Wednesday, August 6, 2003
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Wednesday, August 6, 2003 |
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12 presidents later, couple celebrates 71st anniversary By MICHAEL BOYLAN
On July 2, 1932, the day Evertt and Christine Sloan were married, Herbert Hoover was president of the United States. Last month, 12 presidents later, the couple, who now reside at the Heritage of Peachtree Retirement and Assisted Living Community in Peachtree City, celebrated their 71st wedding anniversary with family and friends. The Sloans were very appreciative of the party, which daughter Mae Belle put together. Mae Belle herself is in her 53rd year of marriage. In addition to the cake, party favors and music, the gathering of the family, which includes grandchildren and great-grandchildren, was very special for the Sloans. "We've done all right," said Evertt. "I'm not grumbling. We've cried a little and we've loved a lot." When asked what advice he could give married couples seeking a long and happy marriage themselves, Evertt responded by stating he had no advice to give. "Just do it, that's all. Get in there and hang tough." When Christine was asked if there was anything she would like to add, she stated with near-perfect comic timing, "I think he's said it all." Evertt was then asked for his final words for the story and he said simply, "Amen." According to Christine, the couple met at church when she was 15 years old. Evertt was 21 at the time and described himself as a hard-working country boy from Moultrie, Ga. He courted Christine in Dallas, Ga., for close to a year before proposing to her. Christine accepted and the two were wed in Atlanta. They did not go on a honeymoon because they did not have a lot of money at the time. Despite the fact that the Depression was still raging on, Evertt kept a job and kept money coming in. "I was never out of work a day in my life," said Evertt. "I didn't always make a lot of money, but I always had a job." The couple's first home contained two rooms and though things were hard at the beginning, things did get easier. The couple has three children, Donald, Alan and Mae Belle. The Sloans moved to Clayton County and resided there for 46 years. Eventually, Christine began working for the Clayton County School Lunch Program, while Evertt ended up taking a job at the Georgia State Farmer's Market for a number of years before retiring. While work and raising a family didn't always leave a lot of free time for either Evertt or Christine, Evertt is a lifelong sports fan who enjoyed taking in Atlanta Crackers baseball games and Georgia Tech football games. The Sloan's marital success comes from a combination of true love, hard work and a good sense of humor. Throughout the interview, Evertt was very talkative, sprinkling jokes and colorful phrases throughout, while Christine would chuckle and give her mate playful taps. Evertt also added that Christine was a great cook, acknowledging the expression that the true way to a man's heart is through his stomach. "She was a very good cook and she studied hard at it," said Evertt of his wife. "Her mother on the other hand was not very good at it."
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