Couple/s bond is more than 70 years strong

What started as a friendship in junior high school budded into a marriage that has spanned 70 years.

Harold and Marjorie Dalton, of Lompoc, met when they were in junior high school in Los Angeles.

They became high school sweethearts, and will celebrate their platinum wedding anniversary June 27.

Harold said Marjorie is the only woman he ever dated, and after all these years the couple is not shy about showing their affection for one another with an &#8220I love you,C a peck or a hug.

&#8220I never dated anyone else. She was my love at first sight,C Harold, 91, said.

&#8220He said he fell in love with my blue eyes,C Marjorie, 90, said. &#8220We are living on a lot of good memories (in the marriage).C

Those memories include having two children, daughter Susan Wilcox, of Lompoc, and son, Daniel Dalton, of Torrance; three grandchildren; three great grandchildren; and several trips to far away places and around the Central Coast.

Being close to Susan and falling in love with the Lompoc Valley is why the Daltons said they moved here from the Los Angeles area in 1983.

The trips are among the fondest memories, Harold said.

Their journeys have included vacations along the Mississippi River, through the Panama Canal, to Hawaii and other places. One of their favorite destinations used to be Catalina Island.

The Daltons have slowed down somewhat and now tend to limit their travel to one of their favorite spots, Morro Bay, or other Central Coast destinations. They plan on celebrating their anniversary with a trip to Morro Bay and a party.

Although the Daltons have cut back on their travels, they do stay as active as possible. They said they walk daily in nearby Beattie Park and love to garden.

&#8220Our walking friends in Beattie Park call us the newlyweds,C Harold laughed.

&#8220We are good friends and we respect each other. We are together all the time,C Marjorie said.

The only time the Daltons have been apart in their marriage was when Harold was sent to the Philippines and Japan for about a year after World War II. He was a staff sergeant in the Army Air Corps. Marjorie said he wrote her letters practically everyday when he was overseas.

Although the Daltons do not have any advice for maintaining a strong marriage for so long, they certainly realize it has had its perks.

&#8220You feel pretty secure (after 70 years),C Harold said. &#8220Most people wonder what they are going to do next.C