Wests to celebrate 70 years together

Mr. Elva West Sr. and Mrs. Ella Dee (Cookemboo) West, of Lowndes, Mo., will mark their 70th wedding anniversary on June 18.

The Wests were married on June 18, 1949 in Jonesboro, Ark. Elva gave Ella a ride to the ceremony on the back of his ‘Hog’ motorcycle, the only mode of transportation he owned. After the ceremony, the couple loaded saddlebags onto the bike, riding to St. Louis, Mo. looking for work.

The Wests have lived in southeast Missouri since 1958, after purchasing a farm that had been in Elva’s family since 1860. The couple owned and operated a sawmill/logging business in Wayne Co. for 60 years. Primarily logging with Belgian horses. The Wests also owned and operated a goat farm for a time.

The Wests then...

The Wests are members of the Worldwide Church of God and are past members of the Goat Association and Modern Woodmen of America.

The couple has two children, a daughter, Rose Helton of Poplar Bluff and a son, E. Herman West Jr.; six granddaughters; 10 great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren.

An anniversary celebration is planned from 2-5 p.m. Sunday, June 2 across from their home place in Lowndes.