Gerry Fagerlie was 15 years old when he met 14-year-old Penny Salvadalena at the Monte Villa Farm in Bothell where she grew up. It was the summer before their freshman year of high school, and Gerry felt a spark, while Penny was a little unsure, especially taking into account that he worked for her father.

“I was interested in her right away,” Gerry said.

“He remembers what I was wearing,” Penny (now Fagerlie) added.

“Her hair was in a long ponytail, and she was wearing white glasses,” he recalled.

Her father had just hired him to work on the farm, so they didn’t start “going together” until Gerry quit working for her dad in their junior year.

Penny’s younger sister, Sandy Sullivan, recalled the early years when Gerry and Penny would bribe her to leave them alone.

“They would give me candy necklaces to go away,” Sullivan said. “I had a whole neck full of candy necklaces so they could be alone in that hayloft.”

They were married on Aug. 31, 1966, and filled the next 50 years with farming, family and hard work.

They settled in Snohomish and now have three daughters, eight grandchildren and one great granddaughter.

“I always say it’s character and the same kind of moral fiber (that keeps us together),” Penny said. “And I really like him.”

Their family organized a surprise 50th anniversary party for 65 of the Fagerlies’ family members and friends earlier this month at The Loft at Russell’s, which used to be part of Monte Villa Farm. The Fagerlies thought they were just going to Russell’s Restaurant for dinner with 17 of their immediate family members.

“We cried. It was really special,” Penny said of the surprise. “We have a great family.”

Going to Russell’s is an anniversary tradition for the Fagerlies, as they have many memories tied to that property when it was still known as Monte Villa Farm.

“Our first kiss was in the driveway down there,” Penny said. “We like to go out there and have a kiss in that driveway (when we go to the restaurant).”