The e-mail started like a hundred others – wedding anniversary, reunion, story that needs telling.

I was about to file it under ho-hum – we get reunion and anniversary e-mails daily – until I got to the part that made this one different.

It was from Dean Beguhl of Richland, Mich. He was writing to say that he, his brothers and his sister had just celebrated his 50th wedding anniversary.

No big deal, right? Actually, it is. Staying married that long is an achievement. Still, 50th wedding anniversaries aren’t uncommon.

What is uncommon is that Beguhl is the last of his siblings to celebrate a 50th anniversary. His sister and all three of his brothers also have been married 50 years.

To the same people.

They have a combined total of 277 years together.

“Here is a story I believe your readers need to hear,” Beguhl wrote.

His e-mail arrived not long after I learned that some friends I’d always thought of as the perfect couple were getting divorced. We all know people who have divorced repeatedly. It’s estimated that 40 percent of American marriages will end in divorce.

So maybe the story is worth telling.

It began in the Deer Flat area, south of Nampa, Idaho. That’s where Beguhl and his siblings grew up.

“Our parents had a hard work ethic, and they transferred it to us,” he said. “We worked onions, potatoes, sugar beets, all kinds of farm work. After work, Dad would take us fishing to reward us.” All five mentioned the value of hard work – and what marriage doesn’t have its share of that? They also made a point of saying how devoted their parents were to each other.

“They were together for life,” Dean said. “They were hard workers and loving parents. They set a good example for us.” The next step: Choose your mate wisely.

“Make sure you really know the person,” Marvin Beguhl, now of Salinas, Calif., said. “I was engaged when I met Rita, but it didn’t work out. Once I got to know Rita, I was sure she was the one.” Boiseans Emil and Shirley Beguhl met when she was working as a soda jerk in Adrian, Ore., and he delivered ice cream. Though they’d only known each other six weeks when they were married, she had no doubts.

“He was kind and patient and took pride in his appearance and his work. And my parents were fond of him. That’s usually a good sign.” Sometimes it’s just magic. The first time Jerome, Idaho, resident Fred Beguhl saw his future wife, he told his friends that she was the girl he was going to marry. He was in sixth grade; she was in fifth.

“He’d pump me home on his bicycle,” Alberta Beguhl said. “There was never anyone for either of us but each other.” Some of the couples’ tips for staying together:

-Be honest with each other. Don’t have secrets.

-Don’t break promises.

-Be ready to apologize when you’re wrong.

-Be patient with each other and kind to each other.

-Give more than you take.

-Be happy with what you have. (Emil and Shirley still have the dishes they got as a wedding present 60 years ago.)

-Keep your spouse satisfied.

Usually, they say, that comes down to the little things. Boisean Mildred Beguhl Pinaire still cooks for her husband, Frank, even though a stroke she suffered makes it difficult. Frank does the dishes and the vacuuming.

All of the couples admitted they’ve had hard times in their marriages. But they never gave up.

“Keeping a marriage together can be a struggle,” Dean said. “And it’s harder today with all the Hollywood influences and temptations.

“But it can be done, and it’s worth doing. Maybe there are people out there who are struggling and will read this and say, ‘If they can do it, we can do it, too.’”

By TIM WOODWARD