Bev asked me a few weeks back if I was going to go to their 60th wedding anniversary party at Ken and Shari's. I told her of course I was. I had it written on my calendar as soon as she told me. Within a few days Shari and Christina had made a private Facebook group to invite people through. It had the rest of the information on it, who, what, when, where, why and how. I added my will attend to it.
Ten years prior, in 2013, we all gathered in at Rainier Chapel to celebrate their 50th anniversary. That one was during the TriCities Geocoin Challenge in which we all didn't go to. It was a nice gathering and that was the year we all got to see Patty, who lives in Tennessee, and we don't get to see that often.
I asked Ben if he was going to come, and he said he would drive over directly after work. Grandma called me and asked for a ride and Mom said she would try to come as soon as she got off work. That afternoon, I logged off of work for the day and then got ready. I headed out to Rainier and picked up Grandma and then drove the short distance to Ken and Shari's house. We found a place to park and went around the back. Shari and Christina said we were early, but the event page told us to be there around 5, so we were.
Bob and Bev met each other in 6th grade and the rest is history. They got married in June of 1963 and their colors were pink and white. Bev said that both sides of the family worked really hard to put a wedding together. They spent their first night as a married couple at a hotel in Winlock off of I-5 because of car trouble. They were on their way to the ocean.
They put us to work putting food into bowls, on plates and setting them out onto the table to make it pleasing on the eyes. More people started to arrive as we worked. We couldn't dilly dally because Bob and Bev were arriving at 5:30 and they wanted everything done before they walked through the door. We put the final touches on it just before 5:30. Someone told us that Bob and Bev were at the front door so we took our places so we could see their reaction.
They both made their way to the kitchen and their eyes were huge when they looked at the table! They both said several times, "that is a lot of food!" We let them dish up on food first and then everyone else followed. Since it was a nice day, we all ate outside in the backyard. For the next half hour to an hour, everyone went in and out of the house talking, eating and hanging out. There were several little kids in attendance as well so you kinda had to watch where you were stepping. About 55 people were able to come.
I got a plate of food and sat down and chatted with Sami, Janet and Bev for a while. Ben finally arrived from work, but Mom wasn't going to make it because she had to stay late at work and traffic wasn't ideal. I made more of the rounds and ended up visiting with Peggy, Debbie and Carrie. The cake was brought out and Ken and Mike both shared some stories and memories about their Mom and Dad. It was a shame that Patty couldn't make it for this anniversary. There were some toasts and then Bob and Bev shared some insights on how they stayed married for 60 years. Cake soon followed.
I stuck around for a little bit longer, made more of the rounds, chatted and then told Ben I would meet him back at home. I gave Bob and Bev a hug, thanked Ken and Shari for hosting, grabbed Grandma and took her home. I went home shortly after that.
I made a post when I got home and shared some of the pictures I took. I wrote:
"This evening we celebrated Bon and Bev on a huge milestone: 60 years married! It's very rare these days that anyone stays together that long. It is a pretty amazing feat!
We all gathered at Ken and Shari's house for a large spread of meats, cheeses, nuts, fruits, veggies and mini desserts, pulled pork sliders and even a wedding cake that donned their wedding colors from back then.
We ate, hung out and visited for a couple hours reminiscing about the good ol' days, shared funny stores and Bob and Beve even gave us some words of wisdom on how they put up with each other all those years, haha!
Happy 60th Anniversary Bob and Bev!"
Next Adventure: Rainier Vista Fireworks on the 3rd and A Clear Lake 4th of July
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