A Natural Dam couple can tell you the secret to a long and happy marriage is simple – God’s grace. The couple, Thell and Margie Ellison, were recently honored for that commitment of 83 years.
In May, the couple was contacted by the Worldwide Marriage Encounter Organization and were honored recently as the longest married couple in the State of Arkansas.
Thell Ellison and Margie Rose were married on June 24, 1941, in a simple ceremony that took place on a bluff overlooking Lee Creek in northern Crawford County, Arkansas. Before the union, the couple attended the church prayer meeting, and then were escorted by a friend to the justice of the peace to be married. No guests, no cake, no wedding gown. The bride wore a beautiful, light blue dress made by her aunt. There were no bridal showers, no wedding portraits, no money or help from family, just two young people in love and determined to make a good life for themselves. And that, they did.
Born and raised in a rural and remote farming community, the newlyweds laid roots in a beautiful
valley where small farms were scattered along Lee Creek. There was no electricity, no gas, and no indoor plumbing. Communication was by word of mouth and walking was the sole mode of transportation. Times were very harsh. It was the era of the Dust Bowl Drought, Stock Market crash, Great Depression and the Second World War.
It was almost impossible to find work and if you did, you might work all week for fifty cents. There were no food banks or government handouts. Everyone had to work and make their own way to take care of their family.
Margie excelled in school and completed the eighth grade, the highest grade available
to them. Thell attended school off and on till he was thirteen. The school was relocated
and too far for him to walk every day. He then went to work in the woods, cutting stave bolts and
railroad ties. He loved school and did well when he was able to attend. At that time school was in
session three months in the winter and three months in the late summer. Many times, he had to
stay home and work in the fields and other times the creek would be too swollen for him to cross.
Thell became a Christian in his early twenties and had a desire to read the Bible. Thell stated that with God’s help he learned to read. Today, he is a well-learned man, who has been in leadership roles most of his adult life.
Thell lived on farmland located on the north bank of the creek and Margie on the mountain
across on the south side of Lee Creek. On Margie’s side of the creek, Pleasant Grove
Church, which served as the school and community center. The couple attended the small country school. A camaraderie was built between their large families, each had nine brothers and sisters. Thell crossed the creek often to attend church services, Brush Arbor meetings and community gatherings such as pie suppers. Margie also attended as these were the social events for the young people at that time. Their courtship was limited to “talking” at these events. Music was and still is a common bond. After they were married, they sang together in church for many years. Thell played the mandolin and sang lead, Margie played the guitar and harmonized in her beautiful alto voice.
In time the years of friendship blossomed into love that would unite them in marriage. A
marriage where God is revered and trusted to meet the needs that life brings their way. They
began married life on a small rural remote farm, no electric, no gas, no running water or indoor
plumbing. They truly lived off the grid. They raised a wide variety of vegetables including
watermelons, green beans and strawberries for the market. All sorts of animals roamed the
farm, each had a purpose: the mules for working the crop and for every other job on the farm
including pulling the wagon hauling sacks of corn to the grist mill or eggs or produce for barter
to the general store. Of course there were chickens, the Jersey milk cow and the beautiful Red
Hereford cattle. They grew sugar cane and made sorghum molasses, and always had a good
patch of popcorn. As time went on, both would take jobs in town, Thell worked at Swift &
Company until it burned, then worked at Baldor Electric till he retired. Margie worked at OK
Foods for fifteen years. At night when she got home, her hands were swollen, very red
and hurt her so bad. This was before automation, and they handled the ice-cold chicken all shift.
Later she worked at Daryl Thomas Co., Unitog and then on to the Federal Building where she
retired.
During this time, they had five children, Ernest, Norma, Kathryn, Wanda and John. In
later years, they moved Margie’s aging parents into their home and cared for them until their
passing. After retirement they did not slow down. In addition to family and church obligations,
Margie operated her dog kennel, always had a long list of sewing jobs, managed the home and
canned and processed the garden bounty. Thell grew a large vegetable garden, continued to
raise cattle and kept up with the farm work, which was very demanding during hay season. He
was a skilled carpenter, handyman and was called on many times to fix plumbing issues and make
repairs. While retired, he built a couple of new houses, two bridges (a big overflow washed out the first one) over the small creek that runs between their home and the road. Also, he did numerous jobs remodeling the house.
The couple attend the Independence Freewill Baptist Church in Natural Dam which is on the
banks of Lee Creek where they were born, raised and still live today. Both are faithful Christian
servants striving to walk in the will of the Lord every day and have supported and worked in the
church wherever they were needed. Margie served as Clerk, song leader, teacher and custodian. She is also known for her culinary skills, specifically, the delicious pies she makes for anyone she thinks needs an extra special dose of love. In years past, when the small country church was struggling, Thell, with Margie’s support, loved and cared for the church as if it were his sole responsibility. In years past he’s cut and hauled the wood for heat, painted walls, repaired the old decaying building and bargained for pews and other necessities. A self-taught Bible scholar, Thell
continues to teach the Adult Sunday School Class as he has done for over 70 years. The
couple is blessed with good health remain able to attend services at the church.
Today, Thell and Margie’s family have grown to over 100 members strong, including five children, 15 grandchildren, 37 great-grandchildren, 31 great-great-grandchildren, and 24 spouses.
Thell and Margie remain in the home that Thell built over 60 years ago. During the week Thell eats a big breakfast and is out in his shop by mid-morning where he makes cedar porch swings, dining tables, flags, counter tops, and recently, several solid cedar doors for family members who are remodeling or building a home. He made himself a podium for his Bible, so he works a while then reads a while. Praying, meditating, reading, studying the Bible is an integral part of his life. Thell and Margie are known prayer warriors and receive many calls requesting special prayer.
Thell still keeps up with what needs to be done around the place and will take a ride in his “buggy” (golf cart) to check on things. He is known around the county for his beautiful and bountiful vegetable garden which now he supervises and guides other family members in getting done.
Margie starts her day by cooking a breakfast of eggs, gravy, and biscuits. She plans and prepares meals with Thell in mind, making sure he eats well, and avoids processed foods. Every day he
eats flour gravy, Margie laughed when she said over the years, she has made enough gravy to fill
a pond!
She makes yeast bread and keeps a supply of homemade chocolate candy in the refrigerator for
Thell. She is always thinking of others with a phone call or card or with one of her famous lemon
cream or fried apple pies. She continues to preserve the excess fruits and vegetables from the
garden. She is an excellent seamstress once making prom dresses, suits, children’s clothes, and
costumes. She now does the mending for the family. She still does light housework and
laundry, always making sure Thell’s clothes are pressed and ready. She makes several trips a day
out to the shop to check on Thell, taking him a drink of water and checking to see if he needs her help.
At age 107 and 99, Thell and Margie reveal the secret to their 83 years of marriage. “I don’t know hardly what to say except just by the Grace of God are we here today, as well as we are and have lived together all these years,” Thell shared. “I prayed God would give me a good Christian wife and he did. Marriage takes a lot of patience and determination. We remember the vows we
made, the Bible says it is better not to make a vow than to make one and break it. I give God
all the praise and thank him daily for allowing us to still be here and give us the health to be up
and about. And I think our health is due to eating the food we grow; a good variety and it is food without chemicals. Mom (Margie) cooks and prepares our meals, we don’t eat out. Our bodies are
what we put in them and staying active is very important, we have never stopped, we’ve worked
all our lives. I believe we were put here on this earth to ‘work out not rust out!'”
Margie added, “we didn’t have any other thoughts except being together, having a family and raising our children. Our wedding vows said “until death do you part” so that’s the way it would be for us. Yes, there have been hard times, but we worked through them and kept going. We lived a rather quiet life, never did anything big and grandiose, we didn’t go out or attend many social events. We stayed focused on family, home and church activities. I would say our daily pattern was very routine and I think that was a help. I had good loving parents, and I give them credit for raising me right. My mother had polio and was paralyzed when I was eleven years old, it was so hard watching her suffer. My dad and our family took care of her until she died at age ninety. That
was a hard time and I learned from that hardship that helped me deal with things through the
years. Today we have a large loving family and I thank God everyday for each one of them.
God has blessed us with good health for our age. You know we’ve never run to the doctor with
every little ache and pain nor have we taken a bunch of medicine. Just in recent years I’ve
started taking a low dose blood pressure pill and Thell takes a thyroid pill. We rarely eat any
processed foods, what we eat is from our garden. Thell has always raised a big garden with a
wide variety of vegetables and we have access to locally grown fruit. And of course I’ve canned
and filled the freezer each summer of which we eat from till next garden season. We have
always worked and continue to stay active so I think that’s helped us. Overall we’ve had a good
life.”
One word sums this couple, their marriage and life story–amazing. Their life and commitment to each other is nothing short of a testimony to the Lord. The Ellisons certainly have built a legacy that generations can aspire to become.
