Hereford Couple Notes Platinum Wedding Anniversary

Hereford—They are the longest married couple on the parish rolls at St. Anthony’s Church.

They’re also the next-to-last couple that was married in the old St. Anthony’s Church that now serves as the mission for San Jose Church.

Geraldine and Charles Schlabs celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary July 10 with a Mass at St. Anthony’s Church, which was followed the next day with a family gathering. The former Geraldine Knabe and Charles Schlabs were joined in marriage on July 10, 1951.

The couple has four children:
• Margaret Williams and her husband John of Boise City, Okla.;
• Richard Schlabs and his wife Laura of Hereford;
• Janette Fowler and her husband Eric of Hereford; and,
• Susan Stubbs and her husband Billy of Hereford. A son, Martin Gerard Schlabs, passed away 24 hours after his birth.
The couple also has 17 grandchildren and 37 great-grandchildren.

“We met in church and I asked her if she would go out with me and she did,” said Mr. Schlabs. “I remember our first date was when Lester Wagner and Viola Gabel got married and had a dance at the Fireman’s Hall, upstairs over the fire station.”

“We used to go to catechism class together,” said Mrs. Schlabs, who was an alumna of St. Anthony School. “I didn’t like him at first.”

“I didn’t go to St. Anthony School, so I attended catechism class on Sunday mornings at 9:00,” said Mr. Schlabs. “This was the class for those who didn’t attend Catholic School.”

The couple’s wedding day turned out to be a long, long day.

“We got married at 8:00am because of the fasting regulations which existed at the time,” said Mrs. Schlabs. “We went to eat breakfast at his folk’s house and then drove to Amarillo to get our wedding photos taken.

“After going to Amarillo for wedding pictures in the studio, we went to her house to eat dinner,” said Mr. Schlabs. “Then about 5:00, we went to the basement of St. Anthony School, which is now the Deaf Smith County Historical Museum, for the reception and had a dance at the old Jim Hill Hotel. It ended at 1:00am.”

As for a honeymoon, that was put on hold, according to Mr. Schlabs.

“We had to finish digging potatoes, which took a month to get done,” he said. “Then, we went to Yellowstone National Park and spent a week there.”

The couple was asked about the importance of their Catholic Faith to their marriage…

“It has been very important to our family,” said Mrs. Schlabs.

“We always felt the number one thing in life was God first, and us and family,” said Mr. Schlabs. “All are important.”

The couple was also asked about what they attributed to 70 years of marriage…

“We are still reasonably healthy and if it weren’t for modern-day medicine, neither one of us would be here today,” said Mr. Schlabs. “We didn’t think about not having a tomorrow. We always hope there would be another day and looked forward to it.

“We’ve been really fortunate to always be together. I always liked to farm. Raising a family has been really important and God and Church were also important to us.

“We stayed together and tried to work things out, hoping that God would help us,” said Mrs. Schlabs.

What advice would the Schlabs’ offer to younger couples?

“Keep your Faith and stay close to God. Always think that everything will work out.”