WHEN her friend shunned a new Dutch pen-pal, York woman Violet Dekker stepped in to begin a correspondence which eventually led her down the aisle.
Mrs Dekker and husband Pieter, pictured, who celebrate their golden wedding anniversary today, were married at St Lawrence's Church, in York, in 1951 after becoming pen-pals in 1947.
"My friend didn't want to write back to him because we were teenagers and he was about three years older, and she thought that was too old," she said.
"I thought it was only courteous to reply to his letter, so I wrote to him."
The letters began to flow between the pair, Mrs Dekker visited her new friend in Holland and he later proposed.
In 1951, an article about their wedding ran in the Evening Press under the headline "Tang Hall bride for Dutchman".
The couple, who live in Osbaldwick, have a son Kevin, daughter Suzanne and three grandchildren.
They are set to celebrate their 50-year landmark with friends and family on Tuesday.
Updated: 12:29 Saturday, April 21, 2001
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