On December 12, 1956, Noble Hutchinson married the love of his life, Anna Corrigan, at Ballinamallard Methodist Church.
Some 65 years on, as they celebrate their Sapphire wedding anniversary, the couple are still as much in love today as they were on their wedding day.
As they sat side by side in the living room of their home at Clonfeile, Magheraveely, Noble and Anna laughed when asked about how they first met.
“We met on a Ballinamallard Methodist Church outing to Bundoran,” Noble told this newspaper.
“My aunt and her husband owned the hotel in Ballinamallard at that time, but now it was only a wee small hotel.
“I happened to be down there and my aunt brought me on the outing and that’s where we met,” he explained.
When asked if it was love at first sight, Anna laughed: “It must have been. I got a surprise when his sister made the introduction.”
After the church outing, Noble and Anna started courting. “He had a wee car and he used to drive down once a week to Ballinamallard.
“His father had a wee Ford Popular,” said Anna.
Their love flourished and a couple of years later, the couple got married. After their wedding ceremony in Ballinamallard, they had their reception in the Erne Café in Enniskillen.
“There was a gathering of 30 people and we had a great day. It was very good,” said Anna, remembering.
Following their wedding, Noble and Anna lived and farmed at Conckera, Magheraveely.
Together they had five children: Beth (George Rennick), Alan (Brid), Joan (Jim Stutt), David (Sandra) and Mark.
They have 10 grandchildren – Linda, Shirley, Laura, Stephen, Lyle, Andrew, Jenifer, Henry, Lauren and Simon, as well as three great-grandchildren – Ethan, Aaron and Finn.
On retirement, around 1992, Noble and Anna moved to Clonfeile, where they still live to this day. Their son David and his family now run the family farm at Conckera.
On their 50th wedding anniversary, the couple celebrated with a party at the Killyhevlin Hotel, but this year, to mark their 65th, they had a quiet family get-together at their daughter Beth’s house in Enniskillen.
When asked what the secret is to a long and happy marriage, Anna smiled. “Well, I don’t know,” she said: “Hard work, for starters.
“He was busy on the farm, and I was busy in the house. But I had to go outside too, to the cattle, to help him calve the cows,” Anna told this newspaper.
