It was love at first sight; and that love endured for more than seven decades.

Tony and Madelene Vignone of Nesquehoning this week celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary. They first met at a dance club in Hazleton while Tony was on leave from the U.S. Navy. They were complete strangers to each other at the time.

They married three years later and have remained inseparable.

Their platinum anniversary event was held at Maple Shade Meadows Senior Living in Nesquehoning. They moved to the facility after living in the New Columbus section of Nesquehoning since their marriage on a snowy Feb. 12, 1955.

“We’re a very happy couple,” beamed Tony, adding they still start every day having coffee together.

Tony will turn 92 on Feb. 26. Madelene will be 94 on Feb. 20. Both appear in excellent health. The couple have infinite smiles and give all impression they’re still very much in love.

The romantic tale began with two strangers meeting at a dance club in Freeland one evening back in 1952. Madelene lived in Beaver Meadows and enjoyed dancing. Tony, of Nesquehoning, went to the club with some friends.

“She was sitting with her girlfriends,” Tony said. “I was looking for a dance partner. When I walked in, she was looking at me and I was looking back at her.”

Madelene picked up the story, “He walked right over to me and sat down.”

Tony asked Madelene to dance. While jitterbugging, he asked for her telephone number. He had a pen but no paper, so he wrote the number on the palm of his hand.

“I didn’t think he’d call,” she said. But he did the very next day, inviting her to dinner and a movie.

Tony said Madelene was his “first real girlfriend.” Madelene said Tony was her first boyfriend.

He returned to the Navy, stationed in Europe, and they wrote regularly. After his discharge, they got married in Ss. Peter and Paul Greek Catholic Church in Beaver Meadows and then she moved with him to Nesquehoning.

Asked for their formula for a long marriage, Madelene said, “He has patience.”

Tony said, “We worked our way through problems.”

Although Tony enjoyed taking trips to Notre Dame football games, both said they mostly enjoy staying home. He spent a lot of time doing gardening and planting, she took care of the inside of the home.

“We did a lot of things together,” Tony said, things like shopping together and cooking together. “We walked a lot for exercise,” Tony said. They also had fitness equipment inside their home.

“Maybe that’s why we’re in such good shape,” he said. Madelene added, “We were always active.”

There’s something else that Tony treasures with Madelene. It’s her spaghetti and meatballs. “She made very good spaghetti sauce,” he said. He also said the meatballs were homemade. “Every Sunday we had spaghetti.”

Madelene said she would make about eight quarts of spaghetti sauce at a time and freeze it. “It’s his favorite food,” she said.

Tony is the son of the late John and Rose Vignone. He graduated from the former Nesquehoning High School where he was a captain and the right halfback on the football team.

He enlisted in the Navy immediately after high school. After the Navy, he worked for Quartzite in Nesquehoning, then Ametek where he was employed for 20 years before retiring.

Madelene, the daughter of the late Joseph and Anna Mondero, graduated from West Hazleton High School where she was a member of the Dramatic Club and Physics Club. She was a dental assistant in Hazleton, then worked for various employers in Nesquehoning.

Both their fathers were coal miners. Anna’s father died at the age of 60, killed while working in the mines in Beaver Meadows.

Asked how they will enjoy their anniversary, Madelene said, “We both like chocolate.” Other than that, “We won’t do anything special. We have a little trouble getting around.”

They have a son, John, of Palmerton. They also have grandsons, Alex, of Pittsburgh, and Anthony, who is deceased.

Both said they like living at Maple Shade Meadows.

“It’s a very good place,” Tony said. Madelene said, “They have a lot of activities, a lot of musical entertainment.”

Pressed for the secret to their enduring happiness, John said, “Just trying to be joyful, friendly and smile a little bit.”

Madelene said the formula is “Just being good friends. If there is a misunderstanding, just get over it and continue going on.”