On a quiet street called Belle Air Place, a Carthage couple remain very much in love after 72 years together.
Donal “Don” and Maxine Myers, Carthage, celebrated their 72nd anniversary on Thursday.
“It's been pretty easy,” Maxine said of her marriage to Don.
How do two people stay together for so long? “I guess love,” she answered.
“There have been lots of changes,” Don said.
“Yes, lots of changes we've been through together,” Maxine added.
The happy couple are both 92 years old, just seven days apart in age.
“I'm the older one,” Don said with a smile.
Don was born and raised in Dade County, and he and Maxine met in Everton, Mo.
“It was a small place,” Maxine said. “I was working in a café, and one Sunday afternoon he came in and bought a pack of gum – I don't know if he was interested in me or not at that time, but he ended up picking me up and we went to the show … And here we are.”
Don proposed in January 1939, and they were married that following November in the home of the officiating pastor in Ash Grove. In those times of the Depression newlyweds rarely took honeymoons.
“Those were all together different times,” Don said.
But the times did not hinder Maxine's joy. She said Don was her first and only love.
“It was a beautiful, sunny day,” she said. “I remember putting on a light jacket to go outside to take pictures.”
Before making Carthage their home, Don was a superintendent in construction for Reeves Construction, Columbus, Kan.; and Gillows Construction in Monett. Then he sold construction materials for Chiles Tractor and Machinery out of Springfield, Mo. In 1945, the couple moved to Carthage for Don's career with the Missouri Hwy. Department. Don then operated Donal Myers Reality for 33 years on south Garrison before it became Smith Midwest Reality.
“We've both worked hard all our lives,” Don said. “We just try to help each other.”
The couple have many happy memories in Carthage. One in particular for Maxine remains vivid in her mind.
“You've heard those stories about the Boots Motel,” she said. “Well the one where the lady ran across the street to see Clark Gable – I'm that Maxine.”
In 1947, Don and Maxine lived in an apartment across Garrison Avenue from the Boots Motel. Maxine said when she found out who he was, she rushed over to get an autograph with her daughter, Kathy, who was six at the time.
