KFC SALUTES ALL COUPLES
CELEBRATING THEIR 40TH
ANNIVERSARY THIS YEAR. AND ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO SUBMITTED THE
MOST ORIGINAL "SECRET INGREDIENTS" FOR SUCCESSFUL
MARRIAGE. CHOSEN FROM OVER 400 ENTRIES FROM 37 STATES,
THE WINNERS ARE:
One Grand Prize ¾ Second Honeymoon
Cruise
Marvin and Judy
Rifkin, April 14, 1957 Agoura
Hills, Calif.
Their secret is to enjoy
"selective poor memory." Judy Rifkin can’t
remember "what he looked
like with all his hair and teeth, and he can’t remember what
I looked like when I could fit in my wedding gown! We don’t
remember how tiny our first apartment was, but we do remember how
much fun we had there." For all that they do remember and
don’t remember, the Rifkins say "we sure remember the
reason we got married forty years ago in the first place!"
40 First Prizes ¾ Anniversary Parties
for 40 People
Don and Netta Prosise, September 29, 1957 Phoenix, Ariz.
The Prosises’ secret
recipe includes, "Doing what the other one wants to do part
of the time, even if it’s not your cup of tea." They
have five children and 11 grandchildren and together enjoy
camping, boating, gardening and playing cards and dominos.
Cliff and Peggy Duck, September 14, 1957
Hacienda Hts., Calif.
Former public school
teachers, the Ducks confess, "a combination of our love, a
sense of humor, camping (don’t all ducks like it in the
wilderness), and two wonderful kids" are their secret.
Lee and Joyce Gassert, June 1, 1957
Chatsworth, Calif.
The Gasserts met at a
ballroom dance class in Kansas. Their solution to a making
marriage work is, "to have a date night each week ... to
create an environment where we could talk and listen to each
other." As Joyce explains their success, "we are both
with the person we want to spend the rest of our life with."
Michael and Alberta O'Hara, September 7,
1957 Placentia, Calif.
"To a pound of
tenderness add some spice which includes a pinch of this and
that, stir in a sympathetic ear and top with flowers and a night
out."
Stephen and Naomi Drezner, August 25, 1957
Calabasas, Calif.
Married at age 19, Stephen
and Naomi cite "good chemistry, room to grow independently,
separate TV sets, lots of laughter," as their secrets for
staying married for 40 years. The couple met each other in Mrs.
McCormick’s fourth grade class 10 years before they were
married.
Jesse and Marion Mabe, June 22, 1957 Colo.
Springs, Colo.
The Mabes say that they
expect to be happy for another 40 years of marriage. Their
secret: "He is the boss; I told him he could be." They
have three daughters and six grandchildren and share interests in
classic cars and Southwestern art.
Mr. and Mrs. Lyle Grant, February 2, 1957
Darien, Conn.
"We stayed married
this long because Lyle always has the last word; he says
‘yes, Julie.’" Both retired, the Grants spend much
of their time visiting relatives who live in many different
states.
Frank and Delores Whildin, January 19, 1957
Claymont, Del.
"Successful Marriage
Secret Ingredients: Kindness, Faith, Caring. Directions: Toss
together in an endless bucket of love."
Paul and Judith Lynch, November 30, 1957
Jacksonville, Fla.
Secret Ingredients: Love,
Hope, Understanding, Faith, Patience, Determination. "Add a
heaping spoonful of humor. Keep warm in your heart. Replenish
ingredients as needed." It was patience and determination
that brought the two together; Paul had to wait until Judith was
16 before he could ask her out on a date.
James and Ann Santarone, December 28, 1957
Atlantic Bch., Fla.
Ann Santarone thanks her
"wonderful man" for hearing "about one-half of
what I say, so potential arguments and disagreements have
automatically been cut by half." James’ sister arranged
a blind date for the couple. And since his sister was Ann’s
boss, she couldn’t say no.
Dallas and Nancy Weekley, August 17, 1957
Daytona Bch, Fla.
"The secret ingredient
in our marriage: we play the piano--one piano--together! (This is
REALLY intimacy.) But now our ‘secret’ is out--we do it
in public!" The Weekleys are concert pianists who perform
together on one piano.
Frank and DeAnna Hoylman, August 31, 1957
Lutz, Fla.
"My husband continues
to court me and I love it! We are both very young at heart. With
a sense of humor, we keep very active by doing things together
such as dancing, playing tennis and socializing."
Roland and Jean Schnabel, December 28, 1957
Tampa, Fla.
Secret Ingredient: Hugs and
Kisses in the kitchen. "My mother-in-law, who was married to
my father-in-law for over 62 years, told my husband when we were
first married to ALWAYS give me a big hug and kiss when he comes
home from work."
Dale and Marty Halupnik, June 8, 1957 Cedar
Falls, Iowa
"A Kissing
Husband,
Forgiving
Wife and
Colonel
Sanders Chicken for a contented life."
Richard and Jean McMann, August 3, 1957
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
"Secret family recipe:
2 cups patience, 2 cups trust, 1 cup sensitivity, 1 cup
understanding, 1 cup compassion, ½ cup communication, 1 Tbs.
independence, dash of sense of humor, pinch of orneriness. Mix
all together. May be lumpy, but will eventually level out. Bake
at varying temperatures for 40 blissful years."
Melvin and Beverly Wibbels,
September 13, 1957 Boise, Idaho
The Wibbels’ secret
ingredient is carefully balanced: "½ measure of commitment,
¼ measure of laughter and ¼ measure of forgiving the negatives
of each day. One full measure mixed and applied to daily living
gives success!"
Gleon and Connie O'Kane, August 17, 1957
Princeville, Ill.
"Trust in each
other’s thoughts, words, plans, commitments, and actions can
provide a contentment of the heart and mind that each of you can
go forward into each day knowing your partner is there for you,
and beside you in all you each do."
Dallas and Nancy Weekley, August 17, 1957
New Albany, Ind.
Find the Weekleys’ summary under Daytona Beach, FL.
Edward and Carol McClure, December 14, 1957
Louisville, Ky.
"In choosing a
lifetime companion, do so with care¾ quality is important.
Season liberally for abundant, lasting flavor. Never assign to a
back burner; tend well; savor!"
Steve and Betty Goodman, May 11, 1957
Louisville, Ky.
"Your marriage will
thrive and you’ll never be sad /If you always remember:
don’t go to bed mad. /The next advice is written in stone:
/Travel often together, just you two alone. /And finally,
laughter will obliterate tears, /Share a sense of humor and
you’ll last thru the years."
John and Peggy La Mure, July 13, 1957
Madisonville, Ky.
Secret Ingredient: five
children. "Whoever left the marriage had to take all five of
them. Needless to say, humor plays a big part in our
marriage."
Jerry and Joyce Lee, February 2, 1957
Metairie, La.
Joyce says each partner
should give 90 percent, not just 50 percent. "What a
wonderful partnership and marriage that becomes." The secret
"is in both the husband and the wife ‘giving’ a
little more than is expected."
Walter and Ann Warren, July 27, 1957
Dorchester, Mass.
Secret Ingredients: love,
respect. "Working together through thick or thin. Making
each year better than the last. And plenty of romance."
Walter, a retired detective with the Boston police department,
met Ann while dancing at Moseley’s on the Charles River.
Harry and Doris Kolomyjec, September 21,
1957 Sterling Hts., Mich.
"Don’t hold your
problems inside. Discuss them, or even holler a bit, then forget
them. Always kiss when leaving home, and always kiss each other
when going to bed at night." Harry met Doris at her
parents’ drive-in, the Custard Cup, where she worked.
John and Helen Hansen, December 14, 1957
Brainerd, Minn.
The Hansens’ daughters
submitted the couple’s secret: it’s the little things
that add up. Every Sunday, Mr. Hansen "would get Mom’s
coffee and toast so when she got herself ready for church, her
breakfast was all ready and waiting."
Robert and Estelle Roth, September 25, 1957
Murray Hill, N.J.
Secret Ingredients include:
"love, friendship, compassion, tolerance, support, humor,
patience, respect, sharing, kindness, understanding and sheer
luck!" The couple met when Estelle, then 13, went to a piano
recital that he gave. They started dating four years later.
Edward and Dolores Plutnicki, October 26,
1957 Bayonne, N.J.
Edward and Delores met at a
Polka dance at the Ukrainian Hall in Bayonne. When they were
married, Dolores was a victim of the Asian flu epidemic of 1957,
and she writes that her husband "had the patience, love and
understanding to make a bad situation tolerant."
Bob and Bev Yaffe, December 15, 1957
Melville, N.Y.
"We enjoy love,
respect, spontaneity, a sense of humor and adventure, and when
necessary a ‘blind’ eye and ‘deaf’ ear to
each other’s faults. Of course, having a close family and
true friends complete the circle!"
Paul and Mary Goin, April 6, 1957 Galion,
Ohio
The Goins were aged 16 and
18 when they met at a church youth convention, and it was love at
first sight. They were married less than two years later.
"Our marriage is based on our love for God and for each
other. We are each other’s best friend and we enjoy doing
things together. We have always had a close bond."
Bob and Lois Pickard, June 16, 1957 Norman,
Okla.
The Pickards were entered
by Lois’ brother who says, "Nobody can out-good Lois
and Bobby." Asked how they have stayed together for so long,
Bob responds, "I don’t know, I just like her. And I
guess she likes me."
Samuel and Barbara Mauray, June 22, 1957
Cleona, Pa.
Three "C’s"
describe their secret: "A ‘commitment’
of both husband and wife to make the marriage successful, ‘communication’
to transmit the feelings, thoughts, fears and hopes from one to
another and ‘consideration’ in
putting the needs of the other before our own."
Edward and Nancy Riffert, September 7, 1957
Secane, Pa.
Nancy set her secret
ingredient in verse, composing a poem to her husband. In the last
stanza she writes: "I wish that every wife could feel the
love I feel from you. /Then they, like me, would go through life
happier as two."
Robert J. and Clarita Weismann, February 9,
1957 Coraopolis, Pa.
Secret Ingredient: "to
stick together like ‘mashed potatoes’ with the lumps
and ‘extra crispy’ dinners along the way! And if your
‘parfait’ should become a ‘chunky chicken pot
pie’ you support your ‘nugget’ like ‘honey
mustard’ and heat it up to ‘hot &
spicy.’"
Bill and Becky Sharp, April 27, 1957 Hilton
Head, S.C.
The Sharp’s secret
ingredients include caring, sharing and working as a team.
"We truly care about each other’s happiness. We share
every decision from child rearing to picking out carpet."
Lloyd and Betty Johnson, December 30, 1957
Pierre, S.D.
A retired Postal Clerk and
former teacher, the Johnsons have three children and three
grandchildren. Their secret seems simple: "Let each other
‘win’ from time to time."
Harold and Mary West, June 24, 1957 Vonore,
Tenn.
"K - Kindness and Love
for each other
F - Forever faithful
C - Commitment to one
another"
The Wests have a reminder
of the year they were married: a 1957 T-bird that they love to
cruise in and show.
Frank and Madelyn Lang, June 7, 1957
Dallas, Texas
"We have accepted that
each has their own faults and we have not tried to change each
other. We have magnified our good points and ignored our bad
ones."
Wayne and Ruth Neilson, July 31, 1957 West
Jordan, Utah
"The secret of a
successful marriage is having lots of patience. If you have
patience, everything else will come together."
Oi Chong TO and Chun Chung NG, June 28,
1957 Seattle, Wash.
Secret Ingredients:
"Treat each other with a lot of love and respect. Treat each
other as the king and queen of our marriage/castle. Lots of hugs,
kisses and sweet talks."
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Joyce, June 22, 1957
Milwaukee, Wis.
The Joyces’ secret
ingredient is simple: "Give and forgive."
William and Dorothy Strange, December 7,
1957 Charles Town, W.Va.
Dorothy writes: "We
have never intentionally said anything that would hurt or
embarrass the other. My husband is a very nice man and a
wonderful father." And she has notes stashed in a safe
deposit box affirming that she is "the perfect wife."