In 1946, Gertrude Brueschke was a high school graduate who had moved back to Eagle Butte her senior year after living in California for several years. She was not happy about leaving California - that is until she started attending the weekly dances.
"I think there was a dance every Saturday night, either at Eagle Butte, the Lantry School, Lantry store, Dupree or Parade," she recalls in the book "Between Prairie and Sky" by Dorothy Hunt.
It was at one of these dances that she first met Wayne Martin, who grew up in Eagle Butte on his family's ranch.
"After I met her, I didn't want nothing to do with any other woman," said Wayne. "Well, I still feel that way."
Wayne, whose father passed away at the age of 54, and whose oldest brother was drafted into the army during World War II, found himself raising his younger siblings while keeping their family’s ranch running.
“They said, 'You're going to stay on the ranch, there's six more kids. Take care of your mother and the kids. If you don't, you'll go to the army too,'" remembers Wayne. "There were draft boards at that time. So, I worked day and night to make sure I wouldn't have to go to the army.”
Gertrude and Wayne married in 1948. Gertrude, born in 1929 as a two-and-a-half-pound baby, is now 96, and Wayne is 99. On Sept. 19, 2025, they celebrate their 77th year of marriage.
Their wedding was a large ceremony held at the Congregational Church in Eagle Butte.
“That's when the minister asked me. How did he say this? 'Do you take this woman as your loving wife forever?' And I said, 'Yes,'" said Wayne. "And when I say something, I mean it. And I'm still keeping that promise."
After getting married, the Martins rented several places before buying their own ranch in 1964, where Wayne raised Hereford cattle for 34 years and sold horses. He worked as a wrangler on the 1962 epic, "How the West Was Won," which was filmed in Custer State Park. Gertrude worked at the State Bank of Eagle Butte for 26 years.
The Martins have four children, Vikki Parsons, Gary Martin, Dale (Carol) Martin and Debbie (Scott) Fiedler, as well as five grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren.
“These kids, we educated them so they wouldn't have to work so hard as we worked," said Wayne.
During their honeymoon, the Martins visited the Black Hills, where the town of Custer in particular made an impression on them.
“We thought, 'Well, if we ever live long enough to retire, this is where we wanted to be," said Wayne. "And we made it. In 2001, we bought a place in Custer, and we've been in Custer ever since.”
The Martins now have a beautifully built log cabin in Custer, which Wayne calls their "last rodeo." They say it's been a great place to spend their retirement.
"We have wonderful neighbors in Custer. They're always stopping in to say, 'What can I do? What do you need? What can I do for you?'" said Wayne. "How many places in the world can you find people like that?"
According to Gertrude, “hard work and clean living” have kept them young and healthy through the years.
“Neither one of us smoked or drank, except maybe a cold beer on a hot day that Wayne would take. But I couldn't stand beer," she laughed.
As for the key to a long and happy marriage, Wayne says, "Work hard and then you don't have time to argue. You're both working hard. When you get a chance to go to bed, you went to bed. You didn't argue."
Leaning over to his wife of 77 years, Wayne asks what her advice is on a happy marriage - that is, he jokes, if she had a happy marriage.
"Well, I suppose, choose the right one," said Gertrude. "That's all I can say.”
