CRESTVIEW — Jeanette and Charles Henderson may be married 65 years today, but there’s still plenty of work to be done.
Since they retired — Charles from the post office in 1983; Jeannette from the Okaloosa school board in '88 — “We’ve been basically full-time volunteers,” Jeanette said.
Charles was on the Baker recreation center and arena’s first board, and was a founding member of the volunteer fire department.
Close to their hearts is the Baker Block Museum and the North Okaloosa Heritage Association. Charles volunteered, and with James Griffith, oversaw the Baker Block's restoration.
When the museum moved in, Jeanette followed close behind.
“He stayed there a total of 20 years,” she said. “We were both there for 18 years after it opened. I was curator and he was in charge of maintenance and ‘honey-dos.’”
Not that the couple has actually left the building. They can frequently be found in the museum’s library, researching the history of the railroad that once served Galliver to Falco, Ala., passing through Baker.
School chums
Charles Henderson was born in Baker, and Jeannette moved to town when she was 2. They attended Baker School together before Charles went into the Navy at the end of World War II.
After the war he worked at Eglin Air Force Base for several years, and the couple bought a Baker grocery store and operated it for 13 years.
Charles then worked for the post office and Jeanette got a job at Baker School in 1956. “I did everything that needed to be done: secretary, bookkeeping, school nurse, everything.”
Come football season, Jeanette cooked hotdogs and hamburgers at the concession stand. And as school nurse, she tended occasional injuries.
“The students would get their hand in the saw in the ag department, and in PE they’d get hurt,” she said. “I got acquainted with my first blood, a lot of it sometimes, especially if there was a good fight.”
‘Put God first’
The couple has belonged to Good Hope Congregational Christian Church since they were married. Jeannette, who sings with the church’s gospel choir, has been a member since she was 11.
Jeanette says the way to keep a marriage strong is to put others first, starting with God.
“That’s kind of hard the way some people live now,” she said. “I think that in our family, we have always tried to put God first. And of course, we have a caring family.
“We’ve always loved and interacted together to keep that relationship healthy and strong. I think that is very important to a successful marriage.”
The Hendersons have three children: Dale, their biological son; an adopted daughter, Rebecca Watkins; and Jim Wood, a foster son who was 14 when Jeanette “brought him home from school one Friday to keep him for the weekend.”
‘Life is good’
Charles and Jeanette have lived in the same home for 65 years, and have seen many changes, including telephones coming to every home and business in town.
“At first we had one 10-party telephone line,” Jeanette said. “The hotel had one — it was a payphone — the school had another, and the other eight were houses. You can imagine the interesting stories we overheard.”
And hardships in those days were easily faced with love and prayer, she said.
“We didn’t know we were poor. We were happy,” Jeanette said. “We didn’t demand a lot because there wasn’t a lot available. We grew up with very little.
“A lot has happened in our 65 years. A lot of changes, but life is good. Life is good.”
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: 'Very, very blessed': Baker couple celebrates 65th anniversary