Bill and Mary Ellen Perkins, residents of Falcon since 1972, are celebrating their 50-year anniversary this June. Married in Pueblo, Colo., in 1959, they moved to California right after their wedding.Their daughter, Suelyn Ghormley, said there wasn’t much of a wedding celebration for her parents. Together with her siblings Brian Perkins and Vicky Ulrich, she is planning a 50th anniversary celebration in honor of their parents.Ghormley said she hoped the party could be a surprise, but she had to get her parents involved when she found 400 names in her mother’s address book.The Perkins bought a 5-acre parcel of land when they moved to Falcon. They lived in a trailer until their home was completed in 1978. Ghormley said they never had much livestock but would sometimes raise a cow for meat. Her father also housed his business on the property.Peggy Marriott, a long-time neighbor, said she carpooled to church and Bible study with Mary Ellen Perkins for many years. “She is a vey sweet person,” Marriott said. “She is a helper and worker.”Marriott said she met Mary Ellen the day the Perkins moved to Falcon. “She came to use the telephone,” she said. “At that time, anywhere you called was long distance.” Marriott said she loaned the phone because, as country folk, everyone has to rely on each other at some point. “It’s not hard to meet people in a small town,” she said. ” You keep meeting them over and over; and, when there aren’t that many people, it’s not hard to remember their names.”When the Perkins raised their children in Falcon, Marriott said there was not much development in the area. Marriott’s husband was the foreman for the construction of the Falcon Fire Station and the K-12 school on Highway 24. The school is now the Patriot Learning Center.”We all graduated from Falcon High School,” Ghormley said. “It was a very small, very loving, caring community. It is still that way or my parents wouldn’t still be there.”Ghormley said her parents did everything together and made decisions jointly – facts she attributes to the longevity of their marriage. “They were always friends and they taught us to never go to bed angry – solve problems and don’t let them fester,” she said.In addition to their three children, the Perkins have 14 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren, with one more on the way. Ghormley said anyone wishing to express congratulations can send cards to 4450 Meridian Road, Falcon, CO 80831.
