In most homes, Christmas is a time for families to get together and celebrate the birth of Christ. In our home, we also celebrate a wedding anniversary on Christmas Day. This year, we celebrated a milestone anniversary. My in-laws, Ed and Rose Mauro, longtime residents of Hollister, celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary. It is such a unique anniversary, Hallmark didn’t even have a card for it, and they seem to have a card to commemorate every occasion.

Ed and Rose were married on Dec. 25, 1941 at Sacred Heart Church in Hollister. They were married on Christmas Day because Mauro’s Market, located on Fourth Street, was closed for the day. In September 1958, they began Mauro Stationers, which was in business in downtown Hollister until 1997. They have two sons, Anthony (and wife, Carol) and Ed (and wife, Barbara), three granddaughters, Karen, Joan (and husband, Martin) and Stephanie and a great-granddaughter, Camryn.

Most of our immediate family lives in Hollister, though, two of Ed and Rose’s granddaughters traveled to Hollister to help them celebrate: Stephanie from Southern California and Karen from Connecticut. 

The day was spent honoring the couple with a traditional dinner, presenting them with a note from the White House, signed by President Barack Obama and the First Lady, congratulating them on their anniversary. There were also visits from extended family who stopped in to wish the couple well and many telephone calls from family members, near and far.  

The day ended with an anniversary cake adorned with their wedding photo and a toast of champagne from their two sons. It was a special day for a very special couple.