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65 years of marriageBy Barbara Brown Elsie Lechner canít tell people how to stay married for a long time. ìWhat am I supposed to say,î she replied when asked last week about how to keep a marriage solid for 65 years. ìWe just got along well.î Elsie and Larry Lechner were married in 1937, two years after they met in a St. Paul dance club. Larry, now 95, said he went to the Ball Room, once known to feature acts like Frank Sinatra and Tommy Dorsey, that night to meet ladies. ìWe were walking in through opposite doors,î said Elsie, now 89. ìI looked at him and he looked at me and that was it.î The couple danced and talked all night and did not leave each otherís sides for the next 65 years. Larry was a superintendent and teacher in several school districts and with each promotion, the couple was moved to different parts of the state. They had two daughters, Nancy, who lives in Fort Colorado, and Karen, who now lives in South Dakota. The family moved from LeRoy to Detroit Lakes to Gilbert and finally to Forest Lake where Larry served as superintendent of schools from 1965 to 1973. Elsie had been trained as a secretary and when Larryís job continued to move the family, she stayed at home with the children. She spent her evenings grading papers and helping Larry with the secretarial duties of superintendent. She also was a church organist for more than 30 years and volunteered some of her time at an Episcopal church in Forest Lake. The couple enjoyed playing bridge together and would love to play again now that they live in Green Acres Country Care Center off Co. Rd. 14. ìWeíve always been together,î Elsie said. The Lechners have three grandchildren. ©ECM Post Review |