By Georgia Brown

Staff Writer

Richard and Lois Fowble, formerly of Enon, were honored as King and Queen, of the 52nd Annual Golden Wedding Celebration was held at the Clark County Fair on Tuesday July 27. The couple has been married 68 years.

            Each year Springfield Kiwanis and United Senior Services of Springfield invite couples and surviving spouses, who have been married 50 years or more, to the Celebration.  A King and Queen are selected each year.  Nearly 1600 invitations were sent to Clark County residents this year.  Honorees receive cake and ice cream and a free pass to the fair. 

            Lois was crowned by 2010 Clark County Fair Queen Amanda Haddix, a sophomore at the Ohio State University.  She said, "Now I am the Queen!"

            The high school sweethearts received a plaque and flowers to celebrate their King and Queen status and praised the event.

            "It is quite a privilege to be selected" Lois said. "It is a well organized event and a nice organization where everyone is very helpful."

            Clark County Commissioner Roger Tackett provided the couple with a proclamation.

            "Thank you for making a difference in Clark County," Tackett told the couple.   

            The couple was married January 1, 1942 in Indiana.  Robert's employment at Wright Patterson Air Force base brought them to Ohio.  The couple, both 87, raised their three children--Robert Lee, Janice Wildman and Karen Vadney in Enon.  Only Wildman, who attended the celebration, lives in Ohio.  Lois, who finished her nursing degree after raising her children, retired from Surgical Associates in Springfield.  Robert retired from Wright-Pat.  The family lived in Enon for 37 years and was active in the Enon Historical Society.

            The couple has nine grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren-including a set of triplets.  The couple announced that another great-grandchild is due in the fall.  They will meet the child in October when the family visits from New Hampshire.

            The couple renewed their vows for their 50th wedding anniversary.  Robert said "yes, dear" was the key to their success, Lois felt marriage was a "give and take."  But both agreed they would do it all over again.     

             The Fowble's arrived in a limousine to celebrate with nearly 600 other honorees at the Champions Center.  Carl and Cue Ray of Enon, who have attended on and off for the past ten years, look forward to the event each year John and Martha Ehnies, married 74 years, were honored for being the couple in attendance who had been married the longest.

            Memory Lane Band played a few selections including a request for "Old Buttermilk Sky."   The King and Queen danced to Glenn Miller's "Moonlight Serenade."      

            Comfort Keepers enlisted the help of Emily's Photography to provide the King and Queen as well as other couples with a 5x7 portrait to commemorate the event.

            Generous donations from Clark County Deputies, Heartland of Springfield, Littleton & Rue Funeral Home, Leave a Legacy, Mercy St. John's Center, Oakwood Village, Southbrook Care Center and Springfield Regional Medical Center made the event possible.