Surprise celebration maintains social distancing
By Angie Landsverk
Sonny and Joanne Rasmussen’s plan for their 50th wedding anniversary was a quiet one.
“We hadn’t planned anything. We had a big 40th wedding anniversary, so we weren’t going to do anything for our 50th,” she said.
They hoped to celebrate it with their children and grandchildren, and head to a military reunion later this month.
The COVID-19 pandemic changed their plans.
“Everything shut down,” Joanne said. “We weren’t going anywhere.”
Their family and friends found a way to make the couple’s golden anniversary one to remember with a drive-by celebration.
It took place Saturday, May 9, which was their anniversary.
The goal was to get 50 cars to drive by the Rasmussen’s home in Waupaca.
There were 55 vehicles in all.
Couple surprised by parade
“We were blown away. We had no idea at all,” Joanne said. “We were just shocked. They did all this in two weeks.”
Sherri Sosinske, Joanne’s sister, was among those behind the idea.
People were told to decorate their vehicles with signs and balloons and meet behind Waupaca Middle School by 1:30 p.m., to line up for the parade.
There were also calls to local law enforcement to see if they wanted to be part of it.
Prior to retirement, Sonny worked for Waupaca County’s Highway Department.
The main part of his job was maintaining squads for the sheriff’s office.
Joanne’s sister, Sandy Keil, was also part of the plan.
“Sandy called a week before and just said she would bring lunch over because we couldn’t go anywhere or do anything,” Joanne said. “She said we could distance, so I said OK.”
Sonny and Joanne’s home on Crystal Court is about half a block from the sheriff’s office.
Angie Landsverk Photo
Honking and sirens
They were having lunch with Sandy and her husband Elmer on Saturday when Sandy said, “Oh, there’s sirens.”
Joanne noted they hear sirens all the time because of how close they live to the sheriff’s office and said they did not sound like they were close.
Then Sandy received a phone call and said she had to check on something in her car.
She returned and told Joanne and Sonny to put on their coats and come outside.
Sandy had already put a sign in the front yard telling people to honk for the couple’s golden anniversary.
“You never know who might come by,” Sandy had told them.
Joanne reminded her they lived on a dead end.
When Sonny and Joanne walked outside, they saw Sandy pulling lawn chairs out of the back of her car.
They soon saw the squad cars with their lights on and sirens blaring, but still had no idea what was about to take place.
As the squads turned on to Crystal Court, decorated vehicles soon followed.
Elmer videotaped the parade with Sonny and Joanne’s camera.
Sandy found an excuse earlier as to why they needed to borrow it, so he was ready to tape the celebration when it began.
The parade started at the middle school around 2 p.m.
Sosinske said they wanted to time it to around the time Sonny and Joanne actually got married on that day 50 years ago.
Their wedding ceremony took place at 2:30 p.m.
Family and friends
Family and friends from near and far participated in the event.
Sandy used a fish net to collect the cards people had for the couple.
“We’ve lived here all our lives,” Joanne said.
The drive-by parade happened so fast that she said they would not have realized all the people who attended if Elmer had not videotaped it.
“We’re still just blown away. We didn’t expect anything. We didn’t plan anything,” she said.
After the event ended, they watched the video several times and enjoyed dessert.
“It’s really cool that they did tape it. Otherwise it would have been a blur,” said Sonny. “It’s amazing.”
Joanne said their family spends a lot of time together and typically gets together to celebrate big anniversaries.
“I guess we’re pretty gullible,” Joanne said of how they pulled off the surprise. “We have some crazy family, but we’re blessed.”