From chicken factory to greengrocers shop - Craven Arms couple's story of 60 married years
A couple who ran a greengrocers shop in Craven Arms for 46 years are this week celebrating their diamond wedding.
Roger and Evelyn Harper, who live in the town, retired from the Fruit Bowl, in Market Street, in 2009 but their first meeting more than 60 years ago was in somewhat less pleasant surroundings.
The couple first clapped eyes on each other while she was on the line and he was in the packing part of the factory producing Chukie chickens for the nation's dinner tables.
The factory was a major employer in the region, with 500 people on its books before it closed about 35 years ago.
"They were wearing overalls and aprons in the factory, so dad must have liked what he saw even then," said daughter Jeanette Harper. "They have always liked each other."
It wasn't long before the 17-year-old Roger 'plucked' up the courage to ask Evelyn, 18, for a date at the local dance and the couple went to the cinema in Craven Arms.
