Harry S. Truman was president of the United States and the Cleveland Indians won the World Series, defeating the Boston Red Sox, 4-2.

The first Polaroid camera was sold in the United States that year and Allen Funt’s Candid Camera made its television debut. Goodyear introduced tubeless tires.

The average income was $3,100 and a new car cost $1,550.

Gas was 26 cents a gallon, bread cost 14 cents a loaf, milk was 86 cents a gallon, and a first class stamp was 3 cents.

Mr. and Mrs. Donald L. Muthler were introduced for the first time immediately after taking wedding vows on Oct. 14, 1948.

That was a long time ago.

And all of these things have changed drastically over the years.

But there’s something that has remained constant these last 70 years: The love of a special couple — Don and Doris Muthler of Beech Creek.

They were married Oct. 14, 1948. She was 19, he was 20, and their lives were filled with love, the romantic kind that young married couples enjoy.

Now, 70 years later, she’s 89, he’s 90 and their lives are still filled with love, the mature kind that makes a man and woman take care of each other during their golden years, laugh together and cry together, and thank God for all He’s given them.

PHOTO PROVIDED Don and Doris are pictured on the occasion of their 25th wedding anniversary.

Recently, Don and Doris became part of the Albright LIFE Senior Center in Williamsport. And they are enjoying their time there immensely.

It’s certainly a Godsend for the couple who were becoming prisoners in their own home, spending long days alone and unable to get out of the house by themselves, trying as they could to care for each other, making sure medication was taken as prescribed and depending on family and friends to get groceries and other necessities for them.

But then they learned about Albright and it has changed their lives.

The Muthlers are transported there several times a week in a van that picks them up at their home in the morning. Once there, they interact with other seniors while also receiving care to fit their their individual needs — medically and therapeutically. There’s even a doctor on site to evaluate them on a regular basis and address their concerns.

They said they’ve made lots of new friends and find themselves among others at the same stage in their lives, dealing with many of the same problems.

They smile and laugh often when asked what they did at the center on a particular day, describing those they shared some time with … watching television, playing games, doing exercises and just talking about themselves and their families. On weekends, the couple gets visits from care-givers who tend to their needs at home, also arranged by Albright.

As Don and Doris look back at their lives together, they remember well the early years and talk about them often.

They said they went to high school together and met while dancing – square dancing that is. Their first date was to the movies and then, you guessed it, square dancing.

It must have been love at first sight because it was only three months after they met that Don popped the question.

She said “yes” and they married soon thereafter. It was a big wedding at the Church of Christ in Blanchard. Doris was a beautiful bride and Don was debonaire in his wedding suit. There were three attendants for each and many friends and family witnessed the young lovers becoming man and wife.

A reception afterward was held at the home of Doris’ parents. The newlyweds spent their first night at the Fallon Hotel in Lock Haven and went to Niagara Falls the next day.

Don, who was raised on a farm, continued helping out at the family farm while working at Piper Aircraft until the Lock Haven plant closed. He then found employment on various fronts, always working at several jobs at the same time. He was an ambitious young man.

Many in Beech Creek know him well. His loud, gruff voice and strong hands show the wear of one who worked hard all his life.

He supplied firewood to keep hundreds of people warm over the years, regularly taking to the woods early in the morning for many years and coming back with a heaping load of wood in his pick-up, which he used like a tank to meander through the woods. That way he didn’t have to carry the cut wood so far. There were hundreds of scratches and dents on that old truck, but Don said he didn’t care.

Don said he also liked to hunt and at one time in his life, he had several coon dogs that he took out after dark, patiently waiting until they treed a coon. He skinned the coons and sold the hides. He also enjoyed butchering pigs for area families, sometimes on New Year’s Day.

Doris also worked for many years at several jobs.

She said she went into the woods with Don to help load the truck with firewood sometimes when she was able.

More often, when Doris went into the woods, she was looking for Don, who should’ve been back long ago. Most times she found him, and sometimes she had to help pull him out of situation. Of course, he’d tell her he would’ve gotten out of the jam himself in time.

Then, she said, he would admit that he certainly was glad to see her.

Doris’ claim to fame is her love of cats — Siamese cats.

Dubbed the “Cat Woman” at one point, she raised dozens of Siamese cats. And she named each one.

The first, Missy, was a Christmas gift from her son, Don. The second was Mister.

That’s how it all started. Doris’ cat business lasted for many years as she raised litters of kittens and watched families carry them out of her home, promising to love them as she did.

But her biggest job was as a mother to the couple’s five children: Donald (Lana) of Avis area; Diane (Gary) Cox of Beech Creek;, David (Holly) of Lock Haven; Dennis (Carol) of Bellefonte, and Dale, who passed away as a young man. There are nine grandchildren – one grandson passed as a child – and 10 great-grandchildren.

Those Christmas dinners at the Muthler home were something, according to the couple. Don would make a big table in the living room out of pieces of plywood held up by saw horses. They’d gather all the chairs and stools they could find and the family said it was the best family time ever, with grandchildren aplenty and gifts galore.

Together, Don and Doris have enjoyed going to auctions, eating out at various restaurants and at church and other community functions. They attended the Blanchard Church of Christ and looked forward to the Muthler Family Reunion each summer.

But what they have enjoyed the most is each other.

They have taken their wedding vows seriously … “to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part.”

You can still see a sparkle in their eyes when they look at each other. And that’s because their love is genuine and it will last a lifetime.

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