Old clippings bring pair’s story to life

The year was 1969 and two love birds were looking to the sky as they planned their wedding, while the world around them was quite literally moonstruck.

Just months after Neil Armstrong took his first walk on the moon, Harvey couple Lyn and Ted Watt walked down the aisle.

As the pair now get ready to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary they decided to display newspaper articles about the first moon landing on the 50th anniversary of that one small step for man.

“The year of the moon landing has a lot of significance for us because it was the year we were married,” Mr Watt said.

“So we were both moonstruck that year anyway.”

The couple, who still hold hands wherever they go, have stacks of newspaper clippings of historical events stored in their garage.

About five years ago, when helping a neighbour move house, the couple saved the newspapers from the recycle bin.

“We realised their significance and knew we had to rescue them from the tip run,” Mrs Watt said.

The couple thought it was important to share the clippings with the community during Science Week, and decided the best way to do this was at the library.

Harvey’s principal librarian Ruth Campbell-Hicks said being able to read the original newspaper articles was a great opportunity.

“This is a real from-the-horses-mouth version of how exciting it was for people back then,” Mrs Campbell-Hicks said.

The newspapers will be on display at the Harvey Public Library this week for national Science Week.