It's a friendship that happened by chance. Now it's a friendship by choice.
Four hundred Nipissing University Frosh Students and North Bay couple, Doris and Ron Sanderson, have created memories to last a lifetime. The group first met Friday afternoon, and on Sunday they were given a special gift, the opportunity to reconnect.
It began a few days earlier when, as luck would have it, their lives became intertwined.
After running errands Friday ,Ron suggested to his wife, that they spend some time together at the North Bay waterfront. They had just celebrated their 59th wedding anniversary two days earlier.
A little further down the beach, nearly 400 boisterous Frosh students were engaged in competitive games. Her curiosity getting the better of her, Doris said to her husband 'I don't know about you, but I'm going to see what's going on over at the beach.'
"We were enjoying the activities when one of the leaders from one of the teams, asked if we would take part in a game they were having, and I said 'sure, why not?' Ron told them it was our 59th wedding anniversary. They told us we could pick anything for them to act out; a movie, a tv program or a song. All I could think of was Elvis, so I said if they could think of anything Elvis sang, that would be perfect. So they disappeared, they came back and they put their arms around each other and swayed as they started singing."
The song they chose was 'Can't Help Falling In Love'.
See: Local students stumble upon a couple celebrating their 59th anniversary. Watch what happens next!
"It was very emotional and then Ron took his hand and held mine and I almost started to cry, and then the others almost started to cry too," laughed Doris. "I thought when they were done they were just going to go, but no, they came around and they hugged us, and congratulated us. The team didn't think it was enough, so they rounded up all the other students, and before we knew it, 400 young people came running towards us, and sang the song again."
They soon discovered they really weren't strangers, just friends who hadn't yet met. Doris says what they shared was 'truly wonderful.'
Frosh leader Hayden Comeau, was part of the first group to serenade the couple.
"Initially we sang to them for a spirit point, but we stayed to talk to them because they were such a cute little couple. We found out it was their 59th anniversary. It's rare to hear people being together so long. We decided it was a much bigger thing than just our team singing to them, so we rounded up the other 11 teams. It was just a super special moment to get to see that much love. It was just mind-blowing."
"It just shows there are lots of good young people out there," said Ron
"I think they can all be good kids if they're given a chance. It was really neat to see them acting as they did, to come up and perform for us. Most of them barely know each other, they've only been in town about four days. It was a real treat. I really enjoyed it, and it finished off our 59th year in a good way," explained Ron.
Sunday afternoon, was Doris and Ron's chance to give back.
The students had gathered at the school's Athletic Centre for closing ceremonies, wrapping up their week of activities, when they were told two special guests would be joining them.
When Doris and Ron walked into the gymnasium, the students erupted into loud cheers, jumping to their feet, clapping and yelling their names, much to the delight of the older couple.
"First time," Ron laughed. "It has never happened before. I'm leaving here with happy memories, and I hope they got something out of sharing this with us."
The students sang their song one last time.
The couple has three children, four grandchildren and five great grandchildren.
"The one's we talked to on the internet were all overjoyed to hear what had gone on," said Ron.
Doris, who couldn't stop beaming, says she has a special place in her heart for all these young people 'who took the time to make an older couple feel young again'.
"I just want to thank them for including us in their week, and inviting us here today, that was really special. We got a phone call yesterday inviting us to come, and that it would be a surprise. So this is an awesome surprise," said Doris."I'll never forget this, and I hope they won't either."
Nipissing University student Isabella Gavan-Vasilia knows it is an experience she won't soon forget.
"It was amazing, It touched my heart. This is a memory from Frosh that I will take with me."
Allison MacNeil says being able to sing to them one last time was heartwarming.
"It's a lot of happiness because they were able to share that love with us, and the fact that we got to make their day and they wanted to come back and see us again was really an incredible feeling," said MacNeil."Seeing them together gives me a lot of hope. You always hear the negatives about being married, how high the divorce rate is and things like that. Just seeing that love and how long its lasted really brings hope that you can find that true love and it will last forever."
