BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
PIGEON ROOST — Eugene and Thelma Moore are set to celebrate a milestone Dec. 21 – their 60th wedding anniversary. At the ages of 86 and 78 respectively, they look back on a journey filled with love, dedication and shared memories.
Their story began in 1963. Thelma, fresh out of high school, worked for her sister Margie and brother-in-law James Jude at a grocery store next to Pigeon Roost School. This store was more than a place of business; it was a popular spot for the young people in the community.
“There would be a gang of boys there,” Thelma recalls. “They’d pitch horseshoes, sit around and talk. And there’d be a gang of girls, too, because the girls wanted the boys. The girls would flirt with the boys.”
It was Margie who nudged Thelma towards Eugene.
“Margie said, ‘Thelma if I wanted any of them boys, I’d try to get a hold of that Eugene Moore. He will work,’” Thelma shares, her laughter echoing the fondness of those memories.
Their romance sparked one evening when Eugene visited the store with his father. As they prepared to leave, Thelma stepped outside, and Eugene seized the moment. “He said, ‘You want to ride up there with me to take Daddy home? I’ll bring you back.’ And that was the start,” Thelma reminisces.
Their first date was a quiet affair, with Eugene visiting Thelma at her parents’ home.
“Eugene didn’t talk much,” Thelma says, adding that he and her future brother-in-law Marion Duncan bonded over discussions about horses. “He stayed a while, then I walked him back across the swinging bridge,” she recalls, the emotion clear in her voice.
Thelma knew Eugene was her “Sweetie,” as she calls him, “because he was just a sweetie.”
Their wedding was a simple affair conducted by “Uncle” Martin Preece in Preece Hollow near the head of Coldwater Creek in Inez. Thelma dressed in a black and white herringbone top with a black skirt, while Eugene wore dress pants, a button-up shirt and a pullover sweater. Their witnesses were Eugene’s sister Kennie and her husband Roscoe Preece. Thelma fondly remembers the wedding.
“He took us inside and told us, ‘Stand between those two beds,’ and he married us,” she said.
The early days of their marriage were humble yet filled with love. They spent their wedding night in Margie and James’ store, a memory Thelma holds dear.
“That was our honeymoon,” she says with a smile.
The Moores have always enjoyed doing everything together. Their son Tracy described them as “Forrest and Jennie – like peas and carrots.”
Their relationship was built on mutual support, with Thelma noting that Eugene “did whatever I wanted.”
“I had to do a lot of the talking, which wasn’t hard for me,” said Thelma. “He listened and he knew a lot because he listened.”
Their home, where they have lived for 59 years, has its own story. They initially rented it from Margie and James.
“James told me, ‘When you get the money, I’ll sell you that place,’” Thelma recounts. “Poppy always brought the money and I’d save it. I paid the bills, did everything, and saved $8,000 in seven years.”
By 1972, they had saved enough to make it their own. They approached James with $10,000 to buy the house, but he told them to give him $8,000.
“He said that will leave you $2,000 to build you a kitchen and drill a well,” said Thelma.
The couple’s family grew with the birth of their son Tracy and later their three grandchildren – Trista, Tara and Jobe – and great-grandchildren Parker, Page and baby Waylon. “They’re the best,” according to Thelma and Eugene.
On staying married for 60 years, Thelma thought momentarily, then pointed toward her son. “I love that fellow sitting right there. He’s mine. I’m the one that had him; I know the pain of having him.”
She then gestured toward Eugene, adding, “But I have never seen anything I love better. He was always so good to me.”
One of Eugene’s habits on cold mornings was heating Thelma’s socks and bringing them to her with coffee.
“You all just don’t know,” Thelma reflected. “That’s one of the reasons that I beg the Lord to let me take care of him now.”
Faith has been a cornerstone of their life together. Thelma had joined church and attended for 20 years. “Poppy went every time I ever went,” she said.
One Sunday during the altar call at the Sidney Church, Eugene walked toward the front.
“I thought he was going up there to give a donation. In a few minutes I looked, and he was giving his hand to be baptized. That was a blessed day for me because I knew what kind of man he was. He’s just been a good man – and the Lord has smiled down on him and us.”
Thelma’s advice to young couples just starting their lives together is to be honest with each other.
“You can’t make yourself love; you have to let yourself,” she said.
“Like I told you, we’ve had our little ups and downs, but they were little ups and downs. You’re two different people and you don’t see everything alike, but the love is there.”
