CLAYPOOL – What started out as Claypool residents Melvin and Edith Ina Konkle meeting for the first time at the Warsaw Street Fair in 1941 has taken them on a journey of a lifetime. Melvin, who will turn 90 Sept. 6, and Edith, who turns 90 Feb. 29, will mark their 70th wedding anniversary Saturday. They were married Aug. 31, 1943, at the home of G.T. Rossetet. An open house is Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. at Claypool United Methodist Church, where they are members, to celebrate their anniversary. Edith went to the Warsaw Street Fair with her sister and her boyfriend, and Melvin had gone with his friend who knew Edith, and his friend’s date. “We were both third wheels,” Edith joked. “My sister wanted me to find a ride home since she was with her date.” Melvin’s friend introduced Edith, who was 16, to Melvin, who was 17. “The thing of it was he just turned his back and didn’t look at me,” Edith said. “I told my friend I thought he was a handsome guy and my friend told his friend I thought so.” Melvin was living in Clunette at the time, and Edith lived south of Yellow Creek Lake. Melvin drove Edith home that night in his truck and his vehicle almost ran out of gas. “He walked me to the door and started walking out and he came back and said, ‘How about next Saturday night I will see you then?’” Edith said. She agreed to the date and they went to the Centennial Theatre in Warsaw to watch a movie. Melvin said there was gas rationing back then, so people did not want to drive long distances and spend extra money. “I thought she was attractive and sociable we met at 10 p.m.,” Melvin said. Edith said the fact that they both came from farming families attracted her to him. “He fit right in with my family because he came from a farm family and my dad was a farmer,” Edith said. Edith’s parents were married for 50 years, and Melvin’s parents were married for 60 years. After the movie, he took her home and he gave her a peck on the cheek and asked her out the next Saturday. “My sister and her boyfriend and Melvin and I double dated all summer until Melvin went into the service,” Edith said. Melvin served as a mechanic in the Army Air Force during World War II. He entered the service Feb. 17, 1943, and got out in 1945. They communicated by writing letters, but it was six to eight weeks before they got each other’s letters. Melvin proposed to Edith before he entered the service. Edith and Melvin said they had only dated a few other people before meeting each other. “I just knew she was the one,” Melvin said. Edith said she was happy when he gave her the engagement ring, and she knew he was the one she wanted to marry before he gave her it. Edith said yes when Melvin asked her to marry him. They got married while Melvin was on a 10-day break home from service. Edith wore a dress she had bought in Fort Wayne, and Melvin wore his Army uniform. Both of their families attended the wedding. After Melvin came home from the service in October 1945, they started having children. They had three sons, George, Dan and Gale. George died at age 39, and Dan and Gale are living still and married. Melvin and Edith said they enjoyed raising their sons together. “I always wanted a girl, but got boys. I got my girls when I got my daughter-in-laws,” Edith said. They have eight grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. Melvin worked for the Indiana Highway Department and retired from Bristol Myers in 1986. Edith worked at General Electric, Fort Wayne, when they first married and many years at The Steer Inn Restaurant, Silver Lake. She also worked as a receptionist at Orr Chiropractic. Melvin and Edith said advice to a prosperous marriage is communication and forgiveness. “If you have an argument you have to forget it. I think most people argue about money, but it isn’t how much money you have to spend, but the friends and love you have in your families that keeps you going,” Melvin said. Melvin said it is important to talk things over with your spouse, and think of others before yourself. “You have to have fun in your marriage, respect each other and give each other space,” Melvin said. Edith joked don’t come home if you’re mad, and don’t go to bed mad. “We had disagreements and laid on each side of our beds apart, but it wouldn’t be long before our feet touched and we couldn’t stay mad at each other for long,” Edith said. Edith said it has been important to keep God in the center of their marriage. “I am thankful we have a family and their marriages are just as solid as ours,” Edith said. Melvin and Edith said the most challenging thing they faced was the death of their son George. They supported each other through that challenge. The Konkles said they know people who have been married longer than they have. Their friends, Kenny and Bonnie Gregg, have been married for 80 years. Today the Konkles are active at Claypool United Methodist Church, Masonic Lodge and Eastern Star, and Melvin is a Claypool Lions Club member and a Shriner.
