50 Years

Sorry for not posting anything this week. I've been busy again getting ready for our anniversary trip. Joyce and I have been married since 1960; this saturday, August 14, is our 50th anniversary.

We actually first met in the autumn of 1958 in Pulaski, Tennessee, at what was then Martin Junior College.

Martin changed its name toMartin Methodist College in the 80's and became a four year institution in the 90's. 

The picture above is what the administration building looked like in those days. Beautiful campus, lots of big trees.

This picture is of the girl's dorm and the cafeteria, Tennessee Hall. I saw her in the cafeteria and many times sitting out on the porch steps after dinner singing with a group of her friends. It seems idyllic and it was. In those days college students did that sort of thing. We did other things too, don't get me wrong.

But, until the weather got too cold, some of the students sat on the steps and sang traditional songs at dusk. The rest of us listened.

I especially listened to her. She was stunning, she had an unbelievable coloratura voice (still does!)and was a confident and intelligent young woman (still is!).
She could also pick cotton. I kid you not.

I figured she was out of my league. But we had our first date at the fall dance that November in 1958. And one year later when I asked her to marry, me she said yes. Here's her engagement picture from the spring of 1960. And my picture from the annual that same year.

She was a PK (preacher's kid) so we married in her father's church in Elkton, TN. Here's what we looked like on our wedding day. We were both pretty skinny because we'd both been working long hours that summer, trying to save up a little nest egg to pay for my fall tuition at MTSU. I think you can easily tell that I married "up."

One more picture from that year. This was our first apartment. Number 45, Vet Village, at MTSU. I wasn't a Vet, it was just what they called those old apartments which I think were built right after WWII to handle the influx of GI-bill vets who were married. Later they were opened to all married students. We paid $25 a month for the place: a tiny living room, combination kitchen-dining area, and a shower.

Joyce just reminded me that this is actually our second apartment. We had the one next to it, 44 I think, but the tennants moved out at Christmas, so we moved in. Since the things weren't air conditioned, we were glad to get two more windows. And on a certain date in the fall, they turned on the steam radiator heat, no matter what the temperature was. But you know what? Still, those were pretty good old days. Really.

I could talk all day about what a lucky guy I am that Joyce said "yes" that cold night in 1959. But instead of that, here are some pics covering all our decades together except the 60's. (I haven't had time to locate those yet.) Some of the ones I do have from the other decades are a bit fuzzy, but I'm still learning how to do pics of pics with my new camera. The first is from an Olan Mills family portrait in 1975 (with our 14 year old son, Barry); the next is Joyce on our then red stained deck in 1980; Joyce at work in 1993 (we both worked at the same college for over 25 years); Joyce and I in 2006 and again in 2007.

 

I'll talk to you all on Monday when we return from our anniversary trip.