Elsie Sensenig Bicher ^{1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10}

   FamilySearch ID: LF2L-GVT.

  Noted events in her life were:

1. Census in 1940 in Ephrata Twp., Lancaster, PA. ¹¹ The 1940 census recorded at 114 Murrell: Henry Bicher, farmer, 49, living with wife Lillie, 44; Emma, shirt factory, 20; Minnie, house maid, 19; Ada, 15; Jacob, 13; Mary, 11; Elsie, 8; Edna, 5. Henry Jr., 4; and Warren, 1 month. Everyone was born in Pennsylvania. They lived in the same place in 1935.

2. Census in 1950 in Ephrata, Lancaster, PA. ¹² The 1950 census recorded Jacob S. Bicher, joiner in shirt factory, 22, living with wife Suzanna G., 22; sister Mary B. Bicher, hemmer in slip factory, 21; sister Elsie, 17, binder in slip factory. Everyone was born in Pennsylvania.

3. Residence: in 1992 in East Earl Twp., Lancaster, PA. ⁶

4. Residence: on 30 Jul 1998 in Reinholds, Lancaster, PA. ¹³

5. Newspaper: Intelligencer Journal: Eberlys celebrate 50th anniversary, 28 Sep 2001, Lancaster, Lancaster, PA. ³ (photos) - James and Elsie Eberly celebrated their golden wedding anniversary on Sept. 23.
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Eberlys celebrate 50th anniversary
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James G. and Elsie S. Bicher Eberly of Reinholds celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on Sunday, Sept. 23, at a drop-in party hosted by children and grandchildren. Friends and relatives contributed pages for a scrapbook.
Last year, the children planted hundreds of daffodil bulbs along their parents stream so they would bloom this spring.
The couple was married Sept. 23, 1951, at Weaverland Mennonite Church in New Holland by Bishop Joseph Weaver. James is a retired department manager for New Holland Concrete, where he worked for 41 years. He works part time for Four Seasons Produce.
Elsie is a retired receptionist for Lancaster Health Associates in Leola. She also worked at Provident Bookstore, Ephrata Public Library, and Gehmans Mennonite School.
James enjoys gardening, hunting and archery. He has twice hiked the Knife Edge Trail on Mt. Katahdin, Maine. He also repairs the cars of family and friends.
Elsie has made quilts for each of her children, embroidered tablecloths for each grandchild, and is currently working on baby afghans. She also enjoys reading and is a leader at Hampden Mennonite Church, Reading, where they are members.
Their children are Kenneth B. Eberly, husband of Betty Lou Horning, Reading; Marian Eberly, South Bound Brook, N.J.; James Lamar Eberly, husband of Marjorie Bomberger, Kingsley; Paul Marvin Eberly, husband of Lori Craley, Reinholds; Linda Jane, wife of Charles Lauver, East Earl. They have 12 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

6. Newspaper: Lancaster New Era: 50 Years: The Eberlys' Love Blossoms, 15 Oct 2001, Lancaster, Lancaster, PA. ² 50 Years
The Eberlys' Love Blossoms

JIM AND ELSIE Eberly attribute the success of their 50-year marriage to "the three C's": commitment (to God and each other), communication and compromise.

The pair first met as teen-agers. "My sister married his brother," Elsie says. "I sort of knew Jim through the marriage, but we didn't start dating until a little later." They became better acquainted during a summer when both worked at the farm run by Elsie's sister and Jim's brother. "I was there one summer to help my sister. She had just had a baby," Elsie says. "Jim would come by in the evenings and ask me to go for a drive." She went out with Jim a few times, but they kept their relationship under wraps, since both were so young, she says. "We saw each other a lot when our families would get together."

After a few years of secret courtship, they officially began dating. One date is particularly memorable for Elsie. "I came from a poor family, and we lived out in the country," she says. "We didn't have access to a lot of stores, or soda fountains, or anything like that. On one of our first dates, he bought me a banana split, and that made quite an impression on me."

The couple also enjoyed going for drives in Jim's 1937 Ford. After two years of courtship, Jim proposed and a three-month engagement followed. James G. Eberly and Elsie S. Bicher were married Sept. 23, 1951, at Weaverland Mennonite Church, New Holland, with the Rev. Joseph Weaver officiating.

Although they planned to take a honeymoon to New England, they changed their minds, Elsie says. "We decided to take the money we had saved for our honeymoon and use it for some things to set up our house." A few years later, they were able to take the trip as originally planned.

Jim worked for New Holland Concrete for 41 years, and for Four Seasons Produce, Denver, for five years. He retired in 1993. Elsie worked for Ephrata Public Library, Gehman's Mennonite School, Denver, Provident Bookstores, New Holland, and Lancaster Health Associates, Leola. She retired in 1994.

The Eberlys are the parents of five children: Kenneth B., married to Betty Lou Horning Eberly, Reading; Marian B. Eberly, South Bound Brook, N.J.; J. Lamar, married to Marjorie Bomberger Eberly, Kingsley; P. Marvin, married to Lori Craley Eberly, Reinholds; and Linda Jane, married to Charles Lauver, East Earl. They have 12 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

They are members of Hampden Mennonite Church, Reading, where Elsie was church librarian and recently retired as church administrator. She is a former Sunday school teacher and currently leads a small study group.

Jim is a former church trustee. Jim's hobbies include gardening, hunting, archery and camping. He enjoys car mechanics and used to play checkers frequently. His travels have included two hikes to the top of Mount Katahdin in Maine.

Elsie likes crocheting and embroidery and has published inspirational articles and children's stories. An avid reader, she serves as a volunteer reader to senior citizens and at the Ephrata Public Library.

To celebrate their anniversary, the Eberlys were treated to a drop-in party given by their children Sept. 23, at their home, 616 W. Swartzville Road, Reinholds. The celebration included the presentation of a scrapbook featuring mementos assembled by friends and family from the couple's 50 years together. "It was wonderful," Elsie says, noting than more than 100 people came by. "We had the party out in the yard. It was a beautiful day." Jim and Elsie also celebrated as a couple with dinner at the Outback Steakhouse Sept. 25.

Along with the party, the couple's children found a unique way to commemorate their parents' long marriage: Last year, they planted more than 300 daffodils in the Eberlys' yard. "I had memories of daffodils growing up, and our children had memories of them, too," Elsie says. "We moved about 10 years ago, and we didn't have any daffodils in our new yard." When the flowers bloomed this spring, the couple enjoyed a colorful display that honored their long-lasting marriage. "They were just beautiful," Elsie says.

Elsie married James Good Eberly, son of Joseph Martin Eberly and Alice Shirk Good, on 23 Sep 1951 in New Holland, Lancaster, PA.^{1 2 3} (James Good Eberly was born on 4 Sep 1929 in Ephrata, Lancaster, PA,^{1 4 8 10 14} died on 10 Jul 2019 in Narvon, Lancaster, PA ^{14 15} and was buried on 15 Jul 2019 in Bowmansville: Bowmansville Mennonite Cemetery, Lancaster, PA ^{10 14}.)