GOLDEN VALENTINES

"I'm a romantic and I just thought that day would be a good day to get married," said Pam Brophy, when asked why she and her husband Mike decided to get hitched on Valentine's Day 50 years ago. "I think we both figured out that it would be too hard to break somebody else in," said Mike, as they laughed, talking about why they have been together so long. The couple met when Pam was a junior in high school. At the time, they both lived in Spokane, Washington. Pam threw a party with some of her friends and they invited a band to come play. Pam had a crush on the singer and ended up meeting Mike, who played bass for "The Footsteps," as the band was called. Both said they hit it off right away and became fast friends. "We could talk about just about anything," said Pam.

The day after the party, Mike called saying that he had left his keys at Pam's house. Pam and her mother looked but never found them as there really were no keys. He had told her about the keys as an excuse to call her. Mike then told her about a skunk that he and others had been chasing that day at the lumber mill where he worked. Pam explained that she wanted him to catch it for her so that she could keep it as a pet. "Heck no," he said, telling her that if she wanted it then she would have to come and catch it herself. He then picked her up and they went to look for that skunk, but never found it. According to Pam they then went on a walk and ended up going out to watch a movie. "It was a strange first date," she laughed. They dated throughout the summer and finally went their separate ways for several years.

Six years later they ran into each other again at a bar. They dated for six months. Six weeks after that they got married. "I told him as long as all the arguments were his fault, I would say yes," said Pam. They got married on Valentines Day, and according to Mike, this was partly because she thought it would be an easy day to remember as their anniversary. And so it was, as neither ever forgot their anniversary.

They had their challenges, according to Mike, but they always found ways to treat each other right. "You can't expect a fairytale life," said Pam. She added that "life changes a lot when you have kids." They have three children together, all of whom have grown up and live across the northwest.

For most of his life, Mike worked as an automotive technician, and Pam was a stay-at-home mother until getting her nursing degree. She worked as a nurse for 18 years, until their house in Washington burned down in December of 2007. The next year the couple moved to Thompson Falls, where they had a piece of property they had purchased to camp on. Pam now works at the elementary school cafeteria part-time serving lunches, and Mike works part-time for the Sanders County Council on Aging, where he performs maintenance on their vehicles.

When asked for advice on staying together, Pam and Mike say that a big part of remaining together is being thankful for each other and not taking anything either one does for granted. They also said that they believe a huge part of them staying together is their faith. They stated that they pray about any problems they have. They also mentioned that a couple needs to accept that a relationship is "not disposable." When things start to fall apart, "you have to find a new glue," added Pam. "You also need to get around the disappointments," said Pam.

This Valentines Day, the couple was going to take a train ride across Canada, but because of COVID-19 they stayed at home. They took Mike to the hospital for surgery last Friday in Spokane. When they got home, the two had a nice quiet Valentine's Day together. Though not every Valentine's Day has been quiet for them, it is special to Pam and Mike as this was their 50th.