UNIVERSITY PARK, Ill. (WBBM Newsradio 780) -- A south suburban couple is celebrating their 75th wedding anniversary with family and friends Tuesday.
WBBM Newdsradio 780's Michele Fiore reports it rained on their wedding day in 1931 and, though some may say that's good luck, Charles Licking of University Park isn't going to credit his successful marriage to the weather.
Licking is 100 years old now. His wife, Mildred is 98.
Charles Licking says they've had a good marriage, that started during the most depressing years of the Great Depression.
Licking worked as a chemical engineer for Dutch Boy Paints. Mildred was a homemaker.
He says although the company lowered his salary, they didn't lay him off---and that helped the young family through some tough times.
Licking says they used to eat a lot of tuna fish back then, because it was cheap. He recalls one argument they had because "One of us got tired of tuna."
Licking also recalls they didn't own a dishwasher back then. He says instead, his wife would wash and he would dry.
Licking advises young couples nowadays to stick it out. His advice is to never go to bed angry. He says he and Mildred didn't just stick to that sometimes---they stuck to that "exactly."
Licking says the couple lived in Chicago through most of their marriage, and then retired to University Park. Charles actually still serves as a deputy assessor for Monee Township---where he works three days a week---and proudly says he still drives.
Licking says the couple has been celebrating their 75th anniversary for the last several days. He says he won't be buying Mildred flowers on their anniversary because she already got some---at their church Sunday. His wife, daughter and grand-daughter all wore corsages to a special dinner there, in their honor.
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