When there's more than 1,500 years of marriage in a single room, there's bound to be some sage advice on a long and successful marriage.

And couples didn't hesitate to dole out some tips at the Gladstone Senior Center's 50th Anniversary Party on Wednesday, where 30 couples celebrated anywhere from 50 to 68 years of holy matrimony.

Jean Olsen said to give a little more than you'd sometimes like to in the give-and-take of a marriage. That, and never go to bed angry with one another. It's worked for Jean and her husband, Jimmy – they've been married 63 years.

When Pastor Denis Whittet of Gladstone Christian Church led the couples in restating their marriage vows, the Olsens tapped their plastic cups together and toasted to many more years together.

"We're hoping for a 72nd anniversary," Jean Olsen said. "His mother lived until she was 92, so he has to live that long."

The senior center's annual 50th Anniversary Party is half way there to celebrating its own golden anniversary. For about 25 years the center has been putting on the party for couples in the community.

Before starting back and forth runs between the kitchen and dining tables to serve the couples lunch, Mayor Wade Byers proclaimed June 27 as Golden Wedding Anniversary Day in Gladstone. Shortly before that, feet tapped along to the love tunes of the barbershop quartet the ToneSetters.

For Pastor Whittet, the party was a living legacy of the marriage vows he led the couples in. Before the vows he thanked the couples for being an example to young families in the community.

And if a new couple is looking for a date idea, Gil Shepherd said they could try what he and his wife Agnes did when they first met. The Shepherds didn't have money for dates, so they would take long walks and talk about what they wanted out of life.

"Spend time walking and talking about you and your families," he said. "Talk about where you came from and where you want to go."

After all, it was those dates that sparked what would become a 55-year marriage.

--Victoria Edwards

