Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 2, 1993 TAG: 9301020007
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By CAROLYN CLICK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
SIREN'S SONG BRINGS COUPLE TOGETHER
The bride wore white, but that was one of the few concessions to tradition. There was no church, no bridesmaids, no soloist singing "The Lord's Prayer."Instead, Sherry McGuire and Toby Martin went back to the place where their romance really blossomed, back to Unit 256 at the Vinton First Aid Crew.
They were wed before about 30 friends and relatives on a chilly New Year's Day standing in front of the advanced life support vehicle that has held so much meaning for the pair. Nineteen-year-old Toby, a dispatcher for the city of Roanoke, proposed to 23-year-old Sherry in July in the back of the emergency vehicle.
"It was either that or a firetruck," the bride said. "It just means a lot to us."
The two were volunteer firefighters, working for different crews, when they met about a year ago on a fire call. Sherry, who grew up in Salem and is employed by the Lewis-Gale Clinic, was a volunteer in Hardy; he was fighting fires in his spare time in his native Bedford County for the Stewartsville-Chamblissburg Voluteer Fire Department.
The two are now firefighter emergency medical technicians, known as EMTs, for the Vinton department, whose paid firefighters are boosted by a volunteer crew.
Toby's mother, Marlene Martin of Stewartsville, wished the day would have been warmer - she had hoped for an extension of Thursday's balmy temperatures - but viewed the non-traditional setting with equanimity. Sherry's mother, Rosemary McGuire, was equally unfazed.
"You know what I really thought?" she said. "I thought my daughter would do such a thing."
Sherry's father, Melvin McGuire, thought it was "a little unusual" but said his daughter has been enthralled since she was a teen-ager with learning first-aid and assisting people in emergencies.
"She is very dedicated to this," Rosemary McGuire said. "She has got a lot more guts than I have."
The Rev. Delano Eldewen, pastor of the Harvestime Apostolic Holiness Church, performed the ceremony, which included the traditional vows and exchange of rings. He has known Toby Martin since he was a toddler, and said he was happy to do the honors.
The couple's fellow volunteers also made sure the newlyweds would never forget their wedding day kiss. As the couple embraced, one volunteer cranked on 256's siren, which blared out as the ceremony ended.
The couple celebrated at a reception in the crew's hall. They plan to honeymoon next week in Gatlinburg and then live in Roanoke.