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The “happy couple” consisted of two vaudeville stars who were in town appearing at the Majestic Theater, and their “wedding” was staged as part of a celebration known as Farmers’ Day, which took place on Oct. 15, 1913. The mock wedding was intended to symbolize the union between the city and the farming community. The wedding really wasn’t legal. Or was it?
Farmers’ Day was the brainchild of La Crosse civic and business leaders. The idea was to invite farmers from all around the tri-state region, offer them various deals at local businesses, give them tours of factories, provide free entertainment at local theaters, and offer cash prizes in all kinds of categories, such as heaviest man, tallest woman, finest team of horses and the largest family. The toll for crossing the wagon bridge was also waived for the day.
As for the wedding, the original plan was to have a real marriage take place to give more meaning to the symbolism of the event. A young couple had agreed to participate, but backed out at the 11th hour. A last-second search to find a couple willing to go through with a mock wedding instead resulted in Harry Seymour and Marie Fitzgibbons, vaudeville performers at the Majestic, agreeing to participate as the bride and groom.
Judge M. Langstadt presided over the “ceremony” at Market Square and the two vaudeville actors delighted the huge crowd with their comedic performance. When it was over, Judge Langstadt whispered in the ear of Miss Fitzgibbons that he thought the wedding was legal, if she wanted it to stick.
This news sent Miss Fitzgibbons into a panic and she asked Frank Koppelberger, manager for the Majestic, for help. Koppelberger told her not to worry as he would consult his own private attorney on the matter.
Koppelberger apparently had the same sense of humor as Langstadt as he told his lawyer to write an opinion stating the marriage was legal. When Miss Fitzgibbons saw the phony legal opinion she became frantic. She was
told the truth about the unbinding only one hour before her stage appearance at the Majestic.
Harry Seymour, the bogus groom, was more upset at Fitzgibbons’ reaction. “Guess I don’t look very good to that dame,” said Seymour.
Source: La Crosse Public Library Archives. For additional information, contact the archives at (608) 789-7136.
