Fort Smith (Mar 07/05) - Albert and Febula Bohnet say there are several keys to a long and happy marriage.

The Fort Smith couple should know something about that, having just celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.

Febula says the first thing is not to listen to anybody who talks about your partner, but to work things out yourselves.

"Trust one another," she says.

Febula says she and Albert are not perfect, and have a good argument from time to time.

"I would never say we never fought. That would be too dull," she says.

Albert says sharing is important, and nothing should be divided between a husband and wife. "It's ours all the time."

But even after 60 years, the couple admits there are things that bug them about each other.

"What bugs me about her is she never puts things back where she found them," Albert says.

As for Febula, she says Albert still cannot slice bread straight. "But I don't harp about that."

Albert and Febula were married Feb. 24, 1945 in Edmonton.

They met the previous year in Fort Smith, where Albert, who was born on a farm south of Medicine Hat, was stationed as an engineer - a lance corporal - with the Canadian Army building communications towers during the Second World War.

Febula and Albert met in August 1944 at a dance at The Right Spot, which was near where the Pelican Rapids Inn now stands.

Albert says, for him, it was more or less love at first sight.

Febula says it wasn't so for her. "This was a stranger."

She next saw her husband-to-be when she was out for a walk with her mother and father.

"All of a sudden someone came up and walked beside me and it was him."

They started dating shortly afterwards. She was 18 and he was 28.

It was not until Albert returned to Edmonton that he wrote Febula and proposed marriage.

"It sounded good to me," she says.

Albert notes the army gave him only two days to get married.

They had no wedding reception, just a few friends in a dining room, nor did they go on a honeymoon.

However, Febula notes that, 20 years after they were married, she and Albert vacationed in Hawaii. "I consider that my honeymoon."

Albert admits it was difficult adjusting to married life after the army.

"From the start, I used to take off to be with the boys and go out and play poker," he says. "I finally got over it."

When Albert got out of the army in 1946, he and Febula lived in Edmonton until they returned to Fort Smith in 1955.

Albert worked as a heavy equipment operator and instructor, while Febula had various jobs, including a guard for the RCMP.

Febula, whose maiden name is Heron, is originally from Fort Chipewyan. Her family moved to Fort Smith when she was about 16.

Albert is now 88 and Febula is 78.

During their marriage, they had seven children, five of whom are still living.

Many family members, along with numerous friends, gathered Feb. 26 at Roaring Rapids Hall in Fort Smith to celebrate their anniversary.

The special night featured a supper and a fiddle dance.

"The place was packed," Febula says.

Febula says she and Albert are still companions, even after all the years.

"We get along in our own way," she says. "We work as a partnership."

And she says she still feels the same about Albert as on the day they were married.

"It must have been love," Albert notes of their decision to get married. "I married her twice."

They were first married by a Justice of the Peace in Edmonton, but Febula's mother was not satisfied with that, so they got married in a church about four years later.