1935 square dance leads to 70-year marriage
By DAVID DELLECESE
Observer-Dispatch
November 26, 2006
NEW HARTFORD- Every day, 92-year-old John Danielczyk pays a visit to St. Luke's Home to see his 93- year-old wife, Stella, and have lunch.
And each day he brings her a special treat, showing up every time with a chocolate cupcake and two chocolates for his loving wife.
It's part of the magic that has kept the couple together for longer than many people have been alive.
John and Stella Danielczyk celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary last month at St. Luke's Home, where Stella has been a resident for the past five years.
The couple met in 1935 on the way to a square dance.
"We went there on a truck. There were no buses back then. We went about 15 to 20 miles out to the country," John Danielczyk said. "It was 25 cents for the ride and the dance."
They continued to see each other at the dances, and John would often go to visit her at her house.
"We kept going steady until we got married," he said.
Stella's father was killed in a coal mine at age 22, so it was her mother to whom John went to ask for Stella's hand.
They were married Oct. 17, 1936.
"We didn't go on a honeymoon," he said. "In those days, you didn't have the money to go on a honeymoon."
John worked for Revere Copper in Rome for more than 30 years, where he specialized in working on furnaces and pre-heating metal for the tubing used in the furnaces.
Stella spent 20 years working as an ice cream packer for Dairy Lee Ice Cream, which is now located in Syracuse.
Each week she would bring John home a half-gallon of ice cream for a special treat.
John worked in the yard and often took care of the cooking while Stella cleaned and set the places.
Throughout their marriage, John and Stella loved to travel. They have been to Las Vegas, Hawaii, San Francisco, Florida, Lake George, Atlantic City, Washington, D.C., Canada and Long Island.
Their favorite vacation was when they went to Florida in 1976 and visited the Kennedy Space Center, Disney World and Busch Gardens.
Over a 70-year marriage and the preceding courtship, there's naturally going to be some more somber moments.
"Sad moments? Everybody has those," he said. "We lost a daughter. She never made it out of the hospital."
They have a son who has a daughter of his own.
Their granddaughter is 30 years old.
When asked what she loves most about him, Stella smiled.
"He likes me a lot," she said.
And her take on the secret of their success?
"I like him, too," she laughed.
Couple's advice: 'You have to agree'
Seventy years of marriage- how did John and Stella Danielczyk do it?
Stella said they talk issues out, avoiding any kind of problem before it has the chance to erupt.
"We never fought," John said. "We tried to get along always. If anything came up, we tried to talk and settle it right away."
It's that kind of communication that has been one of the keys to their success.
"You have to agree, because if you don't agree, that's where it starts," he said.
Observer-Dispatch
November 26, 2006
NEW HARTFORD- Every day, 92-year-old John Danielczyk pays a visit to St. Luke's Home to see his 93- year-old wife, Stella, and have lunch.
And each day he brings her a special treat, showing up every time with a chocolate cupcake and two chocolates for his loving wife.
It's part of the magic that has kept the couple together for longer than many people have been alive.
John and Stella Danielczyk celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary last month at St. Luke's Home, where Stella has been a resident for the past five years.
The couple met in 1935 on the way to a square dance.
"We went there on a truck. There were no buses back then. We went about 15 to 20 miles out to the country," John Danielczyk said. "It was 25 cents for the ride and the dance."
They continued to see each other at the dances, and John would often go to visit her at her house.
"We kept going steady until we got married," he said.
Stella's father was killed in a coal mine at age 22, so it was her mother to whom John went to ask for Stella's hand.
They were married Oct. 17, 1936.
"We didn't go on a honeymoon," he said. "In those days, you didn't have the money to go on a honeymoon."
John worked for Revere Copper in Rome for more than 30 years, where he specialized in working on furnaces and pre-heating metal for the tubing used in the furnaces.
Stella spent 20 years working as an ice cream packer for Dairy Lee Ice Cream, which is now located in Syracuse.
Each week she would bring John home a half-gallon of ice cream for a special treat.
John worked in the yard and often took care of the cooking while Stella cleaned and set the places.
Throughout their marriage, John and Stella loved to travel. They have been to Las Vegas, Hawaii, San Francisco, Florida, Lake George, Atlantic City, Washington, D.C., Canada and Long Island.
Their favorite vacation was when they went to Florida in 1976 and visited the Kennedy Space Center, Disney World and Busch Gardens.
Over a 70-year marriage and the preceding courtship, there's naturally going to be some more somber moments.
"Sad moments? Everybody has those," he said. "We lost a daughter. She never made it out of the hospital."
They have a son who has a daughter of his own.
Their granddaughter is 30 years old.
When asked what she loves most about him, Stella smiled.
"He likes me a lot," she said.
And her take on the secret of their success?
"I like him, too," she laughed.
Couple's advice: 'You have to agree'
Seventy years of marriage- how did John and Stella Danielczyk do it?
Stella said they talk issues out, avoiding any kind of problem before it has the chance to erupt.
"We never fought," John said. "We tried to get along always. If anything came up, we tried to talk and settle it right away."
It's that kind of communication that has been one of the keys to their success.
"You have to agree, because if you don't agree, that's where it starts," he said.
