A Mount Airy couple celebrated a major marriage milestone Thursday. Seventy-seven years ago, Bobby and Frances Holder got married on Feb. 22, 1947. "It's been a long, long life, and we've been blessed," Bobby Holder said. Both Bobby and Frances are 93 years old now, but years ago, they were just teenagers living in Mount Airy, North Carolina. Frances says a trip to the grocery store led to love. "She saw me, asked my brother, who also worked there, and said, 'Who is that? Who is that?'" Bobby said. They dated for about a year and a half and then got married. When asked how old they were when they got married, Bobby said, "Well, we don't say much about that. We just say that we were young and in order to have five generations, you got to get married young. And that's what we did.”They now have two children, eight grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren, four step great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandson on the way."We are told in the Old Testament that a large family is a blessing from the Lord. And I said, we have to consider it that way. We have been blessed," Bobby said.They stayed busy throughout the years. Bobby served in the armed forces and fought in the Korean War. When he got back, he became a two-time graduate of Wake Forest University and a two-time graduate of UNCG. He then went on to teach high school and college. Frances worked at a mill and then as a secretary at the Surry Baptist Association. When asked what the secret to a long and happy marriage is, Bobby said, "You have to be very tolerant and believe the best in someone."Bobby added, "Every couple has their disagreements, but you have to be willing to say that, you know, that's today, tomorrow is going to be a better day. You always got to be hopeful and believe that it will be."They definitely did it right to be married this long. "If I had my life to live over again, I'd want to follow essentially the same path. Might want to fine-tune it a little bit, but other than that, I wouldn't want to change either the marriage or the career or the family or anything. I've been very blessed, and we still are today," Bobby said. The pair said they plan to celebrate their anniversary this weekend with their family.