Loyalty

Albert and Pearl Payne

Loyalty

Albert and Pearl first had eyes for each other in junior high school. They started going steady in 1938. Later, as a young farm couple, they raised five children together, and helped each other survive family tragedies like the burning of their barn in 1946. They say they met on a blind date, and "kind-of grew on each other." They are a good example of how marriages don't always start as love at first sight--how it's a good idea for people to get to know each other before they jump into a relationship. Albert and Pearl were never apart --never--except for one week a year, when Albert went into the woods to hunt with his son. The last time he went, the telephone died, and they couldn't talk every day anymore. When someone consoled Pearl about how great it would be to talk to each other at the end of the week, she quipped, "Yeah-- I'll probably get pregnant."  At 87, she is able to joke like that because of thier commitment to each other. The longevity of their love is miraculour, and inspirational.