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Tom and Mary Jane Hall, and their treasured car, mark 50 years of happiness
By Sean Barron
POLAND
Video
Photo
Poland residents Tom and Mary Jane Hall are holding a picture of themselves on their wedding day Sept. 11, 1965. Behind them is the Volkswagen Beetle they purchased that same year. Despite its 50 years on the road, the vintage car has most of its original parts, including an odometer with a mere 57,713 miles on it. Photo by William D. Lewis | The Vindicator
When Tom and Mary Jane Hall mark their 50th wedding anniversary next month, they won’t be alone: Accompanying the couple will be one of their treasured vehicles.
The couple married Sept. 11, 1965. “I knew we were a match,” said Mary Jane, referring to how she felt when she first started dating Tom. “We’re like best friends.”
Even though Sept. 11 evokes sadness and heartache for many people, the date likely will be happy for Tom and Mary Jane as they mark their anniversary. Around the same time, their vintage black Volkswagen Beetle will also turn 50.
The couple spoke recently from their Four Seasons Trail home about their years together and proudly discussed their 1965 car, which has most of the original parts as well as the original paint and chrome.
In addition, the German-built Volkswagen has a mere 57,713 miles, sports a brick-red interior, has two small push-out windows and features a push-button AM radio. An original toolkit and spare tire also are part of the package.
Tom also has kept the bill of sale, which shows that he bought the car from the former John Scotford Inc. dealership in Boardman for $1,859. The price included $25 to have the vehicle undercoated and $35 each for whitewall tires.
Getting used to the car was a little daunting at first for Mary Jane, mainly because she had to get accustomed to driving a stick shift, she recalled.
Before they were hitched, Mary Jane had worked in Ohio Edison’s accounting department. Over the years, she has performed volunteer work, including with the local Parent Teacher Association.
Within the last two years, the Halls have entered their Volkswagen in a few area car shows, including the 37th annual Antique & Classic Car Show on Aug. 2 in Boardman Park. Theirs wasn’t the typical car with flashy features and a high-horsepower engine, but it was pleasing to many attendees for other reasons, Tom explained.
“Everybody is muscle-oriented and wants big engines,” he observed. “This car seems to evoke memories, and everyone we ran into would say, ‘I used to own one,’ and had a story to tell.”
Tom and Mary Jane also were pleasantly surprised to have taken home a first-place award in the foreign-car class.
“We were very, very honored to get this thing,” said Tom, a 1965 Youngstown College graduate who worked in sales for B.F. Goodrich’s industrial-products division in Akron, then for Dublin, Ohio-based HBD Industries Inc.
Even though the couple don’t drive their Volkswagen a lot these days, don’t think that they have become homebodies. Quite the contrary: They love to travel with other couples and family members, including daughters Wendy Hall and Kimberly Balash, who is married to Dana Balash, 21 WFMJ-TV’s sports director.
The Halls’ travels have taken them on dozens of cruises, to Myrtle Beach, S.C., and on boating expeditions in Canada, to name a few places, Tom said.
Their next trip, however, will be quite a bit closer to home. For their 50th anniversary, the couple will be the guests of honor at a dinner at Caffe Capri Italian Bar & Grille in Boardman.
So, what goes into keeping a 50-year marriage — and a 50-year-old car — in pristine condition? Plenty of care, compatibility and maintenance, Tom and Mary Jane will tell you.
“We share a lot of duties together,” Mary Jane said. “We’re compatible and we always help one another. We don’t take anything for granted.”