Thanks to those who entered our Valentine's Day Contest! It seems that there were no romantic flops, so we decided to award two winners for the most romantic.

Our first winner is Kristin Moll of Jim Thorpe. The runner up is Richard M. Gross of Lehighton.Both Kristin and Richard will receive a pair of tickets to Rhythm of the Dance at the State Theatre in Easton. Congratulations!We're pleased to share their stories here.30 years later, he came back and married meBy Kristin MollThe most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me is when my high school sweetheart came back and asked me to marry him after 28 years.We both went through rough divorces. Never thought we'd find love again and be happy. Good old Facebook allowed my high school sweetheart to find me again and get back in touch.I agreed to meet him for what I thought would be just a one night get together, catching up on old times. It was just a phone call to say, "Hey, I'm in town and would like to get together for a drink." We met that night. Our hearts touched once again.Every day afterward, we were together. He took me golfing for the very first time. Never golfed before. The next day, he showed up at my door with my very own set of golf clubs and a special pink golf bag. I guess that meant, we're going out now. I was falling in love all over again.His charm, charisma, generosity, and love captured my heart once again.Throughout my high school years, my father did not want me to see him. He told him to stay away from his daughter, that he wasn't good enough for me. Why, I'll never know. He graduated high school and went off to the U.S. Army. I was heart broken. He wrote me letters, poems and even sent me his military picture. I wasn't allowed to write back. However, I did manage to keep his picture. I hid it in a box in the attic and saved it all this time.After 28 years, and a few different states, my true love came back to me. He said he left me once and will never leave me again.Christmas 2012, he gathered the kids around me, got down on his knee, and asked them permission to have their mom be his wife. He then put a ring on my finger and asked me if I'll marry him. I said yes. I know I was the happiest girl alive that day. We were married September 2014, on the golf course.Thirty years later, we are married and living happily ever after. He stole my heart once again, so I stole his last name. Together Forever!True love never diesBy Richard M. GrossIt was a Saturday night of square dancing at Andreas Sporting Club back in early 1953. I didn't have the nerve to ask the girl across the hall for a dance, but when the music started, there she was, standing in front of me. We danced the rest of the night and the last dance (the War Dance) it happened! She kissed me, and I was hooked! Circumstances changed rapidly, as I was soon without transportation, and the love of my life lived 43 miles away. (I was from Plainfield Township, south of Wind Gap, and she from West Penn Township.) After exchanging one letter, it was a matter of walk or hitchhike the 43 miles to see her. (When you take a journey like that, you should make sure she knows you are coming.) I knocked on her front door only to be met by her mother. "Didn't she know you were coming?" she asked. So, back home I went. Ironically, as I bummed a ride past Graverville, unbeknownst to me, she was roller skating at Gravers' Rink!And so the courtship went until we finally agreed to tie the knot on Dec. 26, 1953. (Yep, the same year!) The first year was the toughest, but without any intervention from anyone else, we worked it out. With five children, nine grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren, we have tried to live an example of what true love is all about. Yes, we have our differences, everybody does, but we always work it out. Each learns to forgive. Don't let anybody tell you they never go to bed angry; baloney! Waking up and ironing out our differences is always rewarding, because we both realize that true love never dies when each can forgive, and start a new day with a hug and a kiss. We in our old age still love to "carry on" in front of anybody, because we are still in love, 61 years later!Richard M. & Faye C. Gross286-59 Lower Nis Hollow DriveLehighton, PA 18235610-377-4869