MOUNT Isans Allan and Betty Regeling believe their shared love of motorcycling and their commitment to the vow ``in sickness and in health'' is what led them to celebrate 60 years of marriage.
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They quietly celebrated the momentous milestone earlier this month.
Betty and Allan were raised on family values and respect for elders when growing up on country farms in South East Queensland.
``The second World War also has a bearing on what we believe in as we never had or asked for anything, because there wasn't anything to give materially but the family believing all would be back to normal one day,'' they said.
Allan was 18 while and Betty was 17 when they met at a country dance in Waterford, about 30 kilometres south of Brisbane.
Betty was chaperoned by her stepfather, who protected her at dances by insisting she had the last dance with him.
The next day Allan and seven other teenagers visited Betty's dairy farm.
Her mother prepared Sao biscuits, cake and a pot of tea and they sang around the piano.
Allan asked her parents if he could take Betty out.
Her mother chaperoned them after he picked them up in a 32 dickie seat Ford.
He continued to visit her family farm on weekends to milk the cows.
``When a lad courted a girl in those days they came to the house and did chores for you,'' Betty said.
They married in Beenleigh about three years after meeting, on Saturday, June 5, 1954.
Allan successfully applied for a job at Mount Isa Mines after applying for work at Mary Kathleen.
They arrived in the Isa just before Christmas 1958, with only 12 pounds.
``We arrived at the train station just as a bedourie, a very thick dust storm, hit the town,'' Betty recalled.
Taxi driver Tony Danks lent the couple a caravan after meeting them within minutes, but they soon moved to one of his flats after receiving a pay advance.
Allan and Betty had three sons who grew to be top sportsmen and Australian champions, with the oldest two involved in motorcycling.
Steven was born in 1959, Daniel in 1961 and Michael in 1966.
The family left in 1972 so Daniel could receive more medical attention after he crashed a homemade motorcycle into a barbed wire fence in Sutton Street.
In 2002 Allan and Betty returned to Mount Isa to retire.
Allan helped build the Hard Times Mine and they remained active members in the community.
``So here we are in 2014 with 60 years of life together,'' Betty said.
``We are living in a town that grew to a city, we have seen many changes.
``We have been through the good times and the bad, we endured many of life's experience which as we look back only made us stronger over the years.'' The Regeling's secrets to having remained married for 60 years: their love of motorcycle racing.
They were involved in racing for 40 years from 1956 to 1996.
Allan was a champion racer and Betty was a secretary and promoter of a racing club.
Two of their sons were also speedway solos and sidecars champion racers.
They also shared a common interest in fishing and camping, which were regular family events.
