Posted on 11/25/2006 5:42:46 PM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
HUSTISFORD, WI (AP) -- On the cusp of their 75th wedding anniversary, Arthur and Luella Wolter say their marriage wasn't easy - but it was definitely worth it.
The Dodge County couple's diamond anniversary is Dec. 5 but they plan to celebrate the event on Dec. 2 the only way they can imagine - surrounded by a family that includes 14 children, 54 grandchildren, 86 great grandchildren and four great-great grandchildren.
"It'll be a hectic weekend," said Arthur, 93. "Saturday all the family will be there."
The Wolters may not have envisioned such a large clan when they met as 16-year-olds at a cousin's wedding in 1929.
"I had a crush on him," admitted Luella, then Luella Budewitz.
Though Luella and Arthur crossed paths numerous times that evening as they helped wait tables, it would be another 1 1/2 years before their first date. They had met again at another cousin's wedding, and Arthur found himself so enamored of Luella that he asked her out the following week.
"We went to a dance and he doesn't even dance," Luella said. "We just started going out together after that."
The lovebirds got engaged soon thereafter, tying the knot on Dec. 5, 1931.
"She asked me," Arthur joked about their engagement.
"I don't remember, it was so long ago," Luella responded. She said she did remember their wedding day.
"It was misty, sprinkling and foggy. It didn't take long before it started to rain and then there was sleet and snow," she said.
From those challenging beginnings the Wolters worked to support themselves and a growing family. They lived in Golden Lake, Lac La Belle, Oconomowoc and back to Golden Lake as their family grew. In 1953 they bought the farm where they live to this day.
Arthur mostly farmed the land but also worked at Chrysler in Hustisford for 14 years and for Dodge County for six years before retiring in 1962. Luella was a homemaker.
Daughter Shirley Koeppel says there's no magic secret explaining the couple's 75 years of matrimony.
"They worked at staying together," Koeppel said. "It's not like generations now. They don't work on their marriages."
The Wolters' children say they're proud of the example their parents have set, noting that after 75 years Arthur and Luella are still happy and healthy.
"It's wonderful," Koeppel said. "We are so lucky to have them."
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