AS love lingers in the air today, romance remains alive for one South East couple which celebrates six decades since they tied the knot.
Judy and Max Gale’s 60th wedding anniversary falls on the international day of love, Valentine’s Day and both reflect on their life of achievements together with pride.
Mr Gale said the pair met on a Church picnic with friends.
“I had been to Adelaide on a motorbike to visit my grandma at Strathalbyn and I rode all the way back to Minlaton on the Yorke Peninsula to go on this picnic,” he said.
“My sister had the car out and told me I had to come.
“Picking up Judy on the way we went down the beach, sliding around sand hills.”
Mr Gale said his feet “never touched the ground” the whole trip home.
“My sister had to drive home as I was in the back of the car the whole way talking to my new girlfriend Judy,” he said.
“That day changed my life forever and we got engaged the same year.
“It all happened very quickly and we were married the year after.”
Mr Gale said he had always had a passion for woodwork and gave Ms Gale a hand-made cabinet the first Christmas they spent together.
“I made this wardrobe/dressing table combo and we still have it to today,” he said.
“My Dad went mad and said I had lost it and may as well marry her, so I did.”
Mr Gale said the ring Ms Gale received cost his “life savings.”
“We were married in Edithburgh Methodist Church as Judy is from Edithburgh” he said.
“It was a good but modest ceremony and a lot of our relatives were upset they did not get an invite.
“After our wedding we shipped off to Naracoorte and away we went with the farm ute, the FX Holden, a borrowed canopy, rolled up mattress, Primus stove, a box of goodies and some cases.”
Ms Gale said the pair was then kicked off the farm to live in Coonalpyn for 10 months.
“We lived in a little tin hut which got so hot we would have to sit in the bath to keep cool,” she said.
“People really do not understand what being hot is as we did not have air conditioning back then.”
Ms Gale spent the next 10 months in Coonalpyn before Mr Gale’s father told them to move to New South Wales.
“We lived there for three or four years but went broke,” she said.
“Max’s father pulled everything out from under us and we sunk.
“We started fresh moving to Penola and had a farm out in the Wattle Range area.”
Mr Gale said the couple borrowed $4000 from a friend to pay for a house while Ms Gale worked at the bakery and he worked at the butter factory.
“My first job in Penola was working at the butter factory in the early 1970’s,” he said.
“It was not long when the boss came out and told me I was their new butter maker and I remember the big churns of butter, pulling them out a tonne at a time.
“I received a prize for the best butter making in all of South Australia and Victoria at the Adelaide Show.”
Mr Gale said the couple moved into a house on Darwent Street while in Penola.
“I basically had to re-build the house from scratch,” he said.
“I managed to build this massive shed out the back and just the other day a current councillor came up to me and asked how I built such a big shed.
“I just told him it is not what you know but who you know.”
After a decade the couple left Penola and moved to Kingston.
“We went to Kingston as we always wanted to retire by the sea,” Mr Gale said.
“We were both heavily involved with the community wherever we went.
“I received a 15 year perfect-attendance award for never missing a meeting when involved with both the Penola and Kingston Lions Clubs.”
Mr Gale said his involvement with the Lions took him across the South East.
“You are always looking for someone who might need help, or something that needs doing around town,” he said.
“I remember being the manager of the working bee just behind the Penola town square putting up a barbecue.
“Over multiple weekends more than 40 members chipped in their time, it made things like that worth it.”
Mr Gale became South East zone chairman during his association with Lions.
“It was a bit hard to keep up but it took us to lots of different places and we made a lot of new friendships,” he said.
“We met so many people it was terrific and we learnt if you do right by them you have friends for life.”
The couple lived at Kingston for 14 years before moving to Mount Gambier exactly 20 years ago.
“I think we work pretty well and now basically do everything together,” Ms Gale said.
“We are going reasonably well at the moment and when I had a major heart operation the doctor told us to get help so we did.
“We have a cleaner that comes in once a week and someone who mows our lawns for us and we are extremely grateful.”
Ms and Mr Gale’s one hobby they shared was Thursday afternoon bingo.
“We love living in Mount Gambier and will spend many more years together here,” Ms Gale said.
