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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Advertisement Email Story to a Friend June 8, 2005 Evelyn and Loyce Bates celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary during a family party. The secret to couple’s longevity?Work it out Medford couple celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary By BUFFY POLLOCK for the Mail Tribune Nearly 75 years since they fell in love on a dance floor in west-central Texas, Medford residents Evelyn and Loyce Bates are celebrating a long happy marriage that began with weekly letters, chewing gum and a commitment to make things work. Sticking to anything for 70 years, said Loyce Bates, takes deciding to do so. "We just went from ’35 until now," he said matter-of-factly. The couple officially met when introduced by friends at a San Angelo, Texas, dance hall. She lived "out in the country" on a farm while he lived and worked across town on a ranch. "In those days they had big dance halls. The country people from both sides would go and dance to a big band," Evelyn remembered. Advertisement "We met at this dance and that was the way we would romance. We’d meet at the dance on Saturday nights." She was 16. He was 21. Love at first sight? Both remember it that way. "I was looking and I saw her and I fell in love with her," Loyce said. "And we just stayed together." "I picked him out from across the room and thought, ‘That’s the guy I wanna marry,’ so I did," added Evelyn. Their six-month courtship consisted of Saturday-night dances and weekly letters. "I would write her and send her chewing gum in the letters," Loyce said. "I’d put her some Dentyne chewing gum in it. Boy, she loved that stuff. "Then every week I’d drive into town on my horse, tie him up about two miles out of town and walk the rest of the way in." Married in 1935, the couple spent about a decade in Texas before making their way to Arkansas, returning to Texas, then California and, finally, Oregon. "We loaded up in our old Model A and took off with clothes packed in the back and three little kids," Evelyn remembered. Loyce would support his family as a traveling salesman for Woodbury Co. and Reliable Hardware. A stay-at-home mother to their five children — four girls and a boy — Evelyn sold Avon for 40 years and went on to work another 16 in the bakery at the old Big Y Shopping Center. Today, they are busy with their roles as parents, grandparents, great-grandparents and best friends. They proudly claim 25 grandchildren and 33 great-grandchildren, whom they "keep tabs" on with a book to track birthdays and special dates. How they stayed together for so long is no secret. "We just pray and go to church and work our problems out," Evelyn said. "We just love each other," added Loyce. "We have had problems in our life, but we always talked them out and got things squared away before it was all settled." With Evelyn recovering from a recent surgery, the family celebrated early this year and the couple will spend their anniversary at home together. Their first-born, Medford resident EvaLoy Knight, wife of Medford City Councilman Skip Knight, said the two are a sight to behold. "They’re just hilarious. She’s real tiny and he’s a great big 6-foot-3. She sits in his lap," Knight said. Knight said she couldn’t have hoped for better role models. "They were just the most wonderful parents," she said. "They were always fun, always went to church and we were always doing something as a family ... camping, hiking, barbecues. "As parents they were always easy to talk to. You couldn’t meet two more wonderful people." Buffy Pollock is a freelance writer living in Medford. E-mail her at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Discount Hotel Reservations online casinos news Ashley Furniture HomeStore Send Flowers Southern Oregon Loans California Casinos GMAT Prep Windermere Van Vleet Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Online Casino Fundraisers Sudoku Online Casinos Canada Online Pharmacy Advertisement s