Bill & Martha Russell - Dating

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    The first time William "Bill" Russell saw Martha "Martie" Starling he felt it was pre-ordained that they be together.

    The first time Martie saw Bill he was dancing with some one else at a party. She noticed that he stood out from all the rest of the boys. They did not actually met at that time.

    Martie went home that night and wrote in her diary, "Russell was there tonight". She wrote the word Russell real big and underlined it. She did not know that it was his last name. She went back to the house where she saw him a few more times but Bill did not come back there for several months.    One day at school in home ec class, some girl was showing pictures of Bill. Martie went over and said

, "I know him, his name is Russell". The girl told her that was not right and that this name was Bill Russell. She wanted to know where Martie had met him.  Martie told her it was at her next door neighbors house. Martie had been dancing with Horace, but they were not dating. The girl told her, "You won't see him any more, because I am going to tell him not to go over there any more. I have him wrapped around my little finger".     Martie told a boy friend of Bill's what the girl said and he told Bill. Bill went immediately back over to the neighbors house where Martie saw him. Young people would meet here at night and dance to piano music. Horace, his sister, and another girl played the piano. Bill came over and asked Martie to dance and they have been 'dancing' ever since.

    Bill then asked Martie for a date to go to the Olympia theater, near a water fall. In the theather Martie saw stars on the ceiling, lights that blinked all the time.

    Martie and Bill dated for two years.

    Bill lived with his parents at the time and was the bread winner for the family. He was working as a substitue letter carrier. He couldn't afford to marry, because he had to help support his parents.     Bill thought Ira Carroll Starling, Martie's brother, didn't like him. One time Bill went out to the car where Carroll and Bob Lee were talking and Carroll did not talk with Bill.     Bill was loving Martie up in the car in front of the house. Their cousin Cab Reed came out, looked, then went back in to the house. He was going to tell Bill not to come around any more.

    The second time they dated they, they had a contest to see who could kiss the longest. Martie's cuban girl friend (they had the dances at her house) and her boyfriend walked out to the car. The girl said, "Let's see who can kiss the longest." Martie didn't want too, but Bill reached out the window of the car and grabbed Martie and kissed her. Martie and Bill won the contest.