Not just the young move west

In the 1800s a newspaper editor from Indiana penned the words, “Go west, young man,” and people have been moving west ever since.

Not just young men, either.

Several years ago Ed and Lois Richardson sold their home and most of their belongings in Iowa and moved to Spokane to be closer to their only child.

Ed, 80 and Lois, 79, celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary June 16, and their westward adventure aptly depicts their active lifestyle.

They had met at school in the tiny farm town of Goldfield, Iowa. Neither is quite sure who noticed who first, but Lois said, “It was probably me. I was the pushy one, I suppose.”

Ed thinks the attraction may have had something to do with his wheels.

“I had a Ford pickup,” he recalled.

Laughter, teasing, and smiles abounded as the couple recalled their six decades of marriage.

They dated throughout high school, and when Ed graduated, he joined the Army.

“I was going to get drafted anyway,” he explained.

By December 1956, they were engaged.

“I was going to wait for him to get out of the service,” Lois said. “But then he called and said he was being sent to Germany and if we got married, I could go with him.”

She was attending business school at the time, hoping to become a court reporter.

“He ruined my career,” she said, grinning. Full story. Cindy Hval/SR