'Cutest Couples' take the town

WALLACE — “If you look for it, I've got a sneaky feeling you'll find that love actually is all around."

This quote comes from Hugh Grant, from the film "Love Actually," as a montage plays of couples, friends and family greeting each other at the airport. The quote explains that even though the state of the world can feel overwhelming, love can bring us all together.

The Shoshone News-Press was inundated with love last month as the 9th Annual “Cutest Couple Contest” was held, with photos submitted from friends and family of some of the cutest couples in the Silver Valley.

Thirty-nine couples were submitted and posted on the SNP Facebook page, as winners were chosen by the community due to how many heart reactions each photo received.

The votes came in close, but three couples really stood out near the top.

Coming in first were John and Sue Hansen, who have been together for more than 60 years, Linda and Tully Clemets, who have been married for 48 years; and Paul and Carol Roberts, who have been married for 36.

The cutest couple, John and Sue, won a $100 gift card to Blackboard Cafe, but instead of using it all for themselves, they wanted to take the other couples out for a triple date.

“We thought it would be really nice to get everyone together,” John said. “It wasn’t really a competition; it was more fun than anything.”

The Clemets explained that they would do the same thing if they won.

The couples discussed everything under the sun, including the upcoming Sixth Street Melodrama in Wallace, the Kellogg High School basketball team going to state, connections they have through living in the Silver Valley, and how delicious their meals were provided by Blackboard Cafe.

Three couples who may have never had a reason to spend an afternoon together came together for the first time — and potentially not the last time.

“We need to plan to do this again,” Sue told the others as the couples left the restaurant.

Cute.