Wedding cake and marriage both survive 60 years

Lynn Atkins/The Weekly Vista Bob and Karen Olson recently celebrated 60 years of marriage.
Lynn Atkins/The Weekly Vista Bob and Karen Olson recently celebrated 60 years of marriage.

When Karen and Bob Olson's granddaughter was married recently, she could have had the perfect "something old" from her grandparents wedding. In spite of several moves and over 60 years of marriage, the Olsons still have the top layer of their wedding cake.

"The boys," Karen Olson said, referring to her two adult sons, "don't want it."

In fact, they told her recently that they had no idea the cake even existed.

Karen and Bob Olson were married in 1959 in a little country church that has since become a private home. They lived in a small town in Iowa and first met in elementary school. So 60 years of marriage isn't their entire relationship.

After the ceremony, Karen Olson put the top layer of the cake in a box. The tradition was that a married couple would eat that layer on their first anniversary, but for whatever reason, the Olson's cake remained in the box. Sixty years later, the cake is still in the box, although it's traveled with the family all over the Midwest.

She also has her cake topper -- the bride and groom figure from the top of the cake.

The cake was never refrigerated and over the years, it's changed color, but the basic shape, even the frosting roses, is in tact and recognizable.

Bob Olson was a banker for 50 years and Karen Olson worked as secretary and owned a ladies clothing store. They lived in Iowa and Wisconsin and have two sons and two granddaughters.

The couple retired to Bella Vista about 19 years ago, partly for the golf, but they have many other interest including drama club and church activities. They are "winter Texans" and have a second retirement home in the Rio Grande Valley where winters are milder.

The secret to a good marriage? For Karen Olson, it's "a lot of give and take."

General News on 08/14/2019