Dr. and Mrs. Paul Camp celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary with a dinner given by their children at Magretta Hall on Sept. 3.

Attending were their daughter and son-in-law, Arlette and Doug Copeland Sr. of Macon, son Stan W. Camp of Rome, and son and daughter-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Gregory P. Camp Sr. of Rome, their grandchildren and their families and Mrs. Camp’s sister Betty Blanton and her children and their spouses and children.

The couple were married on Aug. 31, 1951. Frances Camp was the daughter of the late Ernest and Ella (McCraw) Smith of Rome and Paul Camp was the son of the late Grover Cleveland and Mary Rebecca (Owen) Camp. The Rev. H. T. Cohen performed the ceremony his home.

Paul and Frances Camp met as children and grew up knowing of each other, eventually leading to a first date that initiated at Frances’ then-place of employment in a store on the corner of Second Avenue and Broad Street Across Broad Street was a store where they went after the wedding ceremony for a banana split with Betty and Cameron Blanton.

The anniversary dinner was held on a third corner of that intersection, making it a special place to them. Family photos were displayed around the dining area and smaller photos of the couple during their courtship and at the time of their marriage were used in the floral centerpieces on each table. A two-layer wedding cake with both lemon and raspberry filling and covered in fall colored decorative flowers and baked by friend Carolyn Bridges was served.

The couple are both graduates of Coosa High School. Paul received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Shorter College and Frances attended Shorter.

The Rev. Camp was pastor at Antioch and Armuchee churches while also working for Oconee Clay Products.

The Camps with their three children lived in Floyd County until 1964, moving to Louisville, Ky., where Paul attended Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He received a Master of Divinity degree in June 1967. The family moved to Jonesboro, where he was pastor of Mount Zion Baptist Church and she Camp attended Atlanta Baptist College and taught kindergarten at the church.

In 1974, Paul was named Director of Missions for Macon Baptist Association, and the couple moved to Macon where he received a Doctor of Ministry degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, and she taught kindergarten at Shurlington Baptist Church and spent 13 years studying art with renowned portrait artist Houser Smith enabling her to fill their home and their children’s homes with colorful original oil paintings.

In 1988 the couple moved to McDonough where Camp was named director of the evangelism and missions division for the Georgia Baptist Convention. During his 10 years with the GBC, the Camps moved to Cumming, and after his retirement in December 1998, they returned to Rome.

Their son Stan was contractor for their retirement home and the Camps and their sons opened a new business, Camp Industries Inc., in Rome in 2000.

Camp has served New Armuchee and Vann’s Valley Baptist churches in Rome, Trinity Baptist Church in Carrollton, Rockmart First Baptist Church, and is currently pastor at Wesley Methodist Church in Rome. He was also a Shorter trustee and has written for Baptist publications, authored books about minister and church relationships, and served as speaker for churches and youth groups. Mrs. Camp has served on several committees related to Georgia Baptists and has exhibited her art numerous times in connection with art associations and festivals.

Over the years both Paul and Frances have enjoyed traveling, drawing, painting, writing, reading, photography, cooking, collecting, and spending time with their family. She has always decorated their homes with tasteful design and he has kept their lawns meticulously. They are and have always been devoted to each other just as they from early years pledged their hearts to God and serving the Christian church. They are gifts to each other and their family and are valued by many friends and church parishioners.