Giving Thanks On 65 Years Of Happiness

For weeks Bill Stock mulled over what he and his wife, Frances, would do for their 65th wedding anniversary.

It's not every day couples cross this milestone, and the 86-year-old wanted the day to be special.

Thinking of something different wasn't easy. The two, in their mid-80s, had been everywhere and had done everything.

"We've been every place," said Frances, 84. 'We don't need another cruise."

Then it came to him one day, and when he shared it with Frances at the breakfast table, she was all for it.

Why not host a food drive for needy people?

"Every time we (celebrated our anniversary, we) had a party, guests, gifts and all that other stuff," he said. "I wanted this to be a giving event."

The two invited their pastor, Steve Bishop from Eastside Christian Church of Highlands County, to help them formulate a plan.

Bishop figured it would be a good idea to collect 100 pounds of food for every year of marriage. So, between now and Dec. 4 - around 65 days -- the two hope to raise 6,500 pounds of canned and dry goods.

The Stocks' wedding anniversary date is actually Dec. 27, but to help folks before Christmas, they figured it made sense to move up the celebrations a week.

So, on the Saturday of Dec. 20, after the food is collected, the two will go personally to the homes of the people they want to help, and drop off the gifts.

"God has blessed them so much, not only with 65 years of marriage," said Bishop. "Instead of just receiving something, they wanted to give back to God."

The food is going to be collected at the church, located at 101 Peace Ave., Lake Placid.

Bishop is hoping to get names of needy people from Manna Ministries, the Lake Placid High School, and other places. His daughter works for the Key Club at Lake Placid High School. He's hoping the club adopts this as a service project.

"It's not necessarily a thing for Eastside or Bill or Frances," he said.

The church collects food for Manna Ministries all the time.

"But it is the first time we are doing something of a magnitude of this sort," Bishop said.

Along with the food drive, the two have invited anyone and everyone they have known in their 45 years of living in Lake Placid to join them for their celebrations.

"With no gifts, no cards," said Bill Stock. "Just their presence."

Then, just like they had done on their 40th wedding anniversary, the two will renew their wedding vows in the presence of their family, which includes their two sons, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

"I think it's very appropriate at 65 years (that we renew our vows)," said Bill Stock.

From The East Coast To Florida

It was World War II. Bill Stock was in the U.S. Marine Corps and Frances Stock was with the U.S Navy. He had been injured and was on convalescence leave, visiting his parents on the East Coast.

Frances was in Albany, N.Y., celebrating going into the Navy. Bill was there, too.

They met for the first time even though they had grown up not too far from each other.

Frances had lived on one side of the Hudson River, and he on the other side. The two had never bumped into each other even though they had gone to the same dances.

When Bill saw Frances he made up his mind about something, he remembered with a twinkle in his eye.

"That's the girl I want to marry," he told himself. "But she didn't know that."

The two did get married, and moved to Florida in search for better prospects.

When they arrived in Hollywood in 1947, it was a town of 3,000. For 25 years, Bill had a successful contracting business there.

He also was a Scoutmaster, and one year decided to bring his boys to a camping trip on Lake Huntley, in Lake Placid.

Turns out it wasn't the best day for an outdoor trip.

That weekend, the temperatures dropped to 26 F, and the lakefront froze.

Worried parents bombarded Frances with phone calls.

Everyone was OK, but Bill fell in love with the place.

"When I went back, I told Frances, 'We've got to live there,'" he remembered.

The two built a winter home on Lake Huntley in 1953 and moved to Lake Placid a few years later.

When they arrived in Lake Placid, they were one of the first ones there, Bill remembered.

The Stocks also built the first storage units in the area and Kingswood Manor, the townhouse complex by Saddlebags Lake, where they also live. For 45 years, Frances took care of the books.

When Bill went to a bank to get a loan for the storage unit, now called Placid Mini Warehouse, he remembers being told it was a crazy idea.

Even his competitor laughed.

Today, it has grown to accommodate seven storage buildings on a five-acre tract.

In 1979, Bill came up with the idea of building his townhouse complex. He finished the project in 1981 and has lived there for 17 years.

They thank God for the success in life and their good health, and feel if they do not do something to show that gratitude now, they never will.

"The Lord has been good to us," Bill said. "I'll like to give something back instead of receiving."

Anyone who wants to donate for the food drive can drop off the food at the Eastside church office between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday until Dec. 4.