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6 - A Steamboat afterlife

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A marriage certificate dated Aug. 17, 1946 is sufficient proof that residents of Long Reach have witnessed another unique wedding.
Nineteen-year-old Irene Carvell, attended by a matron of honor and two bridesmaids, became the most recent of some 20 brides to be married beneath a time-honored wedding arch.
Built about 1913 of sturdy pine, the seven-foot arch was made from the posts of the old St. John River steamer "Victoria", and was designed originally for the wedding of the eldest daughter of the late W.L. Roberts, one of Saint John's piledriving contractors.

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Victoria
1897
St. John River, New Brunswick, Canada

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The arch was later sent to intimate friends at Grey's Mills, N.B., to be used by Mr. and Mrs. W.W. Cronk for the wedding of one of their daughters, and since that time has remained in the possession of that family.
Requests from neighbours all along the Long Reach has resulted in the arch lending its colorful benediction to nuptial ceremonies in quaint white churches, in family front parlors, in floral gardens and on lawns.
Always charmingly dressed for the grand occasion, the arch has disguised its unpainted framework in the season's most colorful fashions.

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Victoria
1897
St. John River, New Brunswick, Canada

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For its debut in the city, vari-colored electric lights were nestled among the flowers and ferns, while on other occasions roses, snowballs, honeysuckle, apple blossoms, phlox, dahlias and gladiolas have been used to compose its floral gown.
Forfeiting careers as nurses, school teachers, beauticians, dressmakers and salesclerks the 20 bridges centred their attention on a home and family.
The greater majority of these families are residing in Saint John, while others are at East Riverside, Pamdenec, Westfield, St. Martins, Sussex, Woodstock, Plaster Rock and Long Reach.

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Victoria
1897
St. John River, New Brunswick, Canada

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Source: The Evening Times-Globe, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, August 23, 1946