COURTESY PHOTO | CLAY COUNTY NEWS
When Ruth and Roger Heins were growing up in Hampton, they were schoolmates who, by their own description, “tolerated each other.”
Not exactly the beginning of a sweeping romance. But their story had plenty of time to get better.
Love came later, when Roger worked for Ruth’s father. In 1961, they married, beginning a partnership that would eventually bring them to Sutton, where they own and operate Heins Welding.
It also brought them into a circle of couples with something special in common: Every one of them married that same year.
For Roger and Ruth and fellow couple Jerry and Mary Lou Ochsner, the connection is even closer. Both couples were married June 4, 1961 — beginning their lives together on the very same day.
Recently, the group celebrated their 65th wedding anniversaries at The Stables restaurant in McCool Junction. It was another milestone in a tradition that began 15 years earlier, when they gathered at Chances R in York to celebrate their 50th anniversaries.
Reaching a golden anniversary together was something to celebrate. Adding another 15 years made this occasion all the sweeter.
The group originally included 11 couples, with connections reaching through the community and, in some cases, right into the same family. Three Huber brothers married in 1961: Ray and Tillie, Hilly and Doris, and Curt and Christine.
That made for quite a wedding year in the Huber family — and now, three 65th anniversaries to celebrate.
Over the decades, the couples’ lives together have become woven into Sutton’s history. Roger and Ruth Heins own and operate Heins Welding, while Don and Betty George owned and operated George Bros. For both couples, building a life together has also meant building a business together.
For Roger and Ruth, Sutton became home in 1973. They are the only couple in the group who are not originally from Sutton, but after more than half a century, their roots in the community run deep.
Their stories began in different places and different ways, but the anniversary gatherings bring those histories together. Each couple can look back to 1961 as the year their married life began. And each has friends who understand just how much history fits into the years since.
The passing years have brought changes to the group. Tom and Dorothy Griess were among the original 11 couples. Tom has since passed away, and their marriage remains part of the story that brought the group together. Jerry and Mary Lou Ochsner were unable to attend this year, but they also share the 65-year milestone.
At this year’s gathering, someone suggested that perhaps they should get together every year. The reason was simple: Life is short, and no one knows what the next year might bring.
After 65 years of marriage, there need not be a special anniversary number to justify another dinner together. The chance to see one another is reason enough.
The couples first gathered to recognize 50 years of marriage. Now, even that first dinner is a memory from 15 years ago — a reminder of how quickly another chapter becomes part of the story.
For Ruth and Roger, that story stretches back to school days in Hampton, long before they knew they would share a marriage, a business and a home in Sutton.
Back then, they simply tolerated each other.
Sixty-five years of marriage later, that turned out to be a pretty good place to start.
