By Margie Wuebker
mwuebker@dailystandard.com ST. MARYS -- They sit together hand in hand at Otterbein St. Marys Retirement Community talking about their courtship and a "blessed" marriage that has endured nearly 74 years.
"I love this man," Martha (Katterheinrich) Meckstroth says gently patting her husband's hand. "He seemed like an honest fellow the first time we met, and I admired that."
The Rev. Arnold Meckstroth smiles, recalling a Sunday night service at New Knoxville's First United Church of Christ in the fall of 1926. He scanned the congregation and spotted a fetching young lady seated several pews away. They were high school seniors at the time.
"I asked to take her home later and she accepted," he says. "Martha had me drop her off at the railroad tracks a short distance from her house in St. Marys. I don't think she was ready for me to meet her parents."
The 95-year-old retired minister and his wife, who turns 95 Oct. 10, dated four years in what he describes as a "rather limited way." There were weekly movies, church events and occasional outings with friends and family. They exchanged vows Oct. 12, 1930, two days after the bride's 21st birthday. "Back in those days you couldn't get a marriage license before the age of 21 unless somebody signed for you," Martha Meckstroth says. "We wanted to marry earlier but my father refused to accompany me to the courthouse. He didn't disapprove of Arnold; he simply wasn't ready to lose a daughter."
The young couple traveled to Marysville so the Rev. Leroy Sims, former pastor of Wayne Street United Methodist Church in St. Marys, could officiate.
Time seems to fade away as the wheelchair-bound woman recalls a beautiful autumn day more than seven decades ago. Excitement dances in her blue eyes.
"I had purchased a blue georgette knit dress and my sisters helped me get ready that morning. Arnold, did you bring me a bouquet?" she inquires amid the recollections.
"No Martha, you had a corsage," he replies quietly. "We said goodbye and climbed into my Ford. Big church weddings were rare in those days. Many couples went to a parsonage and we were no exception."
The newlyweds spent their honeymoon in Cleveland at the home of his uncle and aunt. Plans called for a stop at an Ohio State University football game in Columbus on the return trip. However, they wound up skipping the gridiron action because she was under the weather.
"I didn't have to get married," she says shaking a finger to dispel any unwarranted suspicions. "We grew up in an era where you didn't play around. First came marriage and then came babies; not vice versa. God eventually blessed us with two fine sons."
The couple paid $9 per month for an apartment in New Bremen, where he worked at White Mountain Creamery and she served as private secretary to the second in command at Streine Tool & Manufacturing Co. They lived frugally, saving some of her $16 weekly salary and his $20 paycheck.
"I had a calling to the ministry which Martha and I discussed at length," Arnold Meckstroth says. "I obtained a tuition scholarship to Wittenberg University and Hamma Divinity School in Springfield and we had $600 in the bank, a healthy sum in those days."
Committed to a confirmation verse from Deuteronomy 8:6 -- "Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord, thy God, to walk in his ways and fear him" -- the New Knoxville native enrolled in 1934 as the only married freshman. His schedule was a busy one, attending classes year-round and serving as student pastor at three small churches in the area. Martha earned grocery money working Saturdays at J.C. Penney and filling temporary secretarial positions.
Ordination took place June 27, 1937, at his home church in New Knoxville, following an additional year of training at Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Mo.
"Martha made a wonderful minister's wife due to her unwavering interest, faith and spirit," he says. "She did everything from cleaning the church and playing the organ when needed, to being involved with women's activities and filling the pulpit in my absence."
Ministerial assignments took them to Apple Creek, Cleveland, Akron, Chillicothe, Indianapolis and Waverly before retirement in 1986, after which he served as interim pastor at various churches.
The Meckstroths, who moved to Otterbein in 1992, traveled extensively throughout the United States and abroad, including multiple trips to Ladbergen, Germany, the homeland of their forefathers. Travel is out of the question now as she recuperates from a fractured hip sustained in a fall.
Twice a day -- at 2 and 7:30 p.m. -- Arnold Meckstroth climbs on a power scooter for the trip from his apartment at one end of the complex to her room in the nursing section at the far end. He parks the vehicle outside the unit and then walks nimbly down the corridor toward her room, pausing momentarily at the door to wave. She looks up, smiles broadly and waves back.
"Martha and I also have two dates on Sunday," he says bending to plant a kiss on her upturned mouth. "We eat dinner together and later we go to evening vespers."
The Meckstroths have their own philosophies on the secret to a successful marriage, pointing out each day is a blessing given their ages.
"Love grows as a marriage does," he says. "First there must be some spark so special that a couple want to be mates for life. Adjustments come with each stage of life. Our love is so different now than when we were first married and yet it is just as special."
He brings a cup of cold water and she takes five tiny sips before sharing her views.
"We've lived together longer than we are old. Oh, we've had disagreements along the way, but we never went to bed without clearing the air. Marriage is not a fairy tale where everybody lives happily ever after. It takes work and total commitment until the day God calls us home."
Time to Celebrate
The Rev. Arnold and Martha Meckstroth are marking special occasions today at Otterbein St. Marys Retirement Community.
Meckstroth, a retired minister, turned 95 on July 23, while his wife reaches the same milestone Oct. 10. Relatives and close friends also will celebrate the couple's 74th wedding anniversary several months ahead of schedule with a dinner party.
The couple, who married Oct. 12, 1930, are the parents of two sons, Ned and Marcus "Mark," both of whom are retired ministers. The family also includes three grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. |
