By KATH GANNAWAY
CHOOSING the right person in the first place is as good as any advice Ivan Ferguson has to offer on what makes for a long and happy marriage.
Ivan and Joan celebrated their diamond anniversary on Thursday with friends and some family members at Killara Estate Winery – about half way between where they each grew up – Ivan in Woori Yallock and Miss Joan Gaudion in Wandin.
On Sunday, the family came together for another celebration at Mont De Lancey in Wandin.
Their families are pioneers of the Valley with connections going back to the mid-1800s.
Ivan and Joan first met on the bus to Higher Elementary School at Lilydale, but romance truly blossomed, at the Seville dance.
Joan said she was about 20 then, loved to dance, and the Seville dance was where everyone went on a Saturday night.
Ivan wasn’t a keen dancer, but he knew he didn’t have a chance if he couldn’t dance, so he took some lessons and won her heart.
“Her dance card was always pretty full; she didn’t sit out too many dances,” he said.
They were married at the Wandin Methodist Church in Wandin Yallock and they have lived in the same house on the Ferguson family dairy farm at Woori Yallock dairy farm since.
With four children, Janet, Ann, John and Andrew, they were involved on school and sporting bodies and have remained active in the community over the years.
“It’s because we have been involved that we have a very wide circle of friends,” Ivan said.
Many of those friends helped them celebrate last week.
Choosing the right person is a great starting point for any marriage, according to Ivan and Joan, but they agree, you have to build on that with a sense of humour, a bit of tolerance and the ability to give and take.
