Couple celebrate 70 years while in bubble

Mary and Bruce Andersen celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary on Wednesday, May 6. Photo / Warren Buckland

A takeaway dinner and a game of cards wasn't quite what Napier couple Mary and Bruce Andersen had in mind when organising their 70th wedding anniversary celebrations.

In fact a large party of around 100 family and friends from overseas and all over New Zealand had been organised to meet at the Napier RSA.

"It's been postponed until September/October when hopefully overseas travel is allowed and they can also celebrate Mum turning 90 and Dad 95," says daughter Juliet.

Bruce and Mary (nee Fagan) first met at a Manchester Unity Lodge meeting in Dannevirke where Mary was a member and Bruce had been invited along by a friend.

"Mary was sharing the chair that night with her sister and I was impressed with how confidently she spoke," Bruce says.

Mary's dress was all lace when she married Bruce at St Johns Anglican Church in Dannevirke on May 6, 1950.

Bruce says one memory was when his uncle got his father drunk at the wedding.

"That was a rare event," he says.

For their honeymoon, the Andersens drove their whippet truck to Palmerston North where they stayed at Mary's sister's home, carrying on to Taumarunui to stay with another relative.

After their honeymoon, the newlyweds returned to life on the farm in Norsewood. Mary had worked as an office junior in an accounting firm in Dannevirke before she learnt the art of relining and restoring cane prams with a local company. She soon adjusted to life on the farm, Juliet says.

"After being a town girl, she loved helping Dad on the farm, especially milking the cows which she found really relaxing."

They also loved living and rearing their family of two boys and two girls within the Norsewood community, with both heavily involved in community organisations and fundraising ventures.

Bruce and Mary say the success to staying married is give and take.

"And what's the alternative?" Bruce says.

They didn't always agree on everything - Bruce probably did more of the giving, Mary says.

They believe their generation got married and bought up their children together.

"That was our priority. We worked together as a team."

Bruce says he was most proud of raising their four children. And to help bring in a little extra income, the family joined other farmers in the district who had farm holiday stays, hosting visitors from the cities and overseas for a farm experience.

"It provided extra income and was great to meet some very interesting people," Mary says.

Mary also went on to buy and successfully run the local Norsewood dairy for years. The couple are now remembering some "wonderful experiences" during their 70 years together.

"Some we wouldn't want to repeat, but all experiences have helped define us both as individuals and a couple," Bruce says.

Although the bubble may have burst on the Andersen's party, they will enjoy a glass of something bubbly with daughter Juliet.