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Seven couples renew vows at anniversary of mums
By Rick Armon
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Sunday, Sep 21, 2008
BARBERTON: Paul and Carol Corl figured they just couldn't miss it.
Heck, 50th anniversaries don't come around every day.
So there they were Saturday afternoon — along with six other couples — standing beside a multicolored, chrysanthemum-shaped arch along Lake Anna at the annual Mum Fest.
See, Barberton is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the mum being named the official city flower. And the community put out the call for local couples celebrating their golden wedding anniversaries this year to drop by and renew their vows during a special ceremony.
''It couldn't be any more special,'' Paul Corl said about the achievement.
Indeed.
With family and friends aiming digital cameras and a few bees buzzing the fragrant, flowered arch, the seven Barberton couples held hands, looked into each others eyes and said, ''I do,'' all over again. And, yes, there was smooching at the end of the brief ceremony.
Fifty years is quite a milestone not reached by many because of life or love lost, said the Rev. Reford Nash of the First Presbyterian Church of Barberton, who oversaw the rite.
''To celebrate that is to celebrate something every bit as beautiful as the finest chrysanthemum and more,'' he told the couples. ''Indeed, every bit as beautiful as the finest gold.''
The couples received mum corsages. And cake and punch were served afterward.
As for how these couples have
stayed together so long?
The Corls — Paul, 72, and Carol, 70 — provided some simple advice. Be a couple.
''We've always done everything together,'' Paul said.
''Each of you has to give 90 percent,'' Carol added.
Of course, a sense of humor doesn't hurt.
''Listen to your wife, I guess,'' Ed DeVane, 75, said with a chuckle as he started rattling off a few rules for a long, healthy marriage. ''Keep your mouth shut.''
''Don't put that in the newspaper,'' his wife, Jeanne, 73, said while laughing.
''Respect, I guess,'' he said. ''The normal things.''
''Love, honor and obey, obey, obey,'' she responded.
''Not really. Not really,'' Ed said, prompting more laughter.
For Bob and Jean Luxeder, both 71, marital longevity is in the genes. Their parents also celebrated 50th wedding anniversaries.
''When we wed, we wed for life,'' Bob said.
The other couples were Dick and Beverly Waltz, Lenny and Dee Klein, Robert and Janet Pritt, and Gary and Lois Matney.
Also Saturday, the community unveiled a monument to honor late Barberton High School basketball coach K. Jack Greynolds. It stands outside the Greynolds Gymnasium at the Lake Anna YMCA.
The 18th annual Mum Fest will continue from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today. The free festival includes about 20,000 mums in full bloom, water ski shows by the Chippewa Lake Water Ski Show Team, food, sand sculpting and other activities.
The city also will honor Barberton's living ''Rosie the Riveters'' — local women who worked in factories during World War II — during a ceremony at 1:30 p.m. today.
For details and a schedule of events, go to http://www.cityofbarberton.com/govt/MumFest/.
Rick Armon can be reached at 330-996-3569 or rarmon@thebeaconjournal.com.
BARBERTON: Paul and Carol Corl figured they just couldn't miss it.
Get the full article here.
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