Watertown Couple Brought Together By A Box Of Cookies Celebrates 75th Anniversary

WATERTOWN (CBS) -- A note slipped into a cookie box led to a marriage that's about to mark 75 years. Edward and Madeline "Ann" Newbould are both in their mid-90s. The couple will celebrate their wedding anniversary on January 22.

"It's been a beautiful life. It just becomes a thing of the day. It's the other part of you," said Ann Newbould.

Ann worked at Golden Cookie Company on Grove Street during the mid-1940s. She and some of her co-workers were sending boxes of cookies to soldiers serving in World War II. Ann decided to slip a note into one of those boxes of cookies.

Edward Newbould's Coast Guard ship got one of those boxes.

"The guy on the ship said some crazy girl put a damn note in the box here," said Edward Newbould.

It had Ann's name and address along with this message.

It said, "I want to meet somebody with black hair, blue eyes," explained Ann.

Ed wrote back and a few weeks later while on leave the two met and saw a movie in Boston.

"I don't know, I was just sitting there in the movies watching the movies and I asked her to go out steady with me. She said yes so I said now that we're going steady how about you marry me? I said I'm going back to sea for 30 days when I come off I'll give you an engagement ring," said Ed Newbould.

The two married a few weeks later.

"If I had to do it over again I'd do the same thing," said Ed.

"I wouldn't think about it twice," said Ann.

The couple went on to have five kids, 17 grandchildren, 33 great-grandchildren, and four great-great-grandchildren.

Ed's advice for a happy marriage is to kiss one another a lot. Ann said to take it day by day.