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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 10, 2021)
VALENTINE’S DAY MyEagleNews.com Wednesday, February 10, 2021 A3 ‘An unbreakable bond’ Ranching couple reflects on 55 years of marriage ahead of Valentine’s Day As people rush to make dinner reservations for Val- entine’s Day, a ranching cou- ple in Grant County, who have been married for half a cen- tury, said it’s just another day. Eugene “Perk” and Char- lene Perkins, who will cel- ebrate 55 years of marriage on March 6, told the Eagle their relationship has always been more about consistency, commitment and companion- ship, and less about obligatory cards, candy and flowers once a year to show their love for one another. Charlene said an “underly- ing deep love” brought them together, and it’s endured and grown stronger over the years for the couple who raised two kids in a “working ranch family.” Charlene recalled their wedding day, in detail, as if it happened yesterday: from the “fluffy” handmade dress she sewed herself to Perk, a work- ing cowboy, wearing a white satin shirt and blue jeans. She laughed as she told the Eagle about the preacher in a flower-print shirt whom nei- ther had met before their wed- ding who agreed to officiate the wedding on short notice. Charlene, who was 19 at the time, said she wanted to get married in a church with a preacher officiating. She said all she knew was the color- fully clothed preacher, named Reverend Blackburn, was a Christian and could match them in March. “I knocked on the door, and here comes this guy, and he had a flower shirt on and a vacuum cleaner in his hand,” she said. “That’s the preacher.” Perk, who was 24 at the time, said the couple went on to have two “great kids,” four “awesome granddaughters” and two great-grandchildren. Perk jokingly said Charlene told their story for the both of them during his interview: “I’d probably lie anyway.” Jokes aside, he said the couple worked “side by side” over the years and “WE’VE HAD A LOT OF BAD TIMES. WE’VE BEEN THROUGH LOSING COWS AND GETTING COWS AND LOSING EVERYTHING. THROUGH IT ALL, THERE WAS STILL THAT THREAD THAT COULDN’T BE BROKE. BECAUSE IT WASN’T A THREAD, IT WAS A ROPE.” —Charlene Perkins on nearly 55 years of marriage Contributed photo Eugene ‘Perk’ and Charlene Perkins cut their wedding cake in 1966 after taking their vows at a Garden City, Idaho, church. Contributed photo Eugene ‘Perk’ and Charlene Perkins on their 25th anniversary. The ranching couple will celebrate 55 years of marriage March 6. kept things simple. “Neither one of us did a lot of talking,” he said. “But if something was bothering us, we were not scared to tell the other person, and if we didn’t agree, then we didn’t agree. We just went on.” He said society as a whole does not value marriage like it did in the past. “Nobody’s willing to make a commitment,” he said. “I mean, they call it progress. We’ve slid back so far its not even funny.” Perk said the world has drastically changed and he would not want to be a twen- ty-something again. He quoted Rodney Dan- gerfield in the 1980s movie “Back to School”: “It’s a jun- gle out there. Don’t leave home.” As Charlene looks back MyEagleNews.com —Eugene ‘Perk’ Perkins on nearly 55 years of marriage Michael B. DesJardin Dentistry, PC Debbie Ausmus 245 South Canyon Blvd. John Day, OR 97845 OPEN WED. & THUR. 9 am - 5 pm Preventive, Restorative & Endodontics New Patients Welcome! 541-575-1113 24 hrs/7 days wk 208 NW Canton John Day 541-575-2725 mbddental@live.com michaelbdesjardinmd.com debbie.ausmus@ countryfinancial.com S228521-1 S225316-1 Vale, Oregon Valentine’s Dinner sday, March 1 , 202 r u h T • 1 p.m. MST • February 13th and 14th, 4–8PM Reservations recommended as we have to seat at 50% capacity • 541-575-1970 Selling Registered Angus & Hereford Bulls 2 - 10oz Rib Eye, soup or salad, roll and choice of potato; comes with an appetizer and a dessert to share – $50 One of the West’s Premier Selections of Older Bulls Add on a lobster tail or sauteed or breaded shrimp for $14 each “Where Quality and Performance go Hand in Hand” S229568-1 Blue Mountain Eagle through losing cows and get- ting cows and losing every- thing. Through it all, there was still that thread that couldn’t be broke. Because it wasn’t a thread, it was a rope.” NEW LOCATION: Producer’s Livestock A MAN WAKES UP in the morning after sleeping on... an advertised bed, in advertised pajamas. He will bathe in an ADVERTISED TUB, shave with an ADVERTISED RAZOR, have a breakfast of ADVERTISED JUICE, cereal and toast, toasted in an ADVERTISED TOASTER, put on ADVERTISED CLOTHES and glance at his ADVERTISED WATCH. He’ll ride to work in his ADVERTISED CAR, sit at an ADVERTISED DESK and write with an ADVERTISED PEN. Yet this person hesitates to advertise, saying that advertising doesn’t pay. Finally, when his non-advertised business is going under, HE’LL ADVERTISE IT FOR SALE. Then it’s too late. AND THEY SAY ADVERTISING DOESN’T WORK? DON’T MAKE THIS SAME MISTAKE Advertising is an investment, not an expense. Think about it! on 55 years of marriage, she said “an unbreakable bond” carried them through difficult times. “We’ve had a lot of bad times,” she said. “We’ve been “NEITHER ONE OF US DID A LOT OF TALKING. BUT IF SOMETHING WAS BOTHERING US, WE WERE NOT SCARED TO TELL THE OTHER PERSON, AND IF WE DIDN’T AGREE, THEN WE DIDN’T AGREE. WE JUST WENT ON.” Grubsteak Mining Co. Restaurant 149 E Main St., John Day & Lounge 541-575-1970 Don’t get left behind, call today! Kim Kell 541-575-0710 Ontario, Oregon Ontario, Oregon Terry Oft Home: (541) 889-680 1 Cell: (208)741-0824 Jason & Deanne Vallad Home: (541) 889-4562 Cell: (208) 881-7989 S230165-1 By Steven Mitchell Blue Mountain Eagle S226547-1 OUTPATIENT EAR AND FOOT CLINIC 422 West Main John Day OR, 97845 Notice of Scholarship Application Regular and High Risk Foot Care done by specially trained RN or CNA. Ears are examined and cleaned by Registered Nurses. S225317-1 Open Mon. - Thurs. 8AM - 4PM Gertrude L. Mc Rae Trust Fund scholarship applications are now avail- able for 2020-2021 school year. Applicants must be a Grant County high school graduate to qualify. Graduates of high schools in Morrow, Wasco and Wheeler counties may also be considered if too few Grant Coun- ty applications are received. Preference will be given to Grant County graduates who reside in Oregon and have already completed one or more years at an accredited college. To request an application form, please contact Grant County, 201 S. Humbolt Street, Suite 280, Canyon City, OR 97820 or call 541-575-0059. You may also request an application via email to puckettk@grantcounty-or.gov. Application forms are also available online at http://bit.ly/mcrae2020. Completed applications in- cluding all required documents must be received by email or mail on or before Friday, February 19th, 2021. Call to make an appointment today! 541-575-1648 S229457-1