75 years and still in love

Hjelmer and Dorothy Huberg, of Royal, will celebrate their 75th wedding anniversary Dec. 27. (Photo by Kris Todd) [Order this photo]

The couple, from Royal, plans to quietly mark their 75th wedding anniversary with family and friends later this month. Both clearly remember the day they wed as if it were yesterday.

While he recalls the long, dark hair he had at the time, she vividly remembers her mother hiring a woman from Everly to make her special, satin dress.

Rev. Holger Berthelsen married the couple Dec. 27, 1934, at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Royal. Eloise Crowl, Dorothy's cousin and Hjelmer's neighbor who introduced the two, served as maid of honor. Wendell Zieman, the bride's brother, served as best man.

"It was cold, and we had a duck supper out at home that Hjelmer's aunt and Edith Syndergaard, a friend from Royal, helped make," Dorothy recalled of the celebration. The bride also remembered her father-in-law giving them a set of dishes as a wedding gift. Today, all but one piece of the set remains proudly displayed in the couple's cupboard.

Growing up

Hjelmer Huberg was born Jan. 21, 1914, to Mary (Hjelm) and Hans Huberg on a farm south of Royal. The Danish family moved three months later to the Clay County homeplace that Hjelmer and Dorothy Huberg's oldest son, Charles, farms today.

Hjelmer's mother passed away in 1920 of complications from the flu, leaving Hans Huberg to raise their four children. Although money was scarce, the family hired a handful of housekeepers over the years, and Hjelmer, the couple's only son, dropped out of high school his freshman year in order to help with the family farm.

Dorothy Huberg was born May 5, 1915, to Clara and William Zieman six miles south of Royal on a rural Linn Grove farm homesteaded by the family in 1872. The German descendant, who grew up with two brothers, attended Willow Lawn country school before graduating from Peterson High School in 1933.

As a young girl in the 1920s, Dorothy recalled driving cattle on foot to Peterson, where they then were loaded onto train cars headed for Chicago. She also helped pick corn, one ear at a time, by hand and toss it into a wagon drawn by horses.

"Now look at the trucks and pickers that pick 10, 15, 20, 30 rows," she said.

Both of the former farm kids are lifelong members of Bethlehem Lutheran Church, the place they were united in marriage.

The couple

The newly-married couple settled on a Clay County farm where they raised hogs the first few years and fed cattle. The Hubergs also reared hundreds of Rhode Island Red chickens early in their marriage and milked cows.

"He milked 52 at one time, but his goal was to get up to 200. I'm glad he found a truck," Dorothy, who helped clean out the barn and tend to the cows, recalled of Huberg Trucking's start with a chuckle.

While she managed the business' books, he hauled everything from cattle, sheep and grain to gravel, dirt and water nationwide, as well as into Canada. Hjelmer, who made his last run at the age of 90, passed the Royal-based trucking business onto their youngest son, Roger, who has since expanded it.

The Hubergs, who moved to town in 1955, practice the adage, "Early to bed and early to rise" today. They also don't believe in "doctoring," taking vitamins or exercising.

"I get enough work going up and down the steps and out to the garden," Dorothy revealed.

The one thing the two do not agree on is how warm they prefer their surroundings.

"I like it up on 80," Hjelmer said matter-of-factly while seated in their home's kitchen recently.

The hard-working couple has taken trips to visit relatives over the years, including their daughter, Lisa Louise Goode, who currently lives on a Canton, Texas, acreage. Today, the Huberg's family includes three children, nine grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren.

The couple also enjoy attending church services and activities, watching the Atlanta Braves and Minnesota Twins, as well as occasional hockey games on television.

"It's been a full, busy life. I've never regretted any of it," Dorothy said.

Celebrating 75 years

The 75th wedding anniversary of Hjelmer and Dorothy Huberg will be celebrated with coffee and cake following the Dec. 27 worship service at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Royal. A card shower will also be held on behalf of the couple. Well wishes and cards may be sent to the Hubergs at P.O. Box 32, Royal, Iowa 51357.