A story about living happily ever after

Cynics might argue that love doesn't last.

They might say marriage is a lost cause, so why bother?

Poring over statistics, they might bring up the skyrocketing divorce rate in this country, or the number of children born every year to broken homes. And they might add, plaintively, that there's no such thing as a soulmate.

Cynics, be warned: This is not a story for you.

On March 1, 1941, at the tail end of the Great Depression, a couple of North Idaho kids drove to Moscow and got hitched. Jack was in his mid-20s, and Charlotte was five years younger.

"In 1941, I was working for the Corps of Engineers over in Washington, as a laborer," Jack recalled. "(We just) decided to get married, and we did, and I went back to work that night. People did things a lot different in those days."

Jack and Charlotte Wylie remain married, 70 years later.

"We never had a separation or anything. Not anything near," Jack said. "We argued quite a little bit, but we never fought."

Last Tuesday, with very little fanfare, the Wylies celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary. Jack is 95 years old, Charlotte is 90.

They still have a home in Coeur d'Alene, where Charlotte grew up.

"Since I've never been married, it's pretty amazing to me," said 69-year-old Jerry Wylie, the couple's oldest son.

One of seven brothers and sisters, Jack spent his younger days in South Dakota, on a farm near Aberdeen. The family moved to North Idaho in 1934, at the height of the Depression, when Jack was around 19.

"We had the misfortune that our house burned down," Jack said. "After the shock and everything wore off, (the family) had sales, and boarded everything up onto a two-wheeled trailer and headed west."

They would eventually settle in Coeur d'Alene, where one sister, Ferne, would be among the first to attend newly-established North Idaho College.

Jack stayed in South Dakota for a while, but he soon hopped a freight train and followed his family to the Panhandle. He worked the blister rust camps out in the woods, at places like Magee and Carlin Bay. In winter he cleaned up after logging outfits.

Money was scarce, even for a working man. He spent some time in the pre-war Army - guaranteed three meals a day - then found construction work with Roosevelt's Civilian Conservation Corps. When engineers were planning Grand Coulee Dam, Jack signed on to clean up the river bottom.

About that time, he went to a National Guard function at Hayden Lake with some buddies, wound up at the Foxy Inn and met a lovely young woman from Coeur d'Alene.

"I thought (Jack) was a pretty nice guy," Charlotte said. "We got along pretty good."

They didn't need a fancy wedding. With Jack working in Washington there was no time, and besides, who could afford a fancy wedding? So they eloped, and they got everything done in one day.

A few months after they tied the knot, Jack bought a house on Dollar Street for $435. Jerry was born in 1941, and Jim arrived five years later. Jack, who was very good with his hands, added on to the house, installing a new bathroom and constructing two additional bedrooms.

"If something needed repairs, Dad did it," Jerry said.

The family lived frugally, never spending too much money.

"Things were tough, but it was that way for everybody," Charlotte said. "All our friends were like us ... poor. Struggling along, trying to make a living."

Jack eventually found steady work - he was employed by Kaiser Aluminum in Washington for 30 years, retiring at the age of 62. Charlotte stayed home and raised the boys.

There was still time for fun, though: Hamburgers at Hudson's, Fourth of July parades, spending time in the great outdoors. Both are longtime Eagles members.

"Dad was a good hunter, and good at fishing," Jerry remembered. "He was a good bowler - did a lot of bowling when he was younger."

Once Jack retired, he and Charlotte traveled the country. They drove their RV south during the winter, stopping in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico. Sometimes they'd take an extended trip, exploring the eastern seaboard or rolling all the way to Alaska.

"They had a plan when they retired," Jerry said. "Their plan was to play, to enjoy themselves. Go dancing, hunting and fishing, play cards. Do things they enjoyed."

Throughout all those years, even when times were at their toughest, the couple's relationship never wavered. An argument here or there, maybe, but nothing that could break apart the bond they'd formed.

Seven decades after that whirlwind trip to Moscow, Jack and Charlotte's marriage is as strong as it ever was. The cynics - if they're still reading - have been proven wrong.

"It doesn't seem short, but it doesn't seem like it's been that many years," Jack said.

There's no secret recipe, though. No formula for marital bliss.

To Charlotte, it's all very simple:

"Just live each day as it comes," she said.