Eighteen years ago today I was a 24-year-old reporter for the Daily Tribune-News in Cartersville, Ga., having moved south from West Virginia only recently to escape the economic doldrums gripping the Mountain State.

My sister and her family had lived in the booming Atlanta area for a year or two and after hearing her speak of the opportunity there, I thought I’d give it a try.

After a couple days, I was hired by the Tribune. The first opportunity I got, I went back to West Virginia and picked up my fianc\u00E9, loaded my Renault Fuego with every thing we could fit in it and headed back to Georgia.

I had found a small, three-room apartment. It had no furniture. All we had to sit on were a couple cheap folding lounge chairs we were able to bring down in the Fuego. My editor, Lewis Justus, gave us an old couch with a big hole in the middle of it that had been on his porch for a couple years. It was OK as long as you sat on the ends.

Cathy pushed to get married and I finally relented. I know why she was insistent. Making $256 a week, I imagine I was quite a catch and she couldn’t wait to sink her hooks into that. Cathy was earning even less at Leggett’s so we didn’t have any money to spend on a wedding. My colleagues at the Tribune chipped in and came up with about 70 bucks to treat us to a night at the Smith House, a well-known bed and breakfast in the gold-mining town of Dahlonega, about 70 miles east of Cartersville.

I left work early that Friday, Jan. 16, and Cathy and I drove to Dahlonega. I can’t remember, but I’m sure I was docked for it. We pulled up at the Lumpkin County Courthouse around 3 p.m. and found the justice of the peace, and grabbed a young boy in the parking lot with long, brown curly hair in a flannel shirt and faded jeans named Rocky Lee who served as our witness, and were married. When we went back to the courthouse parking lot, our car was dead. Rocky, it turns out, was a wiz with cars and helped us get it started. We shot a photo of Rocky and still have it among our wedding memorabilia, which includes some other photos of us we shot at the Smith House, a Smith House postcard and a Jan. 16, 1987 copy of the Atlanta Constitution.

If you’re waiting for this to go somewhere, I’m sorry, it’s not, other than to wish my wife a happy anniversary and thank her for tolerating me for so long.

There are few things tougher than marriages. When I think back on all the fights, money problems, the stress of the births and rearing of two wonderful children, job changes, moves all over the country, meddling in-laws, etc., I’m amazed that we’ve managed to last. My marriage is probably the thing in my life of which I’m most proud and I wouldn’t trade any of it, except for perhaps another 18 years together.

Happy anniversary, honey, and thanks.

n n n

We’re preparing to introduce a new feature at the News-Herald, one which I’m sure you’ll enjoy. Real estate is probably the hottest topic in Suffolk. People are dying to know what houses are selling and for how much.

I’ve received a couple communiqu\u00E9s from readers disturbed over the recent absence of Suffolk real estate transactions in the paper. They are coming back. The reason we had to temporarily cease publishing them is that there were simply too many for our small staff to handle. We had to send a reporter for basically an entire day over to the court house to manually type the individual records. It was drudgery.

Clerk of Court Randy Carter, however, has made it possible for us to receive the record electronically and we will begin publishing them again this month.

In addition, local realtor Harry Cross III of Remax Across Town, has agreed to offer his insights into the Suffolk real estate market for our readers. There are likely few who possess Harry’s knowledge of Suffolk real estate and we’re privileged that he’s agreed to work with us. Harry will be writing a regular column focusing on particular neighborhoods, the types of homes there, what they sell for, and other pertinent data about the neighborhoods. He said there are enough neighborhoods in Suffolk to continue it for years. Watch for it soon.

Andy Prutsok is editor and publisher of the News-Herald. He can be reached at 934-9611, or via e-mail at andy.prutsok@suffolknewsherald.com.