Many couples have videotapes of their nuptials. But not many of those weddings took place on a national television show.

Any time Boneta and Norman Morrison of Pymatuning Township want to relive their wedding vows, they just pop a videotape of an episode of "Bride and Groom" into their videocassette recorder.

Nearly 50 years ago, on April 14, 1952 -- years before reality television became the norm -- the Morrisons tied the knot in New York City before a national audience on the daytime television show, which featured the real weddings of real couples.

The Morrisons celebrated their 50th anniversary on Saturday with an open house at Zion's United Church of Christ in Transfer.

Morrison received word about their acceptance on the show while serving in the Army. His fiancee sent him a telegram reading "We were accepted on 'Bride and Groom.' Tickled pink."

Mrs. Morrison said their grandchildren "get a big kick out of" the tape, which features an 18-year-old Bonnie and a 21-year-old Norman smiling as they are interviewed by the show's host. At the time, Morrison worked for the railroad and Mrs. Morrison was a Bell Telephone Co. operator in Mercer.

The Morrisons told of how they met -- on a blind date in January 1950 -- and the unusual story about their second date that helped to land them a spot on the show.

During a square dance, Norman accidentally hit Bonnie in the head with his elbow, knocking her out.

"She landed in my arms like a dishrag," Morrison said.

As a result of that second date, Mrs. Morrison spent several days in the hospital with a concussion. Her sister-in-law sent the story to the TV show.

After the interview, the Morrisons moved on to the purpose of the show -- their nuptials.

Because the show was sponsored by General Mills, the wedding segments were interspersed with advertisements for Bisquick.

Wedding gifts from the show included their wedding bands, blankets, silverware, a camera, a gas range and a stereo.

Mrs. Morrison said the camera and stereo are "long gone," but they still have the silverware and one of the blankets. They use the gas range at their hunting camp.

They also received a reel-to-reel tape of their wedding, which they transferred to videotape several years ago, and a honeymoon at The Sheraton in Niagara Falls. They were supposed to have the bridal suite, Mrs. Morrison said, but instead they had the whole top floor -- and twin beds.

When they returned home they found their best man had wreaked havoc on their house by putting Jell-O in the sink and rice in the blinds and under the rug. He also reversed their mattress and box springs and tore the labels off their canned goods.

The Morrisons have four children -- Shari Kays Whitten of Transfer; Debra Morrison of Lincoln Park, N.J.; Daniel Morrison of Transfer and Timothy Morrison of Mechanicsburg. They also have seven grandchildren, four who live next door to them and three who live in Mechanicsburg.

A farmer, Morrison has been active in the Farm Bureau for many years. Both he and his wife are active in the Transfer Baptist Church.

When asked what their secret was to making their marriage last 50 years, Morrison responded, "Just hanging tough."

"I don't think we would have made it without the Lord's help," Mrs. Morrison said.

"We had times that were joyous, and times that weren't. The sea of matrimony gets pretty rough," Morrison said.

Some of those rough times included the death of a 2-day-old son and the loss of Morrison's right hand in a corn picker in 1959.

Before the year is over, the Morrisons hope to take a cruise, maybe to Alaska. Their children gave them a trip to Europe for their 35th anniversary.