Tuesday marked the 70th wedding anniversary of Lebanon residents James F. and Helen (Burgess) McVey. Jim and Helen, who married in Lebanon in August of 1940, celebrated the occasion at a gathering of more than 65 family and friends this past weekend.
Born in Clinton County, Jim was raised primarily on farms in Boone County and Helen was born and grew up in Lebanon. For his first eight years of school, Jim attended classes in a one-room schoolhouse while Helen attended Harney elementary school. Both graduated from Lebanon High School, Jim in 1937 and Helen in 1938.
Sixteen-year-old Jim and 15-year-old Helen met at a Fourth of July picnic in Lafayette. They married five years later.
Jim served as a Naval Flight Engineer during World War II and subsequently obtained a degree in electrical engineering from Purdue University. He worked for Westinghouse Corporation for four years before going to work for the Allison Division of General Motors in Indianapolis, from which he retired in 1985. Helen worked for a number of Lebanon firms over the years, including Pioneer Equitable Insurance Company, Delpark Filters and Lau Division of Philips Industries; she retired in 1985.
Jim and Helen have three children, Bill (wife Leoni), Rick, and Jean Ellen (husband Dan); and four grandchildren, Jennifer (partner Susan), Melanie, Mark (wife Elizabeth) and Alana.
Jim and Helen are motorcycling enthusiasts and have traveled to both coasts and have made numerous other motorcycle trips over the years. Their first major motorcycle trip was in 1941, when they traveled 2400 miles along the East Coast. After retiring, they routinely rode their motorcycle to Chicago, New Jersey and Colorado to visit their children and grandchildren.
In 1988, they took a long-dreamed-of three-month van trip around the perimeter of the U.S., always taking the road closest to the border, even if it was little more than a dirt track. Interested in cultures and sights outside the U.S., they have also traveled to Canada, England, various countries in Continental Europe, Australia, New Zealand and China.
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