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On Jan. 9, 1953, Marjorie Beaver, a Millerstown girl, married Paul R. Blystone, a young GI with a twinkle in his eye from Mifflintown.
Monday, Jan. 9, 2023, they are celebrating their 70th anniversary together at their home in Nisbet.
The first 20 or so years of their marriage were "the Air Force years" and took them from Pennsylvania to assignments in Washington, D.C., Bermuda, Olmstead AFB, Oklahoma and California. Paul served an additional assignment to Great Britain before marriage and one year in Thailand by himself during the Vietnam War. During these assignments, they embraced the experiences each location offered: collecting one of the largest sea shell collections in Bermuda, scuba diving, sailing, rock collecting (another admirably sized collection), jewelry making, furniture making, camping, etc. They also had four children along the way, with the first three all born in Washington, D.C. and the fourth born in Harrisburg.
Paul retired from the Air Force in 1970, following over 22 years of active duty. He and Marjorie packed up the family in California and spent the summer traveling across the U.S. in a VW bus, living in a pop-up camper, visiting as many National Parks as possible and ending up back in Pennsylvania. They purchased their current residence on Nisbet Terrace, which 50-plus years later continues to serve as the headquarters for the next phases of their journey together. Paul got his associate degree in carpentry from the Williamsport Area Community College, and worked in construction while the kids finished school and moved out on their own. Marjorie was also active from the day they moved in, serving as lunch lady at the Nisbet School, Red Cross volunteer and volunteering for many years with the local hospital. Both are active members of the Nisbet United Methodist Church. They took up birdwatching and Volksmarching, and traveled the U.S. in pursuit of both. They even continued some of their Bermuda hobbies in landlocked Pennsylvania, with Marjorie snorkeling in Loyalsock Creek at the Game Farm, and Paul sailing on Rose Valley Lake, as well as serving as Commodore of the Rose Valley Yacht Club. Neither Paul nor Marjorie take half-measures when they embrace a new interest, so Marjorie's current stained glass collection is now quite large! Paul added propane heat to his workshop so he can continue to woodwork in the winter, and just added LED lights and a new sander.
Traveling with the Air Force instilled a wanderlust they actively indulged. Once they were "empty-nesters," they traveled the world, which has found them in all 50 states, most continents and to many individual countries to list! They have been skin diving on the Great Barrier Reef, traveled an African river in a dugout canoe and traversed the Panama Canal. Combining opportunities when they could, they visited one child stationed with the Air Force in South Dakota while driving the Alaskan Highway to visit a daughter and son-in-law stationed in Alaska. Any excuse for a road trip!
The four children they raised continued to grow the family tree. Their first-born, son Paul E. with wife Becky, have contributed four grandchildren (Kristin, Joshua, Paul J. and Timothy) and six great-grandchildren (Riley, Elliot, William and Millie) with parents Kristin (Blystone) and Kevin Ophus; Logan and Bridger with parents Joshua and Joy (Midge) Blystone). This branch is settled in Montana. The second-born, Randall, with his wife Kathy, have started another branch with three granddaughters and one son-in-law: Lindsay, Kelsey (with husband Tommie), and Jessica. Susan M. (Blystone) Shadle is third-born. She and her husband, Mike, have provided two grandchildren, Michael and Jason, and six great-grandchildren. Michael and his wife, Tracey, contributed four of those great-grandchildren, Carter, Avery, Dawson and Owen. Jason and wife Tiffany pitched in with Andrew and Abigail. The fourth, Scott, and his wife, Lisa, provided two more grandchildren, Emma and Meg. The grand total currently is three sons, one daughter, three daughters-in-law, one son-in-law, 11 grandchildren (five of whom have spouses) and 12 great-grandchildren. They range in age from their 69-year-old son, to their 18-day-old (on Jan. 9) great-grandson. They are also blessed to live among caring neighbors on Nisbet Terrace who keep an eye out for and assist each other.
Following their anniversary, Paul and Marjorie will be actively planning their annual family get-together at Happy Acres in Waterville over Easter weekend, when those 36 family members who can gather together from the far-flung reaches of the globe and return to celebrate with the roots of their family tree!