In honor of Valentine’s Day, your friends at Pulse decided to skip the overused “gifting” story and try something new. Everybody knows that flowers and chocolate are always a safe gift, and a nice dinner at a classy restaurant is guaranteed to satisfy your partner’s Valentine’s Day needs.

In the spirit of all things Valentine, we thought it would be swell to find a couple that has been successful at maintaining a long-lasting, meaningful relationship. After much searching, we stumbled upon a diamond in the rough.

Joe Klinsky, who graduated from Iowa State in 1943 with a degree in chemical engineering, and his wife Marianne Klinsky, who graduated from Iowa State in 1944 with a degree in home economics education, are currently Ames residents and have been happily married for nearly 63 years. Joe said the couple will celebrate their 63rd wedding anniversary on September 3.

In contrast with today’s startlingly high divorce rates and seemingly impossible odds for relational success, we decided to tap into Joe and Marianne’s 63 years of experience for advice on relationships, Valentine’s Day and successful living.

Dan McClanahan: So how did you two meet each other?

Marianne Klinsky: We both grew up in Cedar Rapids and we belonged to a group. We went on a hayrack ride and Joe was this freshman at Iowa State and somehow he got to sit next to me on that hayrack, but then my uncle was driving so we had to sort of behave. But it went on from there.

Joe Klinsky: And the rest is history. (laughs)

MK: We enjoyed all our years at Iowa State. We went to many formal dances and we rode a bicycle built for two.

JK: Built for one .

MK: Oh yes, well it wasn’t even built for two. I rode on the handlebars. Of course Joe didn’t have a car in those days.

JK: Nor did most students, everyone rode bicycles.

DM: Did you ever partake in romantic ISU traditions such as Campaniling or the tradition with Lake LaVerne?

JK: Well, we kissed under the campanile, but I’m not familiar with this tradition you mentioned with Lake LaVerne. We’ve probably walked around the lake any number of times, but I’m not sure what you mean.

DM: It’s said that if a couple walks around Lake LaVerne three times, they’re destined to be married.

MK: Oh really, well we had. (laughs)

JK: We hadn’t heard of that one! We still follow the tradition of walking around the zodiac in the Memorial Union, too.

DM: Have you guys had the rough times like everybody else?

MK:(laughs) No, not really because he’s so easy to get along with (points at Joe). I’m the hard one (laughs). But if anything, we’ve had sad times. Not so much problems between ourselves – I think we’re very considerate of each other.

JK: I think we had the attitude. You know, you’ve got to work together to get through this day or this problem or whatever situation you’re in. It isn’t all fun; you’ve gotta work at it.

DM: Tell me – what’s the best Valentine’s gift you’ve ever received?

JK: That’s a tough question. Nothing really stands out above the rest. Marianne gave me a set of Lincoln bookends one year. They’re still around here somewhere. We handled them the other day.

MK: The other day I was looking through old things and I found this receipt. It turns out that Joe had sent me a dozen roses way back in 1944 and he had them delivered to me. He paid $5 for them. I’m sure I was thrilled with those because at that time he was in Akron, Ohio, and I was back here on campus. Also in college, Joe gave me a heart – a piece of jewelry with my name across it. You could open it up and there was a picture of me on one side and Joe on the other and we were in formal dress. I guess that would be the best gift.

DM: Any advice on what to get as a last-minute gift?

JK: Well, you’re always safe with a box of chocolates or a spread of flowers. You should think about the meaning of it, rather than just the gift. I think that’s lost in today’s commercialism a lot of times.

DM: How old were you guys when you got married?

MK: I was 20.

JK: I was what? 21.

DM: How did you guys know you ready for marriage?

JK: Well, we had gone together for close to 4 years. At that particular time they had a 5-pound party. When a girl announced her engagement, the guy got her 5 pounds of chocolate and her whole group – dormitory or sorority or whatever – would all celebrate with chocolate together.

MK: That was a nice tradition, it really doesn’t have anything to do with Valentine’s Day, but it was really very special.

DM: How long did the 5 pounds of chocolate last?

MK: Well, we shared it with everybody, so not very long. I think we were taking life pretty seriously that last year or two. We weren’t really concerned with accumulating all sorts of stuff and doing a lot of fun things, we thought more about what our married life would be. Back in those days a girl had a hope chest, you ever had a hope chest?

DM: No, I can’t say I have. What is it?

MK: Well, dads would get their daughters a cedar chest.

JK: It was usually cedar because it would preserve fabrics and things they would put in it.

MK: And so you would fill that with things for your possible marriage someday, so my girlfriends and I thought about putting things in the hope chest instead of maybe going to town and buying a new top or something like that.

I guess I’m saying we thought about our future at a younger age than maybe they do now.

DM: If you two could do anything, anywhere for Valentine’s Day this year – and you didn’t have to pay for it – what would you do?

JK: Oh wow, that’s tough. I think this will be a good week for Valentine’s Day because we will have our kids with us. They’re all coming and staying all week, and I guess we would wish for that as much as anything. It’s probably tops.

MK: When we hear of some of the young people that have all the credit cards all maxed out, they think of material things as too important – but family is the most important in the end.