Norm and Doreen Cumming celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary in Kerikeri on March 31. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Norm and Doreen Cumming celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary in Kerikeri on March 31. Photo / Peter de Graaf
It was the luckiest coin toss Norm Cumming ever lost.
The then 20-year-old and a few friends were taking their usual Friday night ferry ride to Waiheke when his mate Jack spotted a pretty redhead in the crowd.
Jack was keen to get to know her but Norm objected. Jackalready had a girl, and if he hit it off with the redhead his girlfriend would be left on her own all evening.
Jack offered to settle it with a coin toss.
If he won, he'd go after the redhead while Norm comforted his girlfriend and later dropped her home.
Seventy years later, now living in Kerikeri, they're still married.
Doreen said the young man she met on the ferry that evening was ''definitely'' handsome but also a better match height-wise — Jack was a towering six feet tall while she was just 4 foot 11 inches.
''He was always nicely dressed and well mannered. That mattered then,'' she said.
Norm's impression of Doreen that first evening was ''a very nice girl''.
''She had a nice sense of humour. She always appreciated what you did for her.''
Norm and Doreen Cumming on their wedding day, March 31, 1951, at the Winter Garden in Auckland Domain. Photo / Supplied
Doreen worked in the office of a chocolate factory, while Norm's trade as an automotive mechanic took him from Auckland to Katikati, Waihi and Hamilton.
When in 1970 Norm's brother needed a hand with his business, Allen's Septic Tank Cleaning, they moved north and bought the Kerikeri franchise. Their motto was ''your business is our business''.
The couple had never been north of Whangārei but were persuaded to take the plunge by the promise of fishing and boating in the Bay of Islands.
Two of their three children — Heather, Graham and Grant — still live in Kerikeri. One normally lives in the UK but is currently stuck in New Zealand by Covid.
Doreen, now 92, said highlights of their married life included ''a lot of lovely overseas trips''.
They were fortunate to live in their own home, thanks to support from family living nearby.
''Now we're just trying to cherish a few more years.''
Norm, 93, said they had both enjoyed ''pretty good health'' until the first age-related issues started cropping up a couple of years ago.
He said the secret to a long marriage was ''to get on well with your wife''.
''I've tried to do everything I can for her. I think we're both fairly tolerant. I wouldn't swap her.''
As for Doreen, the key was ''give and take''.
''You have to try to understand each other's point of view, you can't agree on everything. I think we've been very lucky really.''
As for Jack, Norm lost touch with his old mate many years ago.
''But I often think I'd like to meet him again. I'd thank him because we've had a wonderful life together.''
