A Road Trip Romance Began 63 Years Ago

by Naomi Gary

Spring of 1946 at a Greyhound Bus Station in little Cheyenne Wells, Colorado and love was in the air for a couple of kids named Verneda and Russell.

"I was just reading a magazine, minding my own business" said Russell, "when the most beautiful girl walked by...when I got on that bus I took the opportunity to sit close to her."

He was 22 and she was 17. He was an Army sergeant. She worked at Montgomery Wards in Denver.

Later that summer, Russell had made up his mind to marry Verneda but never actually got around to asking her as planned. When they were driving home from picking Apricots, he suddenly slammed on the breaks and popped the question. Luckily, Verneda said yes quickly since they were stopped on a railroad track!

On August 10th, 1946 in Delhi, California, this happy couple joined in wedlock. And they've never looked in the rearview mirror since.