Charles and Jackie Harrop: 'Kiss each other daily'

Intermountain Catholic

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Jackie and Charles Harrop as they are today, married 60 years.

OGDEN — Jackie and Charles Harrop can not only talk about watching the new St. James Catholic Church go up in Ogden, they can tell you about helping to build the old St. James Church. Married Aug. 3, 1947 in St. Joseph Church, the Harrops went to elementary school together at the original St. Joseph Elementary School.

"The school went from the first to the 10th grade," Jackie said. "We were grade school sweethearts. My graduating class had 10 students in it. Charles’ had 12. I was going to Ogden High School when Charles was drafted.

"We were 18 and 20 years old when Charles returned from World War II, and even then we weren’t talking about getting married," Jackie said. "But all our friends just figured we would."

Charles said he was drawn to Jackie by her stubbornness.

Charles entered Weber College on the G.I. Bill while working for the government at the Defense Depot in Ogden (DDO), where he’d worked briefly before going to war. He was also in the active reserves, so there was little time for romancing. Still, he gave Jackie her engagement ring for her 19th birthday.

Charles and Jackie describe their wedding ceremony as, "simple, with a reception later at Charles’ folks’ house."

"I was working for the government for $125 a month for four hours of work a day," Charles said. "When I had only six months left in the service, I was sent off to Korea, where I made about 40 cents an hour to work day and night. I always liked Harry (Truman) for that."

The parents of three daughters, Charles and Jackie said they always assumed a job would be there for Charles at the DDO, and he again found a niche there when he returned from Korea. Because of injuries suffered during World War II, Charles took an early retirement with disability from the DDO in 1976, after 33 years, counting the time he spent in the military. He’d waived his disability to go to Korea, but learned there that was a mistake. He was plagued by severe back pain until he was discharged. The couple have nine grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

"When people get married, they have to have perseverance," Jane said. "They have to realize they are in this for the long haul."

"Things were different when we were young," said Charles. "We always kept busy. There were no long days and nights in front of the television."

"We loved each other and we respected each other," Jane said. "There was time to talk things over, and communications are so important in a marriage. Sometimes communications break down, and you have to build them back up."

Jackie added that these days it’s too easy for couples to get a divorce when their marriages hit a rough spot. "But today, young women also almost have to work."

"Money problems break a lot of couples up," Charles said. "We remember living in a home I built. We couldn’t afford the glass for the picture window in the living room. We lived for years with a piece of plywood instead of a window."

Finally, he said, he went to two banks in Ogden hoping to get a signature loan to buy Jackie a picture window and a few pieces of furniture for the living room for a Christmas present.

"The first bank wanted me to sign over our car," said Charles. "But I’d bought it from my brother for $12, and I didn’t think they’d want that, so I left. When I got to the second bank, I was a little hot under the collar. I told them I wanted a signature loan, and the manager came out and we worked it out."

Charles said that loan was one of only a few he’s taken out in his lifetime, and he paid it back immediately.

The townhouse the Harrops live in now is the first home Charles didn’t build for them himself.

"Today, it’s too easy for married people to spend as individuals," he said. "They need to learn to talk things over."

Jackie agreed, saying they have tried to teach their children and grandchildren not to build up big credit card debts.

They recalled the building of the first St. James Church under Father David Goddard. "Fr. Goddard asked for $200 from each family, and we did take out a loan for that," said Charles. "It was our down payment on St. James Church."

When the weather allows, the Harrops attend Mass at St. Florence Church in Huntsville, where they enjoy the company and the ministry of Father Charles T. Cummins. Their burial plots are in Huntsville. They live in Ogden for health reasons.

"I think the hardest times for our marriage were when I was in the service," said Charles. "We missed each other terribly. She and our first daughter moved to Bremerton, Washington because I was supposed to be there for 90 days decommissioning a ship. But I ended up being there only 30 days. We ended up driving a truck home to Ogden for Christmas with a two-year-old child."

Jackie never worked outside the home, but their homes were often farms, and the fields and the animals kept her and the children both busy and fed.

Today, the Harrops maintain a two-foot garden around their townhouse. Charles grows vegetables and Jackie grows flowers.

An early convert from Mormonism, Charles said he recalls working the Bingo games at St. James Church with Leonard Brennan and getting advice from Msgr. Patrick Kennedy. Both Harrops remember Catholics visiting the Italian prisoners of war who were interned near the DDO. Jackie still has a book of ration stamps from those days.

"I guess I’d tell young people to keep talking with each other," Charles said. "Also, they shouldn’t take advantage of each other.

Jackie, in a telephone call after our interview, said married couples should never fail to say, "I love you" every day. "And they should kiss at least once a day. That’s important."