North Huntingdon couple celebrating 50th anniversary; among the few who have reached that milestone
A North Huntingdon couple will be celebrating 50 years of wedded bless on Aug. 16, making them among the few couples that celebrate their golden wedding anniversary.
Kenneth and Vickie Vargo Tickerhoof will be joining family and friends during the evening of Aug. 16 at the Greenhouse Winery on Gracin Lane in Rillton.
The Tickerhoofs were married on Aug. 16, having received their marriage license on July 22, according to Westmoreland County marriage records in Greensburg.
They will be celebrating with their children, daughter Dana M. Tickerhoof and her two sons, Beckham L. Warhold and Leonato M. Tickerhoof.
The Tickerhoofs are among just 7.7% of Americans who have been married for half a century, according to a study from Bowling Green State University that is based on the Census Bureau’s 2022 American Community Survey.
The Census Bureau found that about 48% of Americans are in marriages. In Pennsylvania, the percentages are about the same, according to the American Community Survey.
To compare this generation of Americans to that Greatest Generation that came home from World War II, marriage was the path to follow. USA Facts found that an astounding 78% of American were married in 1949. Fast fourward 60 years later to 2010 and the percentage of Americans who walked down the aisle to exchange wedding vows had fallen below 50%.
Several factors impact whether a couples remain together after five decades, including the rising age of those entering their first marriage, the high rates of divorce and lower rates of remarriage, the Bowling Green study noted.
Another factor is that most of married couples have not lived long enough to reach that year milestone, which can be attributed to more couples delaying their wedding until they are older.
The Bowling Green study looked at couples age 70 and older and found that about 68% of those still married limited their taking of the wedding vows to one person.
Among those aged 70 and older, more than half were currently married (54.2%) and 67.9% of those marriages were first marriages. One quarter (25.4%) were in marriages of 50 or more years .
Joe Napsha is a TribLive reporter covering Irwin, North Huntingdon and the Norwin School District. He also writes about business issues. He grew up on Neville Island and has worked at the Trib since the early 1980s. He can be reached at jnapsha@triblive.com.
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