By Ava Smale

“My mother-in-law, Rose Smale, has always been very determined and would go to great lengths to get what she wanted. In 1951, she was working as a secretary for Algoma Steel, a job she really enjoyed and got a lot of satisfaction from. She met an engineering student named John Smale, who was working at the steel plant during the summer. They fell in love and wanted to get married, but he still had three years of university left and she would have had to quit her good job. At that time, women had to give up their jobs to another single person when they got married, but she didn’t want to give up the job she enjoyed. Without telling anybody, they went to Sault St. Marie, Michigan, and got secretly married. Before leaving for the wedding, Rose’s mother asked her why she was dressed so nicely, but she didn’t even tell her mother about her plan. After they were secretly married, John went back to school and finished his degree. She continued working. Three years later, they got married formally in a church in Sault St. Marie, Canada, surrounded by family and friends. Until John died last year, they always celebrated two wedding anniversaries, their secret wedding and their formal wedding. They were married for 65 years.” #BreakingTheRules