In 1996, a couple got married at this Richmond, VA, 7

Jun 01, 2023

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Myrtle Bond marries Owen 'Jack' Tate at a 7-Eleven at the corner of Patterson and Shepherd Sat., Dec. 14, 1996. Officiating is/was Rev. Paul Richardson.

Myrtle Bond married Owen “Jack” Tate at a 7-Eleven store in the Museum District on Dec. 14, 1996. The Rev. Paul Richardson officiated the nuptials.

Myrtle Bond marries Owen 'Jack' Tate at a 7-Eleven at the corner of Patterson and Shepherd Sat., Dec. 14, 1996. Officiating is/was Rev. Paul Richardson.

Myrtle Bond marries Owen 'Jack' Tate at a 7-Eleven at the corner of Patterson and Shepherd Sat., Dec. 14, 1996. Officiating is/was Rev. Paul Richardson.

Myrtle Bond marries Owen 'Jack' Tate at a 7-Eleven at the corner of Patterson and Shepherd Sat., Dec. 14, 1996. Officiating is/was Rev. Paul Richardson.

Myrtle Bond marries Owen 'Jack' Tate at a 7-Eleven at the corner of Patterson and Shepherd Sat., Dec. 14, 1996. Officiating is/was Rev. Paul Richardson.

Myrtle Bond marries Owen 'Jack' Tate at a 7-Eleven at the corner of Patterson and Shepherd Sat., Dec. 14, 1996. Officiating is/was Rev. Paul Richardson.

Myrtle Bond marries Owen 'Jack' Tate at a 7-Eleven at the corner of Patterson and Shepherd Sat., Dec. 14, 1996. Officiating is/was Rev. Paul Richardson.

Myrtle Bond marries Owen 'Jack' Tate at a 7-Eleven at the corner of Patterson and Shepherd Sat., Dec. 14, 1996. Officiating is/was Rev. Paul Richardson.

Myrtle Bond marries Owen 'Jack' Tate at a 7-Eleven at the corner of Patterson and Shepherd Sat., Dec. 14, 1996. Officiating is/was Rev. Paul Richardson.

In December 1996, Myrtle Bond married her long-lost love Owen “Jack” Tate at the 7-Eleven on the corner of Patterson Avenue and Shepherd Street in the Museum District.

The bride wore a traditional white satin gown with sequin details and a pearl necklace with matching earrings. The groom wore a blue suit and tie with a red pack of Marlboros stuffed into his breast pocket.

Bond, a cashier at the 7-Eleven store was walked down the aisle of cereal, crackers and candy by her manager Pat Stutz. The groom and the Rev. Paul Richardson waited for them by the Big Gulp and Slurpee fountains.

The bride and groom, both in their 40s, had been friends since childhood and dated for a short time in the 1980s but lost touch for almost a decade. It was not until Tate wandered into the 7-Eleven one morning at 3 a.m. for a cup of coffee during Bond’s shift that the two rekindled their romance.

“I have always loved Myrtle since the time we split up. I always had a thing for her,” Tate told the Richmond Times-Dispatch on his wedding day.

After a couple months of dating, Tate suggested they get married — inside the lucky 7-Eleven where they found each other again.

“Have you lost your mind?” he recalled Bond saying to him. But after a few minutes, Bond caved and she said to Tate, “Sure, 7-Eleven is my family.”

The company officials at the store were happy to oblige. The store stayed open during the 10-minute ceremony because Tate and Bond insisted that they wanted things to be “natural.” During the occasion, one customer pumped gas and another bought lottery tickets and cigarettes.

Charles Hubbard, one of the said customers, was taken by surprise when he walked in during the marriage ceremony. “It was kind of freaky, man,” he told The Times-Dispatch.

After the ceremony, guests enjoyed champagne in the store. A reception followed across the street at Café 21.

This November 1947 image shows hangars used by the National Guard and Army in their military flying program at Byrd Field. That year, the city of Richmond held negotiations with the War Assets Administration for the return of the airport, which had been transformed into the Richmond Army Air Base during World War II. When the field was returned to the city, it was more than 850 acres larger than when the federal government took it over.

This February 1977 image shows a reading area at the Virginia State Library. Established in 1823, the library, now known as the Library of Virginia, was housed in the state Capitol or along Capitol Square for more than 150 years - this image was taken in the library’s third location, now known as the Patrick Henry Building. In 1997, the library moved to its fourth and current location at 800 E. Broad St.

In August 1948, the Buyer’s Resistance Group, mostly made up of housewives, had been organizing a boycott of local meat markets, such as this one at the Sixth Street Market in Richmond, to attempt to bring down prices. This image was taken during a normally busy time for the market, which instead was nearly empty. Similar demonstrations were popping up across the nation.

On Dec. 8, 1941, the day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, soldiers and sailors were called to return to their bases. This farewell scene in Richmond was a common one around the nation.

In June 1941, Richmond firefighters Charles Donnini (from left), I.A. Butler and W.C. Gilman helped collect aluminum from Richmonders. Scrap metal drives were a popular way to support national defense and war preparation efforts.

In April 1941, the dance floor was full at the newly opened Service Club at Camp Lee in Prince George County. The dance kicked off a series that was to run three times per week, with a different battalion invited each night. About 500 service members and 125 women attended this first dance.

In August 1971, Allison Bell (left) and Pat Umlauf participated in ceremonies in Richmond unveiling the Seaboard Coast Line’s new locomotive. The Spirit of '76 was set to travel throughout the nation to remind people of America’s upcoming bicentennial celebration.

This December 1946 image shows a machine at the Philip Morris plant in Richmond that could make as many cigarettes in one minute as a person could hand-roll in one day. Such machines were a key part of the tobacco company’s growth.

In May 1958, Bill Shockley of Greenville, S.C., spun out in an eight-lap midget auto heat on the half-mile dirt track at the State Fairgrounds. About 1,800 spectators turned out for the day’s racing, which featured a 25-lap final race.

In June 1950, gleeful children left Ginter Park School in Richmond as they were dismissed for the summer months — though they did need to return a few days later for their report cards.

In March 1956, a full house at the Arena in Richmond watched the State Group 1 high school basketball tournament. Admission was $1 per game for adults and 50 cents for students. Newport News High School won the tournament.

In October 1947, as Richmonders headed home from work, Thomas Jefferson High School students distributed literature for the Junior Chamber of Commerce promoting the change to a council-manager type of city government. In the next month’s vote, the issue generated a higher turnout than the 1944 presidential election, and the new charter was approved overwhelmingly.

In September 1965, Richmond Home for Boys Assistant Director W.H. Gorman (left) chatted with two residents. In the foreground is the bell that had been used for 70 years to summon young residents. The organization was founded in 1846 as the Richmond Male Orphan Society and moved to its current site on West Broad Street in Henrico County in 1957. It is now known as the Virginia Home for Boys and Girls.

In September 1948, Beverly Horsley, a Miller & Rhoads fashion model, chose vegetables from a lavish display at the Sixth Street Market as part of Style Marches On, a weeklong celebration of new fall fashion in the downtown Richmond retail district.

In January 1971, Richmond native and tennis star Arthur Ashe conducted a clinic at the Valentine Museum in Richmond. The event was sponsored by the museum’s Junior Center and drew 675 youngsters and adults. Ashe, who had just returned from a trip to Africa, answered questions and demonstrated principles of the game.

This May 1970 image shows the John F. Kennedy High School rifle team marching on East Grace Street in Richmond. Kennedy merged with Armstrong High in 2004, keeping the Armstrong name.

This November 1926 image shows the view down Grace Street, the “Fifth Avenue of Richmond,” near Third Street downtown. Merchants in the district were anticipating a number of large buildings, including a new Loew’s Theatre, for the thriving thoroughfare.

In January 1959, protesters marched through the rain to the state Capitol in Richmond to support school integration. In the midst of the state’s Massive Resistance to the Brown v. Board of Education ruling, protests were mounting across Virginia. Richmond schools were not integrated until 1970.

In August 1942, members of the canteen class, sponsored by the Richmond chapter of the American Red Cross, finished their course with a demonstration of mass feeding at the Sauer Co. Among those serving were (from left) Mrs. T.V. Adamson, Mrs. Thomas Cook, Mrs. Keeling Sisson and Mrs. Irving Matthews.

In June 1943, the restaurant at a Peoples Drug Store in Richmond was bustling. The chain was founded in 1905 in Alexandria, and by 1943, there were six locations in the Richmond area, plus one in Petersburg. Many of them had lunch counters.

This June 1970 image shows Bob Powell at his keyboard, high in the grandstand at Parker Field in Richmond. Powell was the organist for the Richmond Braves baseball team from 1964 to 1971. He made special efforts to get to know all the players and come up with a special melody to suit them.

In June 1972, the remnants of Hurricane Agnes brought some of the worst flooding in decades to Richmond, as seen in a watery entrance to Main Street Station downtown. The James River crested at 36.5 feet at the city locks.

In September 1958, a yard full of bicycles made clear that classes were back in session at Westhampton School. The school dates to 1917; in late 2013, Bon Secours Virginia Health System announced plans to renovate the complex for use as a nursing college and medical imaging school.

In July 1942, Mrs. P.M. Edwards directed a group of women to a shelter during a daylight air raid test in Richmond. She was among the first women to serve as auxiliary wardens during a test.

This June 1938 image shows the old YMCA building at Seventh and Grace streets in downtown Richmond. Built in 1908, it was the center of “Y” activities for 30 years. In 1938, it was sold for $300,000, and the YMCA later relocated to West Franklin Street, where it remains. This building was torn down after the sale, and a new one replaced it.

In March 1938, the Westhampton opened on Grove Avenue in Richmond. The newest addition to the Neighborhood Theatres group had one screen and a balcony (which was later converted to a second screen). Admission was 25 cents (20 cents for matinees, and 10 cents for children). Current operator Regal Entertainment Group has announced that the struggling Westhampton will close this year.

In June 1948, Dewey Picklesimer poured molten iron at Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond. Tredegar opened in 1837 and was a major manufacturing center for the Confederacy during the Civil War. It survived the evacuation fire of 1865 and continued as a production facility through most of the 1950s. Today the facility houses the American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar.

In November 1940, The Richmond News Leader published a photo essay titled “Working … on the railroad,” which featured laborers on the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway. This image shows motor cars being lifted off the tracks at the end of the day, while the cook in the kitchen car in the background signals that it’s dinnertime.

In November 1952, Armistice Day ceremonies were held at the old John Marshall High School in Richmond. Today known as Veterans Day, the 1952 events marked the 34th anniversary of the end of World War I. At John Marshall, the school’s band and color guard took part in the service, and wreaths were placed on two plaques bearing names of former students who gave their lives in the two world wars.

In June 1943, the restaurant at a Peoples Drug Store in Richmond was bustling. The chain was founded in 1905 in Alexandria, and by 1943, there were six locations in the Richmond area, plus one in Petersburg. Many of them had lunch counters.

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