On Wednesday, April 3 Olds residents Helen and Jake Siemens did something very, very few couples ever get to do.
They celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary with family and friends, who came from as far as B.C. and the Edmonton area.
The event took place in a social room at Seasons Encore.
They recalled their lives during an interview with the Albertan. Helen ended up doing the talking because Jake's memory and health aren't what they once were.
Helen and Jake grew up on separate farms about 124 kilometres southeast of Olds, near Drumheller. The farms were about four miles apart.
"We were neighbours so to speak. My dad was the minister and his dad was the Sunday School teacher and we just grew up knowing each other," Helen said. "I liked him from the time I was 12. He caught on after he was about 18," she added with a laugh.
The two started dating in their very early 20s and got married on April 3, 1949 when he was 23.
Jake worked in a coal mine in East Coulee, about 24 kilometres southeast of Drumheller, for 10 years before it closed down.
After that, he operated a grain elevator in Acme for 19 years. The Siemenses had two sons, Dan and David, both of whom went to school there. David lives in Olds and Dan lives in Creston, B.C.
"We lived just across from the school," Helen said.
Jake was then transferred to Red Deer where he worked for 12 years before being transferred to Olds, where he served as a kind of inspector of several elevators, Helen said.
Jake retired from the elevator business in his early 60s.
After that, he did a variety of jobs in the restaurant industry, from washing dishes in Olds to serving as a greeter for his brother's restaurant in Red Deer.
He finally retired for good in his mid to late 60s.
Helen says the years went by very fast.
"When we celebrated our 65th I thought, 'man, that's a lot.' And here we're 70," she said with a laugh.
Sadly, due to Jake's health, the two are no longer able to live together. Jake lives in Seasons Encore and roughly the past year, Helen has been living in Mount View Lodge.
She visits Jake regularly. A grandson drives her there.
Initially, she visited daily.
"In November I got sick. It was a little bit too much for me, I guess. I went every day for seven months. I missed 10 days in the seven months that I didn't come here. But now I take Monday and Thursday off."
Helen has some advice to help couples stay together for 70 years -- or even more.
"Stay committed to each other," she said. "If it's bad or good, stick together, you know. Don't run away as soon as something goes wrong."
Helen said any couple are bound to have disagreements because they're two different people. The Siemenses are no different.
"We had lots (of disagreements)," she said with a laugh.
Helen said they had some special help to overcome those disagreements.
"It's because of the Lord's doing. He really helped us. He made us aware of what we should do (patch up arguments)," she said.
Overriding all, Helen said, is the love she and Jake have for each other.
