Posted on 11/24/2005 5:56:02 PM PST by paulat
70 years later, 'secret lovers' still wed
BOISE, Idaho (AP) -- When 19-year-old Ron Ramey fell in love with 14-year-old Marcella, doubters said it would never last - they were just too far apart in age. But the young couple didn't listen, spiriting from Nezperce to New Meadows to get married in secret. On Saturday, the Rameys will celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary.
He's 90 and she's 85, both in good health. And the romance that began so long ago is far from losing its luster.
"I still love him so much," Marcella told The Idaho Statesman. "When we go to bed at night, we always hold hands. 'I love you' are the last words we say to each other."
Their wedding anniversary has fallen on Thanksgiving seven times since their wedding in 1935.
Advertisement
"We're thankful to have had all these years together," Ron said. "We had no idea that it would last this long."
When they started dating, he worked at a meat market for a dollar a day, and she worked at a drug store for 10 cents an hour. One of Ron's duties was delivering ice, and Marcella would leave the icebox open - letting the precious ice melt - so he'd have to come by more often.
He proposed in a letter, and Marcella's response was simple.
"I wrote back and said, 'Yes, yes, yes,'" she said. "We had a friend drive us to New Meadows to get married so it wouldn't be in the paper in Nezperce. We didn't want anyone to know because I was so young. My folks were really put out when they found out, but in those days, people wanted kids to leave home because money was so scarce. It was one less mouth to feed."
Buy AP Photo Reprints
The newlyweds moved in with Ron's father and stepmother in Grangeville, where Ron worked as a dishwasher and part-time cook. Eventually, Marcella's aunt offered her a job at a bakery in Emmett, and the couple moved.
By then, they had their first child, a boy they named Marsh. The place where they lived in Emmett was so small that the kitchen, bed and shower were all in one room.
"I worked nights and slept days," Ron said. "When the baby cried, I could reach out and rock him without getting out of bed."
"He made $15 a week," Marcella added. "We never went anywhere because we couldn't afford it. The grocer let us charge $5 a week, and he'd throw in a box of candy. That was the only treat we ever got.
Water was drawn from a pump, which often froze in the winter. The weather would turn so cold that the nails on the inside of the house would be covered in frost, and without money for blankets the Rameys stuffed newspaper in the bed for insulation.
After three years in Emmett, they moved to Boise, with Marcella little more than a teenager.
"Mom made me clothes from hand-me-downs that had come from my aunt's," their daughter, Kay Gaskell, said. "And those were clothes they'd received from their cousins."
Though Gaskell often had to put cardboard in the soles of her shoes because of holes, she never felt poor, she said.
"We had the love of our parents, and they made a beautiful, loving home for us," she said.
For all but those first 14 years of her life, Marcella said, they've never been apart. Now they live in Boise, close to their children.
"People don't say 'Ron and Marcella.' They say 'Ron-Marcella' because we're always together," she said. "Sometimes I worry about which one of us will go first. I tell him he's not going anywhere without me."
---
Information from: The Idaho Statesman, http://www.idahostatesman.com
My grandparents (on Dad's side) are still alive, 87 yoa, they got married when they were 15. They still talk about how they were apart during WWII, but not since then. They are truly America's greatest generation.
I think the first five or so are the toughest. I just passed 12 and I'm still in love as I was when I spotted her at that Young Republican convention.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/968165/posts
...uhh...did you read the story?
Position of authority angle?
My parents just had their 65th anniversary (although they had to be continually reminded of it). He's 92 and she's 84.
That generation was definitely made of sterner stuff. Things that we would find unbearable today they hardly even noticed.
Oh I love a good love story! working on me own, too....23 years now
Sorry to disagree, but I know some 30 year old who barely qualify as being adults in this stupid age.
...tears in my eyes on a beautiful Thanksgiving!
Ping............Remind you of anyone we know?? :>)
I didn't realize it until I saw your post, but at one time, it would have been illegal for my wife to date me. Then again, it might have been creepy when she was 18 and I was 14.
Okay so I'm sitting here sniffling too. Hubby and I married at 19 and 20 and are still married 14+ years later. I hope that we are still going strong at 70 years :)
Sorry to disagree, but I know some 30 year old who barely qualify as being adults in this stupid age.
How are you disagreeing with me? Did you read my whole statement?
Hooray for you! I just told my husband similar words yesterday. ...we didn't have a dime to our names when we moved here...lived in a SHACK, drove old beater cars, barely barely got by! He worked harder than any man I know...slowly began to get ahead. We raised 5 kids and he worked SO hard in those days. I was comlimenting him on his grit...in spite of having nothing, he had a vision and now we are enjoying the fruits of it. Just bought 2 additional properties, putting our kids through college, drive beautiful vehicles, have lots of toys and horses (not that it really matters) AND we are still mad about each other. He is a KEEPER and many women my age would give everything to have a real man! Can't believe how I lucked out with him. We aren't rich but we are rich in love and he is making my dreams come true..sorry so mushy
What in the world does that have to do with getting married young?
Duh, guess I should have read pass the first line. Must be "turkey fatigue" LOL
Nice red herring.
Answer the damned question or shut up.
I remember seeing Will and Ariel Durant once on the Merv Griffin show. They married when she was 15 and he was 29. She roller-skated to their wedding. I've always loved that story!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.