A LIFETIME OF LOVE

Robert and Nell Kerr say they can't put their finger on the secret to a long, happy marriage, but the couple, who have been married for 66 years, believe common interests can go a long way.

"We've always gotten along well, but I don't know if that's the secret," said Nell Kerr. "And we've always had a lot in common."

The two, both retired school teachers, said they went into their marriage on June 2, 1925, with the idea that it would be forever.

They grew up on farms just three miles apart in Oakdale, Ill.

"I think that so many of the couples these days don't think marriage is something that's supposed to last," she said.

"A lot of people just think that if it doesn't work, they'll just get a divorce," said her husband.

But staying together wasn't something the Kerr's ever considered especially difficult.

"I think it was easier to stay together back then," she said. "And divorce was just unheard of."

Being together is something the Kerrs are good at. They attended college together after they were married, and taught in the same two-room schoolhouse for several years.

During the summers they attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, where Nell earned a bachelor's degree and Robert earned a master's degree in education.

"We couldn't afford to go while we were teaching," she said. "So it took us a lot of years to get those degrees."

Robert, 89, and Nell, 92, admit that a two-career couple was unusual at the time they were first married. In fact, female schoolteachers were often forced to quit teaching after they were married. But Nell Kerr said she was lucky.

"The schoolhouse wanted a husband and wife, so I was allowed to stay on," she said. "I was known as a pretty strict teacher, too."

Eventually, the two moved to Tamms, Ill., were they lived until moving to Cape Girardeau in 1980.

Though their marriage has been good, Nell Kerr said it hasn't been without it's problems. "We've disagreed now and then," she said, "but nothing I would consider serious."

"We never go to bed mad," her husband added. "You should never do that."

The two were in their early 20s when they tied the knot, something they think may have contributed to their long-lasting union. They also dated for seven years before they decided to take the plunge.

Good friends also make a difference. One couple the Kerrs have been friends with for more than 50 years, Mr. and Mrs. John Abercrombie of Tamms, have been married for 79 years.

Robert Kerr says the fact that they both had careers has always worked for them.

Nell said she earned $40 a month when she first started teaching, but in those days that was considered to be a pretty good salary. "Bread was a nickel a loaf, people didn't have cars, and everything was just less expensive."

Though the couple never had children of their own, they said their students over the years have stayed in touch.

"We hear from them a lot at Christmas and our birthdays, sometimes on Valentine's Day," she said.

Since retiring in 1962, the Kerrs have traveled extensively, something they, as a couple who "started with nothing" never had a chance to do earlier.

"We were different than young folks today," she said. "They think they should have everything their parents have right when they start out. When we got married, we were on our own."