TOLEDO -- Although they enjoy the thrill of the rides and roller coasters at Cedar Point, Bob and Mary Lou Reublin have an ulterior motive for visiting the park this summer.
This week they are returning to the amusement park to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.
The Reublins are no strangers to the Sandusky area, as they lived there from 1964-68 when Bob spent one year as an assistant coach and three years as the head coach of the Sandusky Blue Streaks football team. During this time, the Blue Streaks were a football powerhouse in Ohio, going undefeated and highly ranked in the state for several years.
Fittingly, the couple wants to have a picture taken in front of the oldest operating roller coaster at Cedar Point, the Blue Streak. Built in 1964, it is celebrating its 46th anniversary this year. The roller coaster, named for the local high school, was constructed during the time that Bob coached the Blue Streaks football squads.
Bob and Mary Lou went to high school together at Olmsted Falls, Ohio, a west-side suburb of Cleveland, before they both received bachelor’s degrees in education from Bowling Green State University. Bob was a part of Bowling Green’s ROTC program, so the couple spent two years in Germany while continuing their education.
Before his coaching days in Sandusky, Bob, a running back, was drafted by the New York Giants. Unfortunately, he was injured during the exhibition season. His playing days over, he returned to Bowling Green State University to earn his masters degree.
After leaving the Blue Streaks, Bob coached at the University of Miami in Ohio for four years, and then became the assistant coach at the University of Colorado for four years. Bob’s successful coaching career would continue as both schools won conference championships during his tenure.
Bob isn’t the only one who’s kept busy though, as Mary Lou was an educator for 35 years teaching in Germany, Oxford (Ohio), Colorado, and Bowling Green.
Although they were married on Jan. 28, the celebration has been delayed for nearly six months – but for good reason. The happy couple chose to gather their family to celebrate during the summer so that they could come to Cedar Point and to get their picture by the Blue Streak, of course.
“We planned on having the grandkids with us,” Bob said. “There isn’t a place that I know of that has something for everyone besides Cedar Point.”
Four daughters, two son-in-laws and four grandchildren will make the journey to Cedar Point to celebrate this milestone with the couple. Three daughters will be coming from Colorado, while the fourth will be traveling from Missouri. Bob and Mary Lou currently live in Bowling Green.
