SMETHPORT — Jim and Anita McDowell of Smethport recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary with family at a nearby restaurant.
Anita Russell married Jim McDowell on Jan. 29, 1955, at the Evangelical United Brethren Church in Farmers Valley.
Jim McDowell has been self-employed as a logger, mechanic and a welder. Anita McDowell worked for many years and retired from the Backus Co. in Smethport. Her family reports she is an excellent knitter and is known for making baby sweaters.
Over the years, they have enjoyed NASCAR and dirt track racing, country music, the Pittsburgh Pirates and gardening. They have gone on two cruises with family and were caretakers of the Colegrove cemetery for several years. They enjoy attending their great-grandchildren’s sporting events and continue to live in the house they built together 55 years ago.
They have one daughter, Donna (Ed) Swanson, who lives in Smethport, and a son, W. Douglas, who passed in 2014. They have four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
