Total togetherness

POST FALLS - Even at 96, Garland "Ike" Bews still places high in a local club's horseshoe contests and handles a snowblower well.

His 94-year-old wife, Nettie, has fended off folks wanting to help her tend to the house - in a kind way, of course.

So what makes the Post Falls couple so steadfast about staying active?

Seventy-two years of marriage - which the high school sweethearts are celebrating today - has a lot to do with it, they say.

"Everybody has their quirks, but we got married to stay married," said Nettie in a matter-of-fact tone.

Their togetherness has been synonymous with the individual freedoms they still enjoy around their well-kept home and yard.

"They won't let me get up on the roof to clean pine needles anymore," Ike said. "But I think I still could. It's just as safe up there as it is walking across the street to the mailbox. Up there, they won't run over me.

"We're from the old generation. I think if there's anything you can do yourself, you should do it."

In a horseshoe tournament for Ike's recent birthday, he and a partner placed first. And he's looking forward to firing up the snowblower this winter.

"All you have to do is follow it around," he said.

Ike's No. 1 horseshoe fan is Nettie.

"I freeze to death sometimes, but I want to see him play," she said. "I don't miss many. Not too many times have we each gone our separate way. We just don't do that."

Seventy-two years of marriage didn't come without communication skills, the couple said.

"You have to give and take a lot," Ike said.

The two have steered clear of smoking and drinking has always been kept to a minimum.

"Maybe a beer or two or a glass of wine, but that's all," he said. "I smoked a half a cigar at a shivaree (a noisy celebration at the home of newlyweds) and was sick for three days. That stopped me from smoking."

Nettie added: "Not that we're against (drinking or smoking), but our health has been quite good, and that has helped."

Both Ike and Nettie were rooted in family values. He came from a family with 10 kids and she came from one with eight.

The two grew up a few miles apart on farms outside Boise and, as high schoolers, were regulars at dances at the grange hall.

"I couldn't get rid of him so I married him," Nettie said.

The two were married on Nov. 1, 1940, by a justice of the peace in Boise.

"It sure doesn't seem like that long ago," she said. "If you love each other, you don't think about time."

Ike recalls making $4.50 a day working in the mines after marriage. But, through the years, the couple have never run into financial problems or come anywhere close to parting ways. Modest incomes from the mining, timber and farming industries - and with Nettie working at a restaurant - were enough to keep the Bews ship steady.

"We've always been able to keep things going," Ike said. "I've always had a job since high school. Times were different than they are now."

Nettie's explanation for staying ahead?

"You've got to manage (money)," she said.

Despite growing up in large families, the couple have just one daughter, one granddaughter and one great-grandson.

Prior to moving to Kootenai County, Ike worked for Boise Cascase and at a lumber mill in Quincy, Wash., "to support the farm," he said.

Ike retired in retail at the local Atlas Building Center and remained active with bowling and golf until about five years ago.

Arguments have been sparse and compliments are plentiful between the couple.

"She's a great cook," Ike said with a wide smile.

Nettie calls Ike "good-natured."

"I think I'll keep him," she said.