Lewis and Jane Woodland recently celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary on July 26th. The Woodlands, who now reside at the Keystone Villa at Fleetwood, told their love story during a recent interview.
Our country was still at war in 1945 when Jane and Lewis met on a blind date.
“I have just the fellow, he’s the nicest fellow,” a friend told Jane about Lewis, who had graduated from West Chester High School in 1941. Jane Stevenson, who was still attending Spring City High School, had told her friend that she wasn’t interested, but the date was scheduled anyway. Many dates followed, and by the time Lewis was called by Uncle Sam to serve in World War II, they were engaged to be married.
In July 1945, Lewis told Jane that they were going to Elkton, MD to be married in the courthouse.
“I was living with my mom and stepfather in Upper Darby, I wasn’t yet 21 and I knew my mom wouldn’t sign for me, so we went to Elkton,” said Jane. “We drove to Elkton in Lewis’s father’s 1941 Pontiac (a dirty green color), and we had a flat tire on the way.”
Jane added that she wore a dress and Lewis wore his Army uniform. They stayed at a nearby motel and returned to this area the next day. After marrying, Lewis returned to service until 1946. Lewis was transferred to Fort Meade until he was discharged.
When Lewis returned, he worked at Jefferson Tool in Eagleville. The couple had three boys: Robert, Glenn and Edward. Edward, an Air Force veteran who served in Vietnam, contracted a liver disease from the Agent Orange the U.S. used as part of their herbicidal warfare program in Vietnam. He passed away at age 60.
“We have lived in Eagleville, Evansburg and Rehrersburg but spent most of our time raising our boys in Oley,” said Jane. “I was primarily a housewife until Edward and Robert were in high school and Glenn was in grade school. Lewis’s occupation was a machinist to make packaging equipment for Continental Can. Eventually, he decided to start his own machine shop business in Earlville, which he called BartLew. We have fond memories of traveling, especially to Yellowstone National Park, WY in a station wagon. It was always nice when we pulled into a motel, and we visited the Smokey Mountains. When Glenn was in high school, we also traveled to Europe.”
The Woodlands have nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
“The secret to being married for so long is to discuss, even if it has to be argued,” said Jane.
“It is still communicating. You must not offend your spouse and nothing below the belt,” said Lewis. “In the end, agree to disagree. Money is a big thing, and you have to share.”
“That’s the big thing, sharing,” Jane agreed.
They moved into the Keystone Villa in November 2011, four months after it opened. Jane participates in the Knitting & Crocheting group, which sends baby blankets, caps, booties, twin bed coverlets and prayer shawls to Mary’s Shelter in Reading. She also enjoys doing crossword puzzles. Lewis is an avid gardener at the Keystone Villa, after taking a gardening course at the Berks County Agricultural Center in Leesport. He said the Villa’s four garden beds are filled with cabbage, tomatoes, radishes, red beans, blueberries, bell peppers and hot peppers.
Keystone Villa at Fleetwood is a distinctive retirement community offering Independent Living and Personal Care to residents at an affordable month-to-month rent, with no buy-in fees or hidden costs. To schedule a personal tour, please call 484-637-8200 or log onto www.KeystoneVilla.com.
