Russell and Margie Trentlage will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary on Dec. 26.
They were married at the Woodland Methodist Church in Duluth, Minnesota. There was a snowstorm and below-zero temperatures that day. The church was still beautifully decorated for Christmas and bridesmaids wore green satin gowns and carried bouquets of red roses.
Margie’s bouquet was loaded with her favorite fragrant flower, the gardenia, with trailing ivy.
Russ was a friend of Margie’s brother Richard and was at the family home frequently.
Soon, Russ’ interest was more in Margie than the brother, and the rest as they say, is history.
Russ was lonely and anxious to get married. As an officer in the U.S. Air Force, Russ was in the midst of training and sent Margie’s engagement ring in the mail. They bumped up the wedding by six months so that they could get married while he was home on a short break. As a service member, Russ and Margie had several moves across the country. Their honeymoon was spent driving from Duluth in a storm to Waco, Texas, for navigator school.
From Waco, the Air Force took them to Sacramento to attend Electronic Warfare school where daughter Lorri Trentlage Speer was born in 1962. They spent a short time in Topeka, Kansas. Russ chose to leave the service, move back to Minnesota and use his degree as a research and development engineer for Reserve Mining Company in Silver Bay. Youngest daughter Jill Trentlage Potter was born in Duluth in 1966.
In 1972, the Trentlage family moved to Centralia, where Russ was plant superintendent at Washington Irrigation and Development Company. Margie was a stay-at-home mom until the girls were in school, then she worked part-time as an assistant to the school nurse for 14 years. She was friends with most of the kids that the girls went to school with.
In 1991, Russ and Margie embarked on an adventure by opening a large craft store and frame gallery, Crafts Galore, in Longview, Washington. Owning a business was new to them and provided all sorts of new experiences and opportunities. Daughter Jill worked at the store as assistant manager. In 1994, they decided to build a new store in Centralia as well. Russ wrote a monthly newsletter and entertained and befriended many loyal customers with his stories about his garden and animals. Margie was the creative part of the store and was chief buyer. Lorri joined the team part-time as craft coordinator, designer and import buyer. When Russ and Margie decided to retire and sell the stores, they maintained friendships with many of their employees and several customers.
Now retired, Russ and Margie are busier than ever, albeit a bit slower. They are a big part of the lives of their kids, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Russ still keeps a very large vegetable garden, maintains his huge yard, keeps a small flock of chickens and keeps his dozen or so birdfeeders full with his loyal companion, Tasha, his German shepherd. Margie is a lifelong learner at Centralia College and loves her jewelry class (and her teacher Anne). She loves spending time with her family. She contributed with great-granddaughter Kennadee’s remote learning during the pandemic. She still maintains the home and insists on hosting all the major holidays. Both are enjoying good health and are happy to live close to their daughters.
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