Some say three is the magic number, but for Elmer and Irene Naasz of Wellington, six might be more appropriate.
After meeting each other in the summer of 1943 in a small cafe called Ed’s Dine and Dance in Harper, the couple went on six dates, deciding to get married in only 10 days time.
“We met in a little cafe in Harper. He was from Kingman and I was from Harper and we were visiting. He was home from the war on a furlough and I was over there visiting a friend and we went into this little cafe and we were introduced by his sister-in-law,” Irene said. “He was home from Alabama and was on his way to the paratroops in Georgia and that was in June of 1943 and in October of 1943, I went to Georgia and we got married.”
“It didn’t take long,” Elmer said laughing.
Indeed, the wedding followed suite, with the couple deciding to wed in Phoenix City, Ala., instead of Georgia because in Alabama you could get married the same day you got your marriage license.
“In Georgia, you had to wait three days...go across the river to Alabama, you could get married the same day, so that’s what we did,” Irene said. “I was in the YWCA. I had three nights there that I could stay and then I had to leave, so I had to do something.”
The couple was wed at the Baptist Parsonage with only the pastor, his wife playing the organ and an old friend by their side.
Though the courtship was quick, Irene says the timing was just right.
“It was meant to be,” she said.
“I had my mind made up before I was married that I was going to be completely settled down and I had my running around all out of my system and I was 23 years old. I figured I went long enough,” Elmer said.
The couple eventually came to Wellington after a failed farming attempt in Scott County. In Sumner County, the couple found another farm near Dalton and kept it running for 34 years. Irene worked at St. Luke’s Hospital in Wellington while Elmer worked at the aircraft plants in Wichita during the winter.
The couple had two children together, which has multiplied into two grandchildren, five great-grandchildren and four step great-grandchildren.
Sixty-six years after they said, “I do” on Oct. 2, 1943, the two still speak to each other with the love often confined to newlyweds.
The key to staying in love they said is communication, patience and understanding.
“You have to communicate a lot,” Elmer said with Irene finishing his sentence. “And it’s just there.”
“[When] you live together that long you know what it takes to make it work. It’s a lot of give and a lot of take, but you have to keep in communication. We know one of the big things in today’s marriages is the finances, that’s one of the big problems ... we were poor all of our lives and never knew what it was to be extravagant or anything and we just kind of grew together and knew what it took to make things work,” Elmer said.
The couple still follows the advice of never going to bed angry, something that has kept that line of communication open over six decades of marriage.
“We worked it out and I don’t think there’s a night that goes by where I don’t tell her I love her,” Elmer said.
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Some say three is the magic number, but for Elmer and Irene Naasz of Wellington, six might be more appropriate.
After meeting each other in the summer of 1943 in a small cafe called Ed’s Dine and Dance in Harper, the couple went on six dates, deciding to get married in only 10 days time.
“We met in a little cafe in Harper. He was from Kingman and I was from Harper and we were visiting. He was home from the war on a furlough and I was over there visiting a friend and we went into this little cafe and we were introduced by his sister-in-law,” Irene said. “He was home from Alabama and was on his way to the paratroops in Georgia and that was in June of 1943 and in October of 1943, I went to Georgia and we got married.”
“It didn’t take long,” Elmer said laughing.
Indeed, the wedding followed suite, with the couple deciding to wed in Phoenix City, Ala., instead of Georgia because in Alabama you could get married the same day you got your marriage license.
“In Georgia, you had to wait three days...go across the river to Alabama, you could get married the same day, so that’s what we did,” Irene said. “I was in the YWCA. I had three nights there that I could stay and then I had to leave, so I had to do something.”
The couple was wed at the Baptist Parsonage with only the pastor, his wife playing the organ and an old friend by their side.
Though the courtship was quick, Irene says the timing was just right.
“It was meant to be,” she said.
“I had my mind made up before I was married that I was going to be completely settled down and I had my running around all out of my system and I was 23 years old. I figured I went long enough,” Elmer said.
The couple eventually came to Wellington after a failed farming attempt in Scott County. In Sumner County, the couple found another farm near Dalton and kept it running for 34 years. Irene worked at St. Luke’s Hospital in Wellington while Elmer worked at the aircraft plants in Wichita during the winter.
The couple had two children together, which has multiplied into two grandchildren, five great-grandchildren and four step great-grandchildren.
Sixty-six years after they said, “I do” on Oct. 2, 1943, the two still speak to each other with the love often confined to newlyweds.
The key to staying in love they said is communication, patience and understanding.
“You have to communicate a lot,” Elmer said with Irene finishing his sentence. “And it’s just there.”
“[When] you live together that long you know what it takes to make it work. It’s a lot of give and a lot of take, but you have to keep in communication. We know one of the big things in today’s marriages is the finances, that’s one of the big problems ... we were poor all of our lives and never knew what it was to be extravagant or anything and we just kind of grew together and knew what it took to make things work,” Elmer said.
The couple still follows the advice of never going to bed angry, something that has kept that line of communication open over six decades of marriage.
“We worked it out and I don’t think there’s a night that goes by where I don’t tell her I love her,” Elmer said.
