Falmouth couple marks 69 years of wedded bliss
By Nila Harris
FALMOUTH — It all began 70 years ago, when Wanda Whaley’s Morgan High School classmate Charlotte Holmes met Wanda’s brother Charlie.
“I had seen him (Charlie) through her,” Charlotte said.
Soon after, the Charlie and Charlotte met up at a basketball game at Morgan High School, and Charlie took her home afterwards. The rest, as they say, is history.
The couple began dating exclusively, often double dating with fellow friends and Morgan classmates Donald Ray Ammerman and Carol Cummins. Dates often took them to Joyland Park, an amusement park in Lexington, and to the movies.
Charlotte Homes and Charles Whaley married on June 15, 1957, at Charlotte’s parents’ home on Sunrise Richland Road.
In the beginning, Charlie worked as a finish carpenter for the Woeste Brothers and Charlotte went to housekeeping. Charlie’s boss provided them with a newly built home in Alexandria, and Charlie completed the home’s inside work.
It was a tough time, working in the construction business, with scarcely any work during the winter months. Eventually, the young couple sold their home in Alexandria and bought a farmhouse on Highway 1054. They refurbished this older home and began raising their family.
The Whaleys’ first child was born in 1959, with five other children following within the next 10 years. It was a busy time for the family, with Charlie working at Miami Margarine in Cincinnati, keeping up with farmwork, and Charlotte caring for the kids and helping on the farm.
It was a hard period too, with the devastating loss of their 3-year-old son, Edwin Allen, in an accident.
When talking about her grief, Charlotte said, “You just have to live through things. You have others (children) to take care of.”
They moved to a new location in Morgan, raising tobacco, cattle and a garden. Later, the Whaleys had to sell the cattle, because “they kept crossing the river and getting into the neighbor’s field.”
Charlotte laughingly said that the cows were thinking, “There’s some nice corn on the other side.” Invariably, the cows would often get out while Charles was at work.
As the children began attending school, Charlotte started as a substitute bus driver before gaining a full-time position. Driving a bus to band and sporting events was handy for a mother who wanted to keep her children active yet be able to spend time with them and be involved in their activities.
Later, she became an administrative assistant at the Central Office, while continuing to drive a school bus for a short time.
Charles and Charlotte have five living children — David, Warren Lee, Dale, Angie and Alan — all living in the tri-state area. They have been blessed with 12 grandchildren and 17 great-children.
When talking about the longevity of her marriage, Charlotte said that she and her husband “never seriously had a fight. We always managed to work things out.”
Her advice to other couples would be to remember that “there is a lot of give and take. You’ve got to work things out. It’s not always peaches and cream. You’ve got to learn to give a little and take a lot. If you’re wrong, say you’re sorry.”