Taylor's celebrate 50 years

Wedg and Kathy Taylor held a celebration on December 29, 2019, for their 50th wedding anniversary.

Wedg said, "It was good. We had a lot of people there."

Kathy said, "It was very nice." The guests came in for over a four-hour period. She added,"The food was wonderful. It was very sociable. We just walked down table to table to meet the guests."  Kathy's twelve-year-old granddaughter did a video of wedding photos put together with 60s-70s music. It was quite the family affair.   

Wedg and Kathy met at the swimming pool at Chadron State. Wedg was on the swim team and Kathy was a lifeguard. Kathy thought his last name was "Hawkes" because he wore a baseball cap with "Hawkes" on it, but that was his middle name.  

Their first date was a blind date. Wedg came to pick Kathy up at the women's dorm and gave his name, "Wedgewood Taylor". Kathy said she didn't know anyone named "Wedgewood Taylor". She thought it was Wedgewood Hawkes. Kathy smiled and said, "We worked it out."

Kathy and Wedg explained they dated in college for two to two-and-a-half years and thought they were right for each other. Back then they didn't live together as they were both dorm proctors.  Wedg said after they were married for six days, Kathy had to do student teaching in Hot Springs, South Dakota.  They were apart for twelve weeks but saw each other on weekends.

Regarding some key elements of the longevity of their marriage both say "Compromise." Kathy added, "He's not always right, I am not always right. Listen, listen, listen."

Wedg said, "It's hard. We still get frustrated with each other," and they both laughed. Wedg added, "But that's two people trying to live together."  

If anyone were to ask them for advice about relationships, Wedg said, "If you go into a marriage with the idea if it doesn't work out, so, I guess: commitment. A true commitment, you can't go in with an escape plan." 

Kathy said "We took a 6,500 mile trip last year to see college friends and our kids, and we came home and we both said at the same that 'we were always brought up in our marriage that divorce was not an option but, man, murder was.' " Wedg and Kathy both laughed at that.

Kathy added, "there's lots of other people in this community that have wintered well with their marriage, too. Commitment, hard work and sacrifice on both parties."