header image

[Sign Up Now] to Receive Our FREE Daily SCVTV-SCVNews Digest by E-Mail

Inside
Weather


 
Calendar
Today in
S.C.V. History
March 29
1928 - Little dam victim, thought unidentified & buried in SCV, actually ID'd & buried in Chatsworth [story]
Newhall Cowboys


“You kids are crazy – it won’t last,” people told them.

The year was 1942. Hitler was tightening his grip on Europe, the United States was at war with Japan, and young men from all over the country were being called to fight in the largest war the world had ever seen.

It also happened to be the year Bob and Eleanor “Pat” Armacher met, at a summer dance in Hartford, Conn.

“It was love at first sight,” said their son Robert “Buckley” Armacher. And since then, “Every possible moment was spent together,” he said.

bobpatarmacherHowever, the couple’s courtship was interrupted in November, when Bob received a notice from the U.S. Army’s draft board that he was to be inducted on Dec. 29. The evening of Nov. 20, after receiving the notice, Bob proposed to Pat. As she describes it, she never hesitated:

“He asked me if I wanted to get married, and I said, ‘Yes, I do.’ So we got married the night before he was inducted in the Army.”

They were both 19 when they gathered with family and close friends for a private ceremony on Dec. 28, 1942. For a year, Pat followed her husband as he was stationed across the country.

“Army life was very interesting. I met a lot of girls – young girls like myself – following their husbands,” she said. “We weren’t supposed to, because our husbands weren’t officers, but we did anyway.”

Eventually, they ended up in Richmond, Va., before Bob was sent to the South Pacific.

Even now, 70 years later, Pat described their last goodbye with tears in her eyes: “There were three girls and then three boys saying goodbye in the back of the train, and it was very emotional. It was just like at the movies. The train took off and the three of us were standing there, and they were on the back platform of the train, waving goodbye.”

Bob spent two years in places like New Guenea, Biak, Luzon, Manila and Tokyo, while Pat lived with his mother.

When he came home in 1945, two days before their third wedding anniversary, the couple barely recognized one another.

“Bob came on the train, and he couldn’t imagine who the young lady was, standing with his brother,” Pat said. “And I didn’t recognize him either, because you go from a teenager to an adult.”

In 1949, after the war, they looking for work, and have lived here ever since, raising two children, Vickie and Robert, and now enjoying two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Bob worked for the Pacific Telephone Company until 1985, and the couple continues to live in the Friendly Valley Senior Community in Newhall.

On Dec. 28, 2012 the Armachers gathered with 90 friends and relatives at the Friendly Valley Country Club to celebrate their 70th anniversary.

It is a rare milestone, but Bob says their secret to such a long, successful marriage is simple: “The secret is when you get married, plan on staying married. We’ve probably argued about everything in the world…but we have never argued about money.”

They both agree that facing the hardships of the war and post-war time together was very instrumental in strengthening their relationship, and they were determined to prove the people wrong who told them it would never last.

Comment On This Story
COMMENT POLICY: We welcome comments from individuals and businesses. All comments are moderated. Comments are subject to rejection if they are vulgar, combative, or in poor taste.
REAL NAMES ONLY: All posters must use their real individual or business name. This applies equally to Twitter account holders who use a nickname.

1 Comment

  1. Yes, yes, yes, and the best of luck to them! Relationship skills are something that, all too sadly, is being lost on my generation. People I graduated from high school with are already on their second marriage and third child–and I’m 23! That’s just not how a relationship is supposed to work, and a relationship is just that… WORK.

    Relationships don’t happen and won’t succeed without effort. When you put in the effort, the results are beautiful. One of the keys I have found is that you shouldn’t let your relationship ever enter a lag phase–this is when partners most often leave. Rather, it’s essential to keep the interest and the romance alive. Fortunately, there are a few simple steps that can help out with this:

    http://www.abcsofattraction.com/blog/relationship-skills-how-to-use-abcs-of-attraction-in-a-relationship/

Leave a Comment


SCV NewsBreak
LOCAL NEWS HEADLINES
Thursday, Mar 28, 2024
April 16: FYI Seeks Volunteers To Pair With Local Foster Youth
Local nonprofit Fostering Youth Independence is seeking “Allies” to support Santa Clarita youth who are aging out of the L.A. County foster care system.
Thursday, Mar 28, 2024
California Announces $25 Million in Awards for Youth Mental Health
To support the mental health of California's young people, the California Department of Public Health awarded $25 million to 28 tribal and community-based organizations across the state.
Wednesday, Mar 27, 2024
California Launches New Youth Suicide Prevention Campaign
The California Department of Public Health launched the “Never a Bother” campaign, a youth suicide prevention public awareness and outreach campaign for youth, young adults, and their parents, caregivers, and allies.
Keep Up With Our Facebook

Latest Additions to SCVNews.com
1928 - Little dam victim, thought unidentified & buried in SCV, actually ID'd & buried in Chatsworth [story]
Newhall Cowboys
Los Angeles County Public Works is updating the Los Angeles County Bicycle Master Plan.
April 16:  County Bicycle Master Plan Virtual Community Meeting
College of the Canyons mens golf got back on track during its return to conference play on Monday, carding a five-man score of 370 to top the eight-team field at Brookside Golf Course and maintain its unblemished conference mark.
Cougars Win Again, Keep Conference Streak
Los Angeles County Treasurer and Tax Collector, reminds property owners that the second installment of the 2023-24 Annual Secured Property Taxes becomes  delinquent if not received by 5 p.m. Pacific Time or United States Postal Service postmarked on or before Wednesday, April 10, 2024.
County Treasurer Reminds Property Owners of April 10 Due Date
Local nonprofit Fostering Youth Independence is seeking “Allies” to support Santa Clarita youth who are aging out of the L.A. County foster care system.
April 16: FYI Seeks Volunteers To Pair With Local Foster Youth
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health today unveiled the latest L.A. County Health Survey, which gathers vital data on health behaviors, conditions, neighborhood settings, and the needs of L.A .County residents, informing future public health policies and programs.
Public Health Unveils the 2023 L.A. County Health Survey Findings
Due to the projected rain forecast, Eggstravaganza will now be held indoors at the Canyon Country Community Center beginning promptly at 10 a.m. on March 30.
March 30: Eggstravaganza Now Being Held Indoors at Canyon Country Community Center
To support the mental health of California's young people, the California Department of Public Health awarded $25 million to 28 tribal and community-based organizations across the state.
California Announces $25 Million in Awards for Youth Mental Health
The College of the Canyons Athletic Department will host a dedication ceremony to unveil the Michele Jenkins Softball Team Room in honor of the longtime board member and ardent softball program supporter’s nearly 40 years of service to the district.
April 16: COC to Host Michele Jenkins Team Room Dedication Ceremony
PFLAG Santa Clarita has announced the establishment of the Peggy and Jeff Stabile PFLAG SCV Scholarship. The scholarship will provide financial assistance to LGBTQIA+ students pursuing higher education and committed to advocating for LGBTQIA+ rights and promoting diversity and inclusion.
PFLAG SCV Announces Stabile PFLAG Scholarship
1934 - Bouquet Canyon Reservoir, replacement for ill-fated St. Francis Dam & reservoir, begins to fill with water [story]
Bouquet Reservoir
The California Department of Public Health launched the “Never a Bother” campaign, a youth suicide prevention public awareness and outreach campaign for youth, young adults, and their parents, caregivers, and allies.
California Launches New Youth Suicide Prevention Campaign
The Santa Clarita Master Chorale invites the community to "Let the Sunshine In," a delightful evening of food, wine and song at the annual Cabaret & Cabernet fundraising benefit.
April 20: Santa Clarita Master Chorale’s Cabaret, Cabernet Fundraiser
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health cautions residents who are planning to visit the below Los Angeles County beaches to avoid swimming, surfing, and playing in ocean waters:
March 27 Ocean Water Warning
As an integral ingredient necessary to help the Santa Clarita Valley to flourish, feedback from the business community is the secret sauce for achieving great things.
SCVEDC Asks For the Business Community’s Opinion on Santa Clarita
Raise your heart rate while raising funds for the Santa Clarita Sister Cities Dollars-for-Desks campaign to provide school desks for students in Sariaya, Santa Clarita's Sister City in the Philippines.
April 13: Sister Cities Zumba-thon Fundraiser
Remo, Inc. is is the world's leading manufacturer and developer of synthetic drumheads and shells. They’ve been in business for 60 years
SCVEDC Company Spotlight: Drumming Up Big Business with Remo, Inc.
California State Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo (D-Chatsworth) and Assemblyman James Ramos (D-Highland) have introduced AB 3074 the "School or athletic team names: California Racial Mascots Act."
Schiavo Introduces Bill to Prohibit ‘Derogatory’ School Mascot Names
Los Angeles County’s Justice, Care and Opportunities Department  in collaboration with Local Initiatives Support Corporation Los Angeles is proud to announce the 2nd Annual Pitch Competition for the cohorts of JCOD's Incubation Academy.
March 28: JCOD Incubation Academy Helps Grassroots Non-Profits For the Second Year
Children’s Bureau is seeking foster families and now offers two virtual ways for individuals and/or couples to learn how to help children in foster care while reunifying with birth families or how to provide legal permanency by adoption.
April 18: Children’s Bureau Hosts Virtual Orientation
The Sunburst track was constructed in 1887 by the Southern Pacific Railroad and was a part of the main line running between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Enjoy Spring With a Ride On The Sunburst Track
California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond hosted a Personal Finance Summit today where he announced his support for Assembly Bill 2927 (McCarty), legislation that would require a personal finance education course for California high school graduation.
State Superintendent Announces Support for Personal Finance Graduation Requirement
1847 - Probable birth date of Pico Canyon oil driller Charles Alexander Mentry [story]
C.A. Mentry
SCVNews.com