Giving your lover flowers on your anniversary is considered a traditional yet romantic gesture. A flower bouquet is something many women and even some men enjoy receiving. However, as a relationship progresses, one may find that the flower-giving becomes less frequent as their partner becomes more comfortable with them.
For an 82-year-old man named Melvin Bickel from Union County, things are different. When he married his wife 64 years ago, he made it an annual tradition to give her flowers every time their anniversary date rolled around. Over six decades into their marriage, Melvin still sticks with the flower tradition today
It sounds simple to give your partner fresh flowers once a year, but Melvin goes the extra mile – literally. In fact, he drives about an hour to Scott’s Floral and Gifts in Danville to pick her up a beautiful set of roses to bring home to her.
“They do a beautiful job over there and I have been getting them from there for years,” Melvin said. Due to the great service and superior quality, he has no plans to get his wife’s anniversary flowers anywhere else.
To take the romance up a notch further, Melvin decided to get an extra rose added to his wife’s arrangement for each additional year they’ve been together.
“It started out with a dozen, and then when it got to the 13th I just started adding one, just to be different. I’ve just kept it up and now, it would be impossible to stop.”
And Melvin doesn’t want to stop. Giving Lois, his true love, roses every year is his way of showing her just how much he loves her.
“Love has no end. You love somebody, it’s for life, and I love her more than anything else in the world.”
And Lois, too, appreciates the romantic gesture.
“It shows me that he really does love me, and he cares. He is very caring,” she shared.
Apart from proving to her that her husband really does love her, Lois genuinely loves receiving the flowers and makes sure to put them on display, so she can properly cherish them.
“The flowers are beautiful. They are every year and we sit them out there on the table because that’s where I spend most of my time,” Lois continued.
The flower-a-year tradition has been working well for Melvin over the years. To date, Melvin and Lois are still a strong, happy, and loving couple living in Millmont, Pennsylvania.
Melvin’s best relationship advice? “You got to learn to give and take, and you got to put up with a lot that you normally wouldn’t, but for love, you can do it.”
Listen to an interview with Melvin and his wife Lois below!
