Winston-Salem couple celebrates 75th wedding anniversary
In 1947, Peggie Jumper was 16 living in East Bend, North Carolina. Enos Jumper was 18, living in South Carolina and just got out of the Marine Corps. Enos was friends with Peggie’s brother and went to East Bend with him for a visit.
“I heard the most beautiful singing. I never heard singing like that," Enos said.
Enos Jumper said he first heard Peggie singing, and then he saw her.
“My heart started beating faster and breathing faster, and I thought, what in the world happened to me? That’s not happened with any girl before," Enos said.
Enos said they all were having dinner when he said, "I looked over at her and winked and she turned red as a beat."
They had three months of knowing each other before Enos proposed. But there was one small catch; Peggie had a boyfriend that had gone away to the Army.
“Her little brother said her boyfriend, sweetheart, is going to ask her to marry him when he comes home in March and I thought, 'that’s not going to work.' So I just pushed up the button a little bit, thought about it, asked her to marry me and she said yes and well, here we are 75 years later," Enos said.
Peggie said she thought Enos was handsome when they first met and said after she saw him, she never opened another letter from the guy in the Army.
“We were engaged about two and a half months I guess, and I felt like that was long enough, so we got married and here we are," Enos said.
Enos and Peggie were married on Jan. 17, 1948. They lived in Newberry, South Carolina, then East Bend, North Carolina before moving to Winston-Salem. They've lived in Winston-Salem for 70 years.
They have four children, nine grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren, and five great-great-grandchildren.
“The bible says be fruitful and multiply, replenish the earth, and we took it serious," Enos said.
When asked what the secret to a long and happy marriage is, Peggie said, “first the lord. The lord. And a lot of forgiveness and patience and prayer."
“People talk about 50/50 marriages, don’t know what they’re talking about. 50/50 marriage isn’t going to work. It’s 100 percent and 100 percent. That’s what it takes to make a marriage work," Enos said.