50th wedding anniversary gift idea

Clan honors couple's 50th anniversary

Jack and Dorothy Graham knew something was up when their kids told them to dress in their formal Scottish family tartans for an outing Saturday night.

It was, after all, the Spokane Valley couple's 50th wedding anniversary.

The Grahams figured they were headed to a nice quiet little function somewhere. "I thought maybe we were going to a pizza parlor," said Dorothy.

She's joking, of course. But Dorothy had no idea of the festivities her 10 kids had been planning and saving toward for over the last five years.

This was a bash befitting a half-century of love.

Held in Gonzaga University's Cataldo Hall, the party had a guest list of 150-plus, plenty of good food and a swinging dance band, Variety Pak, to play all the old favorites.

But the big surprise began with the wail of the bagpipes at 7:36 p.m.

Jack, Dorothy and their guests looked on in delight as the Angus Scott Pipe Band led a procession of all 38 Graham family members into the dining room.

Six bagpipers a'blaring. Two drummers a'beating.

The parade ended at the west end of the room. After a few tunes, the pipers stopped and family members, most of them dressed in Scottish attire, took over.

The grandkids sang two favorites handed down from Jack and Dorothy. The seven Graham daughters performed a moving rendition of "Danny Boy."

Then the three Graham sons beat a drum cadence while three of the Graham daughters danced a Highland fling.

"This is a definite thank you for giving us this family," said Patty, child No. 7 on the Graham roster.

Jack and Dorothy are remarkable people, but not for the usual worldly reasons.

Jack was a salesman. Dorothy taught school and had babies. They both ran a day care out of their home when their own children got older.

The Grahams never made the society pages. They never rose to positions of power. They are average people who worked hard and learned how to scrimp and save for whatever they got.

When it comes to raising a family, however, the Grahams are as good as it gets.

There are a lot of unsung heroes out there like Jack and Dorothy who never get the publicity they deserve.

"They taught us to respect one another," said firstborn Diane, echoing a sentiment that was repeated by every one of her siblings.

The Grahams met in 1951 while attending Washington State University, which was a mere college back then.

According to Patty, her mother actually had a date with Jack's older brother, Laurie. But he brought Jack along and, well, somehow lost the prize.

Jack "always called it his coup d'etat," added Patty, referring to the French word that is usually used to explain the sudden overthrow of a government.

The Grahams married 50 years ago to the day of their party, Feb. 2, 1952.

Music-minded Dorothy kept the Graham home filled with singing. Jack played bass drum for a time with the Angus Scott Pipe Band and the kids celebrated their Scottish heritage by dancing and drumming at public events like Spokane's Expo '74.

Everybody learned to share and do chores. When Jack decided to put a swimming pool in the back yard, the boys dug the 12-foot-deep hole. The project began in April 1974 and finished at the end of July.

"We were a good source of manual labor," said Scott, child No. 3. "We used a lot of muscle power instead of machinery."

Dinners at this home were always served at the table. No TV. No getting up to answer the telephone.

Call the Graham family values old-fashioned if you want. Just don't say it to Diane, Mary, Scott, Doug, Laura, Peggy, Patty, Barbara, Bruce and Heather.

"I've always looked at our family life as a true gift," said Patty. "We still love each other and we love being together.

"We're honoring our parents for that."