Family Matters
The best mistake
By Isabelle Southcott
Sometimes, the best that life has to offer is unplanned. Take Charlie and Mary for example.
Many years ago Charlie called Mary's house to ask her older sister Ann out to a dance. But Charlie ended up asking for the wrong person. "I'd just called a girl in Wildwood named Mary and asked her to go to the dance with me but she couldn't because she'd hurt her ankle," said Charlie.
Charlie had promised another couple he'd go to the dance so he decided to ask Ann but because he'd just been talking with a girl called Mary when he called Ann's house he asked for Mary instead. You might say he had Mary on his mind.
Well Mary (Ann's younger sister) came to the phone and Charlie thought he was talking to Ann. He asked her to the dance and she agreed.
"I thought that was wonderful because all my cousins and sisters were going to the dance," said Mary.
When Charlie picked Mary up for the dance he was shocked. "He was expecting my sister," Mary laughed.
But they had a grand time and that was the beginning of a beautiful relationship. "We never looked back after that first date. We started going together and that was that," said Mary.
On June 11, Charlie and Mary Oldale will celebrate their 73rd wedding anniversary and Charlie's 97th birthday.
To say they are well matched is an understatement. All you have to do is watch them look at each other, smile and listen to the easy way they communicate.
"I wouldn't trade her," said Charlie. "It's been a long time but it's been a good marriage," said Mary.
Last year Charlie moved to the Extended Care Unit because he could no longer walk. Mary moved to Kiwanis Village and comes over to visit her husband every single day and has Sunday evening supper with him.
The Oldales raised four children of their own plus four foster children. They say Powell River is the best place on earth.
"I moved here when I was 12 from Ontario and I was crazy about Powell River. I just loved it," said Charlie. "I still love it. It's the best place there is."
I asked the couple their secret to a happy marriage.
"We made a promise to each other when we got married to never go to bed cross with each other," said Mary.
Charlie says they were meant for each other. "The good Lord meant it this way and that was that. I sure wouldn't want anyone else," he said.
Mary agrees. "We are the kind of people who stick. We stick to each other and we stick to what we do."
When Charlie's birthday and their anniversary rolls around on June 11, their children, and as many of their 43 grandchildren and great grandchildren will gather at son Tom's house here in Powell River for a barbecue. It will be a celebration to remember!
Charlie smiles just thinking about the upcoming party. Tom teases him. "He's always got a smile," he said. There's good reason, says Charlie: "I married a wonderful wife."
