In a town that shares its name with one half of the world’s most iconic romantic tragedy, our relationships still thrive. In honor of Valentine’s Day, we thought we’d ask some of Mount Juliet’s most successful couples how they have managed to keep the romance alive for so many decades. It’s the month of love, and we all deserve some real-life love stories.

• 

• 

Young Love – Max & Flossie

We met with Max and Flossie Anderson to hear how they first fell in love and to learn all of their secrets. As soon as they walked into the room, we could see the main ingredient.

Love.

It glowed on Max’s face as he put his arm around his wife, who cozied into it just like newlyweds would do; Max, with the same pride, the same lilt of his chin and puff of his chest that he must’ve worn on his wedding day.

As he scooted his chair next to Flossie and leaned toward her in that private dining room, the years melted away, and across the table I saw the
bright-eyed 25-year-old pilot who just met the love of his life while on assignment about 75 years ago. It was Corpus Christi, Texas in 1944. He was a Naval flight instructor temporarily based there during WWII, and she was an 18-year-old local beauty.

Flossie and a couple of her girlfriends would occasionally go on group dates with some of the officers, which doubled as something fun to do, and it cheered up the troops. One night, she and her girls went on a blind date, and Flossie was paired with Max.

She says she just felt comfortable with Max from the beginning, with one caveat. One time, Flossie remembers, she did not. Max jokingly reminds her that we’re recording the interview, and they both laugh. The occasion in question was one of the dates they went on before their marriage. They were in the back seat of the car at a drive-in with friends, when suddenly she felt Max’s hand exploring her shoulders, and she slapped it away. Apparently, a piece of his watch had fallen off, and he thought it had fallen on her shirt. “That’s a good story,” she retorted. He showed her the watch and the winder was, in fact, gone. After examining the evidence, they looked all over the car together to find it, but never did. After that, she knew he was a gentleman and an honest one.

They got married at the Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi on June 25th, just four months later. Max was granted 3 days off to go on a honeymoon to San Antonio. It wasn’t an exotic vacation because they didn’t have a car and couldn’t travel far back then.

Since San Antonio, they’ve gone on “many adventures,” Max says. They’ve been on an Alaskan cruise, visited The Holy Land, and they used to have an RV and spent the winters on the Rio Grande. Flossie also got to fly with him a lot.

When she didn’t get to fly to Timbuktu or wherever Max was off to, Flossie kept herself busy at home. She loves sensible crafts like sewing, knitting, and quilting. She used to sew all of their daughter’s clothes until she went to college at MTSU, which was the first time she got what Flossie calls “a bought dress.”
After retiring from the Navy, Max took a job as a private corporate pilot out of BNA, and they moved to Donelson about 60 years ago. They lived there until “we just got too old to mow the grass” and moved to a wonderful retirement center here in Mount Juliet.
When asked for the secret to a happy marriage and a lasting love, Flossie claims there is no secret. “We just fell in love and stayed in love… We just got along well. Never had any fights or anything.”

“No serious fights,”
Max interjects, then he spontaneously breaks into a song. “In the 40s, I think it was Bing Crosby made a song kinda famous, and it went like this:

You’ve got to give a little, take a little, let your poor heart break a little. That’s the story of, that’s the glory of love! and that’s about the way it (love) goes.”

Initially, Flossie’s parents were skeptical of the match, due to the age difference. “Why are you marrying an old man?” Max heard them ask. Laughing with the seemingly young man who is now almost 100, the ironic humor of such an objection is intensified. The success of their marriage is unrivaled.

It’s been a long time since that night at Shupe’s Shrimp on the waterfront in Corpus Christi when Max asked Flossie to be his wife. He didn’t have a ring, just a lot of love and a desperate need to claim it right there in that restaurant booth.
Of course, he had procured a ring for her finger before their wedding day, but Flossie says it doesn’t matter if there was a diamond or not because “it’s the love that counts.”

Today, they’re still the kind of couple who shares a milkshake with two straws in the same glass. It’s a comfortable love that just comes so naturally.

As the grandkids of the world say these days, “#relationshipgoals.”

They’ve had a rich and full life now, with two children, fulfilling work and pastimes. It hasn’t been free of tragedy. Their son was a paramedic for the fire department and was lost to a car accident on his way to the fire station many years ago.

They’ve lost their parents and siblings, and most of their friends, but they still have their daughter, Janice.She lives here in Mount
Juliet and stops by every day, and they have their son’s kids who are still very much a part of their life.

Most importantly, after all these many years, they still have each other.

In Perfect Harmony

written by Krys Midgett

“Whenever I see your smiling face, I have to smile myself, ’cause I love you.” – James Taylor

• 

• 

It is only natural that music would be what brings two musicians together.

This is the true love story of George and Karen Hedges.

George’s parents, Fred and Harriette Hedges, opened Shiloh Music Center in the small town of Mt. Juliet in 1974. Of course, he was the one behind the counter when Karen walked in to see about a job. George told her they were not hiring at the moment, and she went on her way.

Just a few weeks later, a James Taylor concert prompted Karen to come back to Shiloh in search of a songbook of his music. George said that she was “young and beautiful and dressed in blue jeans, with a denim shirt that was tied around her waist.” And Karen was excited to see that same “handsome boy behind the counter.”

He told her they did not have the book in stock, but he would get her number and call when it arrived.

George didn’t wait for the book to come in. He called the very next day and left a message. Karen’s mom wrote the message on a note that said “George called.” His name was underlined several times. She laid down on the bed and thought “George? George? Oh, George!”

She got so excited that she was up all night, anticipating his call the next morning. Sure enough, the next morning, George called and asked her on the first of many dates. The first date was for a picnic at the lake.

They got married on October 27th of that same year. The songbook did come in, and Karen still has it.

They have two sons, Paul and James (after James Taylor). George said that he would like to thank James Taylor for his grandkids.

Shiloh Music Center has grown by leaps and bounds since that day in 1974. Needless to say, Karen got the job. She started teaching piano and earned the nickname “Boss Lady.”

“I have been teaching piano for 45 years and have taught many students over the years. I now teach the children of some of my former students. I have mentored several students to teach, and they are running successful piano studios of their own,” says Karen. “Music has always been part of my life. I grew up playing piano, guitar, and singing. So, I guess marrying into a ‘Ma & Pa’ music store was the best thing for my life.”

Their boys grew up in the music store and consider it their second home. Keeping it a family-run business, they hired Paul on as the store manager and James as the repair shop manager.

They are following in their grandparents’ footsteps and keeping their legacy alive for decades to come. George and Karen have the kind of love that so many people only dream about.

Come in to Shiloh Music Center and say hello. If you see Karen, George, Paul or James, you will automatically be greeted with a smile.

To be continued…

Fiddling With Forever

Charlie and Hazel Daniels are definitely our town’s most famous married couple, as successful in love as in the music business.

• 

For Charlie, the best award he ever received began one night in Tulsa,
Oklahoma when Hazel walked into the Fondalite Club while Charlie’s band was playing.

She caught his eye, he sought an introduction, and much like his iconic song’s hero, he won her heart of gold with his fiddle and bow.

The rest, really, is history because this September they will have been married for 55 years!

They have been living here in Mount Juliet for 48 of those years, where their favorite date is home at Twin Pines Ranch. It’s always good to be home when you have a happy home to go to.

At first, they had to keep their love alive while Charlie was on tour and Hazel was home raising their son. Since their son started college in 1983, Hazel has gone with Charlie on all of his tours. At this point, they have more than made up for the fact that his tour schedule prevented a honeymoon when they first got married.

We asked them what their secret was. Charlie says the secret to a successful
marriage is to “marry somebody you’re sure you want to spend the rest of your life with.”

I’m sure that writing her so many love songs through all of these decades and showing her the world doesn’t hurt, though.