From horses to electric cars: Sask. couple sees world transform over 75-year marriage
Helen and Larry Frey celebrate milestone anniversary this month
Larry and Helen Frey figure no one else had a wedding night quite like theirs.
asserted
one → see → theirs
On that chilly November night in 1951, they came home to a rugged prairie house with no cupboards or electricity.
asserted
they → come → cupboards
"We had to take our bed apart, bring it out where this cookstove was.
asserted
cookstove → have → it
You light a fire and get everything warmed up," said Larry, who's now 96.
asserted
who → light → fire
Their love and sense of humour is still burning strong 75 years later.
asserted
love → burn → humour
Helen, 97, has a big chuckle recalling that frosty wedding night.
asserted
Helen → have → night
"I thought it was great," she laughs.
asserted
she → think → ?
"Nobody has that story to tell, [that] they had to take their bed apart and put it beside the kitchen stove before they could have sex that night.
uncertain
they → tell → sex
Life's challenges clearly did not deter the.
asserted
challenges → deter → the
The Freys are now celebrating a huge milestone at their home in Fort Qu'Appelle, Sask.: a wedding anniversary marking three-quarters of a century together.
asserted
Freys → celebrate → century
Helen, left, and Larry Frey remember having to do everything for themselves: growing their own food, building their own barn and home, and farming to make their living.
asserted
Helen → remember → living
They've seen huge changes in the world, from farming with horses and having no phones to zipping across the country in an electric car and Facetiming their children on cell phones.
asserted
They → see → phones
They first met when he was 21 and she was 22.
asserted
she → meet → ?
"I married an older woman because I was told they were more fun," Larry jokes.
asserted
Larry → marry → woman
Helen was working as a clerk at a store when she made up her mind about getting to know Larry.
asserted
she → work → Larry
They hadn't even met at that point, but she'd heard he was a caring man, she says.
asserted
she → meet → point
"So when I first saw him walk in the store, I thought, 'Oh my God, I chose him, and how funny-looking he is and how young he is.'"
Larry says he noticed her figure immediately.
"She still looks the same," he adds.
asserted
he → see → figure
Larry says things changed drastically over the years, from using literal horse power with a team of horses and threshing machines, to using high-powered machines.
asserted
things → say → machines
He's always been crazy about cars, and even now, he still picks the best.
asserted
he → pick → best
Larry's eyes grow big with excitement when he talks about driving his electric car.
asserted
he → grow → car
For their early dates, the couple often went on horseback.
asserted
couple → go → horseback
Electricity made the biggest change in their lifetime.
asserted
Electricity → make → lifetime
"[You] didn't have to go down the cellar to get something to eat," Larry recalls.
asserted
Larry → have → something
You didn't have to light a fire under the damn thing.
asserted
You → have → thing
Family and friends will all join them this month to celebrate their exciting milestone.
asserted
Family → join → milestone
(Submitted by Cheryl Lendvoy)
Do they have tips on how to stay happily married?
Larry's advice is short and to the point: "Button your lip."
Sometimes the best thing in a relationship is to give your partner space, he says.
asserted
he → submit → space
Helen says she isn't qualified to give advice.
asserted
she → say → advice
"The years just go by and you keep on living life," she says, noting that over the course of their relationship, they've shared amazing moments of joy but also hardships and tragedy.
asserted
they → go → joy
They've met all of it together.
asserted
They → meet → it
"Live every day as you find it," she says, looking over to her husband.
asserted
she → live → husband
"I just look at him and think, 'Oh God, he's mine.'
asserted
he → look → him
The Aporia
