Ernie and Dorothy Tesch celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary on Dec. 29, 2011.

They were married in the Wilshire Presbyterian Church of Los Angeles on Dec. 29, 1951, but Oak Harbor has been home ever since. After honeymooning on the California and Oregon coast, they came home to the freezing winter temperatures of Washington.

They spent their first married years in a small two-room cabin on the Tesch farm. Wanting the cabin to be ready, Dorothy had cleaned it before they left, but when they returned, the cabin was flooded from frozen pipes.

Yet, those were the “good ol’ days” when the average cost of a gallon of gas was 19 cents and a new house could be purchased for less than $16,000. Ernie worked hard as a brick mason and built many of the houses and fireplaces on Whidbey Island, including their current “bigger than the cabin” waterfront home. He was, and still is, a good provider for his wife and family.

Dorothy worked as a registered nurse in her early years of marriage and later applied her skills to care for and raise their three children. With Ernie’s hunting and fishing and Dorothy’s cooking and canning, the family never went hungry.

Family members Roger, Barbara and Shirley thank their parents for all they did and still do.

“Your commitment to each other for so long is inspiring and worthy of recognition so we congratulate you on reaching this major marriage milestone,” they said.