Bill and Pat Tyson will observe their 60th wedding anniversary on Monday, March 8.
Their daughters - Dawn (Rusty) Herlocher and Trina (Bill) Miller - have invited family and friends to an open house on Sunday to celebrate the milestone. The event from 1 to 4 p.m. will be held at the couple's home, 155 Main St., Beech Creek.
Bill and Pat met while she was selling phonograph records at Smith and Winter's store and he was a drummer.
Article Photos
Bill and Pat Tyson on their wedding day, March 8, 1950, with attendants JoAnn Myers and Keith Kline
Their whirl-wind romance started on Thanksgiving, 1949. He got her a diamond for Christmas that year and they wed on March 8, 1950.
The former Patricia Miller and William Tyson were united in marriage by the Rev. Burleigh Peters. Attendants were JoAnn Myers and Keith Kline. A wedding supper at the Mill Hall Dutch Inn followed the ceremony.
Bill worked at Economy Auto Parts and was an industrial engineer at Maremont and Bro-Dart before retiring as a county employee in 1991. He also was a city councilman. Pat worked at Grossmans and in the personnel department at Bro-Dart.
Both Pat and Bill were Sunday School teachers and leaders of a large Methodist Youth Fellowship at the East Main Street United Methodist Church. They organized and produced the Live Nativity in Lock Haven in 1964. It was an ecumenical joy with live animals and over 100 participants from all the Catholic and Protestant churches in the area, spearheaded by the Youth Group.
They were involved in the Pennsylvania Rail Road Rally in Renovo and the Great Island Run in Lock Haven. They are co-founders of the Clinton Model Rail Road Club which was started in the old silk mill building on North Fairview Street.
The Tysons started and ran the Miss Clinton County Scholarship Pageant, a preliminary to the Miss America Pageant, that was held for nine years and resulted in thousands of dollars in scholarships for Clinton County young women.
Heavily involved in Lock Haven's Sesquicentennial, they manned the office, wrote and arranged the enactment of the "Great Debate" at the courthouse that involved Clinton, Centre and Lycoming county commissioners. Michael Hanna honored Bill and Pat for their dedication to the success of the celebration with a plaque.
The love of county history has led to many ventures from talks at schools, churches and service groups in historical attire to becoming active members and volunteers at the Clinton County Historical Society, Heisey Museum, Genealogical Society and Ross Library. They also helped catalogue records at the Clinton County Courthouse.
The couple travelled to Florida with Cal Arter and for two years helped promote the idea of a Piper Museum and the Sentimental Journey Fly-In.
For over 30 years they have been members of the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Beech Creek and the Beech Creek Friendship Community Center, of which Pat serves as president. They are charter members of the Beech Creek/Marsh Creek Watershed Area Museum.
Bill and Pat contributed to The Express with the "Clinton County Through the Years 1900-1999" columns. They were honored for their work preserving county history with placement of a plaque designating "The Pat and Bill Tyson Room" at the Clinton County Courthouse.
In addition to these joint efforts and endeavors, Bill is currently chairman of the Beech Creek Water and Sewer Authority and a member of Beech Creek American Legion. Pat has helped countless families from across America trace their genealogies, spending hundreds of hours on research to meticulously record history.
Bill and Pat have four grandchildren?
