'Your vows mean something'
By Courtney Luke
One night, in the 1940s, at the show, as the movie theater was once called, Ralph Blough met Doris Pitts.
They were both with friends when they headed to the Risco Theater.
The group soon became a twosome. The movies continued to be a favorite dating spot for the young couple eventually decided to get married.
Ralph graduated from Risco High School in 1948. The following year, Doris graduated from Gideon.
On December 23, 1951, the couple were married.
Having already joined the Army, Ralph, while home on 10 day furlow, married Doris at her home church, Tallapoosa Baptist Church. They soon moved to Alaska where he was stationed.
While in Alaska, their first child, Debra, was born.
Ralph recalls that the hospital bill was $7.
Soon after the baby was born, it was time to move again.
But Doris recalls that her daughter had to be at least 6 weeks old in order to fly. Once that time frame was up, they headed back to the continental United States.
She had been instructed to keep an eye on her babies fingers while in flight and make sure they did not begin to turn blue.
The small, young family returned to Risco where Ralph tried his hand at a few odd jobs. Ralph intended to pursue Vocational Agriculture classes that were taught locally, but the classes were full.
On his drive back, he got the idea to instead use his GI money to go to college.
Initially, the couple began their college career at Arkansas State, but due to certain Federal regulations at the time, Ralph learned that in his specific degree field, he would only be able to teach in Arkansas. He wanted the option of also teaching in Missouri.
They transferred to the University of Missouri where he continued his education in agriculture and a minor in chemistry and she pursued a math degree with a home economics minor.
"You have to organize and plan it," Ralph explained of college. "I had a plan in almost all of the classes."
He explained that each day, he would make a list of words from each class.
"I would make sure I knew anything he [professor] would ask me about that word."
Ralph believes this form of learning helped him dramatically with his academic pursuits.
After years of hard work, the couple earned their bachelor degrees. In 1958, they began teaching science and math in the Risco School District.
In his original contract, he remembers that his salary was $4,000 per year.
Ralph also continued his education by spending several summers earning a master's of teaching in chemistry.
Ralph remembers that his education was right during the time the American/ Russian Space Race was at its height. For his field especially, things were changing quickly and dramatically. New, state of the art equipment was consistently available.
In 1965, the couple began teaching at Malden.
The couple devoted their lives to helping to provide educations for high school students.
Ralph recalls, while in a lecture, standing atop his desk and jumping off in order to more adequately explain potential energy.
Their devotion to education continued on to later generations. Thought their son Wayne pursued a career in computers, their daughter and over half of their descendants have also chosen to be educators.
Since retirement, the couple has managed to stay busy. They are active in First Baptist Church-Risco where Ralph has attended since 1948 and Doris since 1958. Through the years, he was a Sunday School teacher and she was always ready to volunteer.
Doris has also enjoyed being a member of the Rural Independent Club.
The couple believes that a key to their successful marriage is the ability to give and take and a dedication to the commitment made during the wedding ceremony.
"You just have to decide you're going to stick together. Swallow your disappointments," explained Ralph adding, "Your vows mean something!"
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