Bob and Carol Blubaugh looked back fondly on their lifetime together after 68 years of marriage Friday. Bob and met as children in Dardenne, Missouri, and were married in 1956 and moved to Salem with their four children in 1969 when Bob was re-assigned to the plant in Lordstown by General Motors, where they have lived ever since. Now at 89 and 87 years old Bob and Carol continue to share their lives with each other at Brookdale Senior Living on South Lincoln Avenue. (Photo by Morgan Ahart)

SALEM–Love was in the air Friday as Brookdale Senior Living celebrated Valentines Day, and couples looked back on their life-long love stories. 

At 89 and 87 years old Bob and Carol Blubaugh have been married for 68 years and have known each other since they were children. Bob said that he and Carol met when his family moved to Dardenne, Missouri to teach at the parochial school when he was 15 and she was 13. Bob and Carol first saw each other when Carol rode her bike down to his new house to see “who that cute guy” moving in was. 

“What kind of attracted me to her was the bicycle she was riding. It was a delivery bike with a small wheel in front and a big basket, and I’d seen them in the city but never been close to one. So that’s kind of how we met, she was looking for the good-looking boys who moved into the neighborhood, and I was not looking for anything” joked Bob. 

While Bob attended public school, Carol attended the parochial school and was in the class taught by Bob’s father. While their schools were about eight miles apart, Bob would write notes for Carol and deliver them when he finished school for the day. 

“When I got off the bus, she was at the grade school waiting for me, for the notes,” said Bob. 

Bob and Carol said that they really “grew up dating,” with their relationship continuing while Bob attended high school, and Carol began to work at a textile factory after completing the eighth grade. In 1954 Bob took Carol to his high school prom and when the time came for Bob to attend Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, they continued their relationship by writing each other letters. Bob ultimately didn’t finish college because he felt “it just wasn’t for [him]” and instead returned to Missouri where he attended junior college. 

Soon after Bob proposed to Carol and a date was set for their wedding. That first date ultimately had to be rescheduled because Bob and Carol wanted her family, including her 12 siblings, to be able to attend and her brother Lester was deployed in the United States Army National Guard. Bob and Carol were married on Aug. 10, 1956, and would welcome their first daughter Cheryl “about a year later” while living in a two-bedroom apartment in St. Louis where Bob worked for General Motors. Bob and Carol had their first son Thomas soon after in 1957, followed by their second daughter Kathy in 1958, and second son Dan in 1962. 

In 1969 Bob was reassigned to the former plant in Lordstown as he rose through to ranks into a management position, and Bob, Carol, and their children moved to Salem. Bob would work at the Lordstown plant until his retirement in 2000, while Carol focused her attention on raising their children as a full-time mom. Bob and Carol said that they loved living in Salem, and that all four of their children attended and were alumni of the Salem City School District. 

“We enjoyed Salem so much that we decided it was our home now,” said Bob. 

Bob and Carol said that their favorite times were those that they spent together, often with Carol’s family, and enjoyed their many shared interests including their love of baseball and the St. Louis Cardinals. 

“We just enjoyed life together. We never fought and never had any desire to be anything we weren’t,” said Bob. 

After a lifetime of love and companionship Bob and Carol’s advice for younger couples is simple: learn how to compromise and enjoy being together. 

“They have to learn to get along. You just can’t insist your way is the right way; you’ve got to get along and enjoy life. We’ve enjoyed Salem, we’ve enjoyed traveling together, we camped together, and we were never really extravagant. We just lived together, she took care of me and I provided. A lot of people argue there’s no sense in arguing. If you’re going to argue, you shouldn’t have gotten together to begin with,” said Bob.