Love 60 years in the making

This past weekend my family celebrated a remarkable accomplishment that doesn’t happen nearly as often as it should. Many couples simply don’t get the opportunity for various reasons. 

My parents, Clifford and June Bussler, reached their 60th wedding anniversary. We marked the special occasion by taking a boat dinner cruise around Lake Minnetonka with our immediate family Saturday night. We’ve done some larger parties in the past for their wedding anniversaries, but this big milestone was saved for a smaller and more intimate party.

They were married on Tuesday, June 9, 1959, which also happened to be my mom’s birthday. My mom said dad always wanted it to be on her birthday. When I questioned them about why on a Tuesday, they told me it was quite common in those days to get married any day of the week. By the way, they met when my mom was working in the McLeod County Extension Office in Glencoe. My dad, who was involved in 4-H and the county fair, came into the office routinely. 

I have seen my parents go through a few ups and downs over the years with medical issues and watching them struggle with the farm economy, especially during the 1980s. Things haven’t always gone as one would like, but through it all they have found the key secrets to a happy marriage.

They credit patience, understanding and a good faith in God as to the reason why they have been together all these years. My mom will tell you it hasn’t always been easy, but it has been very good.

One thing I have always noticed over the years is how my parents have strived to work together as a team. During their professional careers, they had a fairly large hog operation, though it probably would be considered small by today’s standards. My mom and dad worked hard in handling all the farm work. I saw them work side-by-side getting done whatever needed to be done and without any arguing or quarreling. Where one of them was, the other certainly wasn’t far away. That’s why they were so successful in what they did for many years. 

In their younger days, they volunteered in many local, county, state and national organizations. They both held many officer positions within the Minnesota and National Pork Producer Associations. They enjoyed promoting the pork industry and have always held it dear in their hearts.

While the farm chores are long gone, my mom still continues to work full time at a newspaper in Glencoe. And, yes, I was responsible for getting her into the newspaper business after I graduated from high school. Mom keeps hinting retirement may be coming, but we’ll see what happens.

Both of them have always held family as high importance in their lives. When I was a single parent with two children at home, my parents, especially my mom, stepped in to help me so that I could work. They became guardian angels to my two older children during a time when they desperately needed them the most. The strong bond that they have with my kids continues today even after they have graduated from college. 

Mom and dad continue to be very active in their church. In fact, they currently serve on their church’s anniversary committee for a 125th celebration next summer. It is fun to see them stay active in their community just like I saw when I was growing up. 

They also enjoy helping out with the subscription renewals for the newspapers as I outlined a few weeks back. Work is in their genes, I guess.

I am truly proud of my parents for achieving such a remarkable milestone in their lives. God has blessed them with a wonderful marriage, and he has blessed me with two great parents.

This is love 60 years in the making and still going strong. I hope they will go in hot pursuit of keeping it strong for many more years. Happy anniversary, mom and dad!