RETURNING TO SUNNY ISLES BEACH 50 years later

They met at a dance in November 1950. She was a 16-year-old high school sophomore; he a 22-year-old Army private home on a weekend pass. Home was Baltimore, Maryland.

When he first laid eyes on her the first thing he said was, "That's the girl I'm going to marry!" After finding some courage the second thing he said was, "May I please have this dance?"

"He" was Al Borgerding born and raised in Baltimore; "she" was Juanita a transplant to Baltimore from Pennsylvania at the age of 7. During their first date on January 10, 1951, two months after they met, he proposed marriage. The first thing she said was, "Yes!" The
second thing she said was, "But wait until I grow up!"

On January 31, 1954 they were married at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Roman Catholic Church in Baltimore. At the time, she was working as a secretary, and he had returned from the Army to his job at the Social Security Administration.

They left Baltimore in a snowstorm driving his 1947 Pontiac two-door-coupe. Since Al wanted to honeymoon where it was warm, he followed in an older brother's footsteps and headed for Florida. During their trip south on Route 301, Al and Juanita had two flat tires. While changing one of those flats Al lost his wedding ring, which naturally made Juanita very upset, but not for long.

To Juanita, who had never seen a palm tree, Florida was like heaven! The sunny weather, palm trees, beach and hotel seemed absolutely wonderful to both of them. They enjoyed shows featuring movie stars like Betty Hutton and Sophie Tucker.

Juanita remembers going to the hairdresser to have her hair highlighted and coming back a total blonde! Al remembers finding his wedding ring in the trunk of the car. They both fondly remember their three-night stay at the Kimberly Hotel located at 15811 Collins Avenue.

As their children were growing up, the Borgerdings took family vacations to Florida a numbers of times - going by plane (Juanita got airsick the first trip), train (in December with no heat in their section of the train), and automobile (with the inevitable backseat squabbles between the two older children).

For the past several years, Florida has been an annual destination for Al and Juanita. On their 50th wedding anniversary trip they are pleased to introduce their honeymoon spot to their family. In fact, a Sunny Isles Beach vacation may well become a Borgerding tradition for their children!



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