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Yarrow, B.C.
50 years together and still going strong


In 1950, 22 couples were married in Yarrow, B.C., a small town of about 2000 at that time where the main industry was raspberry farming. That year there were weddings almost every month in Yarrow MB Church.

On May 12, 2000, 17 of those couples celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in the church where it all began. The event was a reunion and homecoming for the couples. None of the 22 couples divorced, but one couple has passed away and four couples have one spouse who has passed away. All are retired; many still live in Abbotsford or Chilliwack, B.C.


A number of them were teachers in local schools and in Vancouver. Some became successful businessmen. One was a pastor. One couple served as missionaries in South America.

The 17 couples are Henry and Margaret Epp, Henry and Helen Harder, John and Gertrude Martens, Peter and Katie Unger, Jacob and Lydia Dyck, John and Selma Ratzlaff, Abram and Agnes Derksen, Jacob and Margaret Siemens, David and Annie Nightingale, John and Hedy Martens, Peter and Lena Isaac, William and Annie Friesen, John and Elvira Dyck, Bill and Elfrida Regher, Abe and Mary Friesen, David and Lena Abrahams, and Frank and Dora Friesen.

Vedder Transport recognized the group with a token gift for each one in memory of Neil and Kay Wiebe who are now deceased. Neil had been co-owner of the company. First Heritage Credit Union also acknowledged the couples with a token gift. MP Chuck Strahl sent a letter of congratulations for each couple. Ernie Enns, Ted Bargen and John Bargen, who operate a door factory in Yarrow, prepared a half-pound chocolate in the shape of a door for each couple. David Nightingale, a former missionary to Quito, Ecuador, brought a rousing meditation.

In 1950, Yarrow MB Church was the largest Mennonite Brethren church in Canada with more than 900 members. Many were immigrants from Ukraine. Back then, the streets were gravel and some homes had just received electricity. Weddings were large, but simple affairs often attended by between 300 and 400 guests.

Teamwork

Bill Friesen married Anne Kaethler with the goal of creating a happy home. Fifty years later, they’re still making each other laugh. He admits that he had to work hard to gain Anne’s attention. She wasn’t interested in dating just anyone.

Anne, the second oldest of seven, moved with her family to Yarrow in 1944 when she was 17. Bill, a middle child of six, moved to Yarrow in 1936 when he was 10. They sang in the same church choir and saw each other at social gatherings. Bill noticed Anne had the qualities he was looking for in a wife. They married Sept. 10, 1950, six months after their first date.

Teamwork has been the basis of their relationship. They raised four children, who never saw them argue. Bill and Anne prefer to work out their differences in a calm rational way. They share all key decisions.

Bill, a retired math teacher and building contractor, was diagnosed with prostate cancer 10 years ago and was told he had no more than three years to live. Although no further medical treatment was available, the couple decided that Bill should continue to fight. He relies on the support of his wife and alternative treatments. Still, they achieved their goal of a happy home.

“We’re in this together,” Anne says.

Serious about commitment

John Martens was once dubbed “faithful John” by the nurses who saw him visit his wife in the hospital once, sometimes twice, a day. Gertrude was hospitalized for 2 1/2 months due to complications following the birth of the couple’s third child. Forty years later, she returned the favour, keeping a 12-hour daily vigil beside her husband’s bed after he had an aneurysm.

It’s that give-and-take that the pair attribute to the success of their 50-year union. “It’s about commitment. There is a commitment you make, and you keep it. It doesn’t always work out the way you want but you don’t just give up and run,” Gertrude says.

John came with his family from Ukraine when he was 18. He met Gertrude at church, picking hops and at family gatherings. Attracted to Gertrude’s kind nature, John began visiting her on the pretense of borrowing books to improve his English. The ploy worked. They were engaged in February 1950 and married April 16, 1950, the only Sunday opening available. She was 24; he was 20. They raised their family in Vancouver. In 1986, they retired to Yarrow. They moved to Abbotsford four years ago. Their relationship keeps growing.

“I love her now more than I did 50 years ago,” says John.

 – Press release, The Abbotsford News

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Last modified July 16, 2000.

© 2000 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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