OWEN and Estelle Bahlmann celebrate their golden wedding anniversary on Saturday.
Owen Bahlmann met Estelle Wrede at a War Memorial Dance in King William’s Town on September 21 1963. Estelle was a staff member of Dale Junior under the then principal, Mr Dummy Taylor. At this stage, Dale Junior were celebrating their first year of “independence” after separating from Dale College.
The couple were married three-and-a-half years later on February 11 1967 in the King William’s Town Methodist Church by the Reverend Arnold Whittaker. The Dale Junior choir sang a tribute song at their wedding.
Owen and Estelle moved to Sunnyvale farm, near Berlin, where they farmed for 35 years. Owen farmed while developing entrepreneurial skills with a successful part-time meat business and abattoir. The couple were blessed with a daughter, Mandy, and three sons, Leigh, Brett and Mark. Estelle taught the children in a rondavel on the farm until they went to school in in KWT in Standard 2. They attended KHS and Dale respectively. They have seven grandchildren; Luke Bryce and Kyna (from Mandy), Liza and Tina (Leigh and Suzanne), Kacey (from Brett and Antoinette) and Jade (from Mark and Heather).
Owen served the community on various agricultural bodies and was a steward in the Berlin Methodist Church for 40 years, where Estelle was the organist.
They said that they put their love for God and also each other as their main priority and never let the sun set on their differences.
