It was the fall of 1950. Richard Peterson and three of his buddies, all twenty-somethings, were bored and looking for a way to pass the time. All being from small towns, there wasn't much to do around their area so they decided to head to the Roller Dome, presumably because they knew that there would be quite a few ladies there. Little did Richard know, that would be the night that would change his entire life...
18-year-old Margaret Packee, Maggie for short, worked as a judge's clerk. When she wasn't working for the judge, she spent her time roller skating at the Roller Dome, where her mother played the organ to accompany the skaters. Maggie headed to the rink one night to skate and let loose with some of her girlfriends. As they entered the rink, the girls sat down to strap on their skates and away they went, rolling down the wooden floors at top speed.
Meanwhile, Richard and his friends entered the rink, not a single one of them knowing how to roller-skate. After lacing up their skates, they hit the hardwood floors and took off! Well, two-thirds of them did. Richard, not having a strong grasp on roller skating, hit the floors quite literally. He fell face first in front of the fellow skaters, his giggling gang of friends, and Maggie Packee.
A blush set across his cheeks as the roller-skating expert, Maggie offered him a helping hand. As he clumsily stood up straight, he smiled and introduced himself. Maggie smiled in return and they got to know each other better throughout the rest of the night as Maggie taught Richard how to skate. Richard had told Maggie of his enlistment in the United States Army and that he would be taking off to Korea as a field radio operator and mortar man. Regardless, they remained in touch.
Around the same time that Dick went off to the Korean War, Maggie's mother was diagnosed with kidney failure. On a day that Maggie visited her mother, Christine, in the hospital, they ended up in a conversation regarding Richard Peterson. Christine — being the organist at the Roller Dome where Richard and Maggie first met — had witnessed their connection and had her own opinion on the matter. She desperately wanted Maggie to stay in touch with Richard during the war, via written letters. Her dying wish? To see her daughter and Richard happily married.
During the war, Richard worked as a field radio operator and a mortar man. Between sending messages in Morse code to launching mortar bombs, the entire year that Richard was deployed he wrote letters to keep in touch with his friends, family, and Maggie.
After Richard returned from the war in 1953, the couple quickly made plans to marry. Maggie's mother fell more ill and the couple went to the hospital to visit her. Seeing the two of them together had already been a surprise to Christine, but seeing the beautiful engagement ring wrapped around Maggie's finger is what appealed her the most.
Fast forward to four children, six grandchildren, and 63 years of marriage later, Richard and Maggie are still happily married and have restored my faith — as their youngest grandchild — in long-lasting love, loyalty, and happiness.
Not only did Richard Peterson fall in front of Margaret Packee that day at the Roller Dome, but he also fell for her. You can keep your sappy Nicholas Sparks romance novels and your "Love Actually" corniness, I'll keep my grandparents' beautiful and happenstance love story.
