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This photo was taken about three months after we met - for the second
time. We have to be clear about this, because our first two meetings
were separated by more than 10 months.
Jari was born in Karhula, Finland, but has lived almost all of his life in
Baltimore, MD, while Heather was born in Nebraska and moved to
Illinois, Montana, and finally California, all before the age of 5. After
spending 7 years in Massachusetts following college graduation,
Heather moved to Northern Virginia on June 1, 2000, and on June 24
she and Jari met for the first time at a Civil War reenactment at Ft.
Ward, Alexandria, VA.
Heather was just a spectator at that event, since her belongings were
still in storage. But she was thrilled to find several people doing Civil
War music at that event, and talked to many of them, including
members of Gilmore's Light Ensemble, with whom she now plays flute
on occasion. Jari was there with his bugle demonstration and she
talked to him too. But after that event, Heather and Jari wouldn't meet
again until the following spring.
On May 5, 2001, Heather went to Fairfax, VA for a living history day at
Blenheim Mansion, and who should be there but the bugler she had
met the previous summer! We talked, we played duets, we even
danced together...
time. We have to be clear about this, because our first two meetings
were separated by more than 10 months.
Jari was born in Karhula, Finland, but has lived almost all of his life in
Baltimore, MD, while Heather was born in Nebraska and moved to
Illinois, Montana, and finally California, all before the age of 5. After
spending 7 years in Massachusetts following college graduation,
Heather moved to Northern Virginia on June 1, 2000, and on June 24
she and Jari met for the first time at a Civil War reenactment at Ft.
Ward, Alexandria, VA.
Heather was just a spectator at that event, since her belongings were
still in storage. But she was thrilled to find several people doing Civil
War music at that event, and talked to many of them, including
members of Gilmore's Light Ensemble, with whom she now plays flute
on occasion. Jari was there with his bugle demonstration and she
talked to him too. But after that event, Heather and Jari wouldn't meet
again until the following spring.
On May 5, 2001, Heather went to Fairfax, VA for a living history day at
Blenheim Mansion, and who should be there but the bugler she had
met the previous summer! We talked, we played duets, we even
danced together...
| Photo by Rob Gibson, Gettysburg, PA |
The friendly folks in Co. D, 3rd US (Jari's home unit which Heather joined later that summer) were watching most avidly!
Heather thought Jari was interested, but she was shy, so she didn't encourage him. However, he was determined not to let
her get away again, and although he didn't get her phone number, he did find out where she worked, and that Tuesday
Heather was surprised to receive a card in the morning's mail with an invitation to dinner.
Our first date, on Memorial Day 2001, was 12 hours long, which I suppose should have told us all we needed to know right
there! We attended a Civil War memorial service in Baltimore, toured Ft. McHenry and had dinner in Little Italy, and then
spent the rest of the evening talking. That set the pattern for our subsequent dates, and in fact for the rest of our
relationship. We still love talking with each other, and although we're very different people from very different backgrounds,
we've found so many shared interests in common that we've felt at home with each other from the start.
It didn't take long for us to figure out that we had each found someone very special to us. And on September 29, 2002, just
7 months after we became engaged, and approximately 17 months from that second meeting, we were married at
Catonsville United Methodist Church, with family and friends from Baltimore, across the country, and around the world in
attendance.
Heather thought Jari was interested, but she was shy, so she didn't encourage him. However, he was determined not to let
her get away again, and although he didn't get her phone number, he did find out where she worked, and that Tuesday
Heather was surprised to receive a card in the morning's mail with an invitation to dinner.
Our first date, on Memorial Day 2001, was 12 hours long, which I suppose should have told us all we needed to know right
there! We attended a Civil War memorial service in Baltimore, toured Ft. McHenry and had dinner in Little Italy, and then
spent the rest of the evening talking. That set the pattern for our subsequent dates, and in fact for the rest of our
relationship. We still love talking with each other, and although we're very different people from very different backgrounds,
we've found so many shared interests in common that we've felt at home with each other from the start.
It didn't take long for us to figure out that we had each found someone very special to us. And on September 29, 2002, just
7 months after we became engaged, and approximately 17 months from that second meeting, we were married at
Catonsville United Methodist Church, with family and friends from Baltimore, across the country, and around the world in
attendance.
| How We Met |