USA couple celebrate 65th wedding anniversary in Brora
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An American couple are celebrating their 65th wedding anniversary today in their East Sutherland “home from home”.
Ralph (89) and Helen Petersberger (88), from Washington DC, have been holidaying regularly in Brora for 30 years, staying up to a month at a time.
They are usually accompanied by family members including daughter Clare Petersberger, her husband Dan Norman; and son Wilfred (Wilf), his wife Aimee and children Nick and Rhys.
Ralph, a former attorney who went to Harvard College and Harvard Law School, first met Helen at a “Halloween mixer” at Wellesley College where she was a sophomore.
They were aged 20 and 18 at the time but Ralph said that he knew almost right away that “she was the one”.
The couple married on a rainy day on July 12, 1958, in Jersey City. Helen was late for the service because she did not want to get her wedding dress wet, and Ralph, waiting at the altar, became increasingly nervous. But she finally arrived and their union has steadfastly endured over the subsequent decades.
Asked the secret to their successful marriage, Ralph replies: “An abiding love for each other and a sense of humour which fortunately we both have.”
Their connection with Brora began when they planned a trip to France and Scotland to celebrate their 35th wedding anniversary – France because of Helen’s love of art history and Scotland because of Ralph’s love of golf.
He recalled: “Wilf wanted us to stay at Dornoch but our travel agent, a personal friend, couldn’t get us accommodation there and said there was a Best Western Hotel in Brora which was close enough to Dornoch that we could still play golf there.
The Best Western was the former Links Hotel which has long since been demolished and replaced with the Links Apartments, where the Petersbergers now stay.
Having enjoyed luxury accommodation at St Andrews and Gleneagles, they were unimpressed by the dilapidated Links where the carpets were “impregnated with 30 years of cigarette smoke, the wind howled through the windows and the mattress had a dip in the middle”.
But they were captivated by the stunning view and the “wonderful” restaurant on the hotel’s first floor and by the end of that first holiday had fallen in love with Brora itself.
While Ralph, who still golfs and played a round earlier this week, was entranced by the Brora course. Helen loved the beauty of the North Sea and other family members enjoyed hiking, horse riding and fishing.
Other attractions for the family are the falconry show at Dunrobin Castle, Sutherland Agricultural Society’s county show and East Sutherland Art Society’s annual show, held during Golspie Gala Week.
The Petersbergers have also enjoyed getting to know and making friends with local residents.
Ralph gave Helen a cashmere shawl from Johnston’s of Elgin to mark their anniversary and the couple also treated themselves to a Cyril Reid painting. They enjoyed dinner out at Luigi’s in Dornoch on the day of the anniversary, along with Clare and Dan.
The family are due to leave Brora at the end of the month but Ralph says that as long as his health permits, they will return.
