July 8, 2010 in Washington Voices

Still dancing after 66 years together

UI student met his future bride at a Grange dance

• Print
• Email
• Share

Cindy Hval photo

Harriet and Chuck Soliday attribute their 66-year marriage to working well together. “We help each other a lot,” Harriet Soliday said.
(Full-size photo)

One fellow’s thirst for a beer became Chuck Soliday’s lucky break. The young University of Idaho student was at a Grange dance in McCall, Idaho, in the spring of 1941. An acquaintance had escorted a girl to the dance and didn’t want to leave her alone when he snuck out to grab a beer he’d left in the car. So he introduced her to Chuck.

In January, Chuck celebrated 66 years of marriage to the girl he met at that dance. “I thought, ‘Boy this is it!’ right away,” he said, as he recalled his first sight of Harriet. “She was a good-looking girl.”

He didn’t find the girls at college appealing. “At the University of Idaho there were four guys to every girl, and those girls were stuck up!”

But 18-year-old Harriet was friendly and sweet. “He got my phone number before the dance ended,” she said.

Chuck didn’t have a car, but that didn’t hamper their dates. “He had a bicycle,” said Harriet, smiling. “I’d ride on the handlebars.”

With the draft board seeking recruits, Chuck signed up for the V-7 program offered by the Navy. “They let me finish college,” he said. However, he had to leave for training and wasn’t able to be there to receive his diploma, so Harriet picked it up for him.

The Navy wouldn’t allow them to marry until Chuck finished midshipman school, in 1944. Because of the war, he said the Navy crammed the four-year school into four short months. “The military needed officers,” he explained. When he completed his training and received his commission, he sent for Harriet.

His bride-to-be traveled by train to Norfolk, Va. “I arrived and sat there and sat there at the train station, but he didn’t come,” she recalled.

She shared her worries with a lady sitting next to her on the bench. When Chuck finally arrived, Harriet burst into tears and so did her new friend.

Because it was a weekend, they had difficulty getting their blood tests and obtaining a marriage license. Once they accomplished these tasks, they had to quickly find a place to marry. “We went to the YMCA and got married by a Navy chaplain,” Harriet said. “We didn’t have anyone to stand up with us, so the chaplain asked ‘Does anyone want to witness this wedding?’ and a dozen sailors eagerly volunteered.”

While their wedding was sweet and memorable, their honeymoon was nonexistent. Chuck said, “We got married on Sunday, and Monday morning I was on a troop train to Florida for heavy surf training.” His bride followed him and rented a room in a house with another officer’s wife.

“I was in charge of small boats and landing craft,” Chuck said. “I lived in a tent out on an island, but I got to see her when I had time off.”

In March he received orders to ship out overseas, and Harriet returned to Idaho to wait for his return. Chuck counts himself fortunate. “I got over there before Normandy,” he said. “The Navy had planned so far ahead we had a bunch of landing craft prepared.”

He and his crew landed in France, practically on the Riviera. From there they traveled to Marseilles. “I was in charge of three small boats and crews,” he said.

Meanwhile, back home, Harriet waited and eagerly looked for his letters. She shook her head. “He was gone 17 months.”

When Germany surrendered in 1945, Chuck finally got a 30-day leave and he and Harriet had a joyous reunion. “While I was on leave they dropped the bomb (on Hiroshima),” he said. “If it hadn’t been for that I would have been on board a ship, ready to invade Japan.”

Instead, he was sent back to Norfolk to train other officers and then returned to civilian life. In 1946 they welcomed a son, and soon moved to Idaho Falls, where Chuck worked for an architectural firm. Their family expanded with the birth of their daughter.

After nine years in Idaho Falls, a new job took them to Spokane, where another son was born. “Every time we moved she got pregnant,” Chuck said. “So when we moved to Spokane I said, ‘We’d better stop moving!’ ”

They raised their family in the Mead area, and always made time to dance together. After all, dancing brought them together in the first place. “We just loved square dancing,” Harriet said. “We belonged to five or six groups.”

They also enjoy ballroom dance and joined a couple of dance clubs. While Harriet favors the waltz, Chuck is partial to the samba. “We had a routine for that,” he said.

When Chuck retired in 1988, the couple enjoyed traveling both at home and abroad. They visited Sweden twice and on one memorable trip they visited seven countries by bus.

At 89, Chuck still golfs and they are both members of a bridge club that meets monthly. Their family now includes seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. “It’s a happy bunch,” said Chuck.

They attribute the longevity of their marriage to working well together. Harriet said, “We help each other a lot.” They share the household chores and each week Chuck drives his wife to her hair appointment.

“We get along good,” Harriet said. “And I get a goodnight kiss every night.”

Know someone who is in love? Love stories celebrates relationships that are strong and enduring. Whether you’re dating, recently married, or have passed the 50-year mark, let us tell your tale.

No comments on this story so far. Add yours!