Their love blossomed over a Cessnock fruit shop counter in the 1950s.

Doreen, a West End girl, worked for Junior’s stepbrother at the fruit shop opposite Rover Motors.

She recalls Junior, a Southy boy, coming in every day for a strawberry milkshake.

“Then every time I sat down at the pictures he would be right behind me,” she said.

Junior eventually sold his motorbike to buy Doreen an engagement ring.

“I told her she’s the luckiest girl in town, walking around with a motorbike on her finger,” he said.

The couple married at the Cessnock Presbyterian Church on March 23, 1957 – the bride was 20 and the groom 19.

“It was a beautiful day,” Junior recalled.

They lived with their families for the first two years of their married lives, before moving into their Alfred Street home of 58 years.

The couple has two daughters – Shann and Donna – five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Junior worked in the mines at Aberdare Central and Pelton, while Doreen worked at vineyards including Tulloch’s and Tyrrell’s.

The pair both had a keen interest in sport – Doreen was an A-grade tennis player and Junior played first grade for the Cessnock Goannas – and they trained greyhounds for many years.

Doreen has been living at Jacaranda Grove since August 2015 after suffering a stroke three months earlier.

But she goes home for a couple of hours every Saturday “for a beer and to watch the races”, she said with a grin.

Sticking together through tough times, enjoying a laugh when they can and the love of family has kept their marriage strong over the past 60 years.

The Andersons will celebrate their anniversary with a family dinner at East Cessnock Bowling Club on Thursday.