not obligated to return to Korea due to the Sole Survivor Policy adopted by the U.S. War Department, since he was the only surviving son.
He did return and the family received notice in January 1951 that he was listed as missing in Korea. On Dec. 31, 1953, he was officially declared dead by the U.S. government, said Lauren, who was named after his uncle.
Melvin Ridge refused to move, concerned that if Kenny returned, he would come to their West Side Avenue house. The Ridges did eventually move, but only because a family member bought the house.
Kenny’s parents would not have a memorial service for him, not wanting to admit he was dead.
“My grandparents’ faith is what pulled them through that,” Lauren said. “You talk about things being handed from generation to generation. Faith is, too.”
