By Monika Paterson
There was a 60th wedding anniversary celebration held at Lac la Hache Pioneer Centre, May 16.
Bea and Ed Kukkola and 50 of their closest friends travelled from all over British Columbia and Alberta to join them celebrate 60 wonderful years of marriage. They enjoyed a catered dinner, danced and did a lot of reminiscing.
Married on May 14, 1955 in Maple Ridge, Bea and Ed met at one of the regular Saturday night community dances at the hall in Pitt Meadows in 1951. Their first date was a trip to Vancouver’s Stanley Park, as Bea had never seen park before.
Ed was born and lived in the outskirts of Maple Ridge, at Webster’s Corners. Bea’s family moved to Maple Ridge from Winnipeg in 1948.
After getting married, Bea and Ed moved to New Westminster for a few months before Ed was transferred to 100 Mile House for work in August 1955. He worked as a diesel serviceman and travelled between Williams Lake and Spences Bridge.
They purchased their property in Lac la Hache in 1958, a few years later their son, Brian, was born.
In 1963, they move back to the Coast and lived in Burnaby, as Ed worked at several different jobs with Cummins Diesel that took him all over B.C., Alberta, and the United States.
While working at Cummins Diesel, some of his jobs included being a foreman, service manager (managing 100 mechanics) and later he became a training co-ordinator for B.C. and Alberta.
Ed was also the owner’s representative and overlooked the building of the company’s new Calgary offices and facility, which he later also managed.
Following that, Ed travelled with the owner, when they purchased New West Diesel and it became a division of Cummins, which Ed managed until his retirement.
Bea worked at several different jobs, including the Bank of Commerce in 100 Mile House from 1959 until 1963, then at the Bank of Commerce in Burnaby for four years before retiring and staying home to raise Brian.
In 1991, Ed retired from Cummins Diesel after 42 years, and after living for a short time in Maple Ridge, they moved to their property in Lac la Hache, where they and Brian built their retirement home.
Since retiring, Ed and Bea have done a bit of travelling and have also become members of both the Lac la Hache O.A.P.O. and the Creekside Seniors Activity Centre group, and they enjoy fishing when they can.
Ed and Bea enjoy spending time enjoying life with their family – Brian, his wife, Roberta, and grandchildren, Benjamin and Tyler.
Asked what their secret is to their long marriage, Ed responded “We love each other, still.”
Asking about what advice they would give newlyweds, Bea says, “You need to take the good with the bad, the ups with the downs.
“If you love each other, the biggest thing is to try to get along.”
The young generation of today doesn’t work through things, she says, adding they have no tolerance. “People need to have more tolerance of things.”
Bea, now 78 and Ed, who just recently turned 85, attribute their good health and longevity to a clean way of life. Neither has smoked, they drink in moderation and live a healthy lifestyle.
Monika Paterson is the Lac la Hache correspondent.