HAYDEN — When Glenn Baum proposed to his wife, Edna, more than 70 years ago, she didn't give him the answer he was hoping to hear.

"I proposed to her and she said, 'No,'" he said Thursday afternoon.

"The first time, yes, I said 'no,' and I’ll tell you why," Edna said, seated near her husband in the living room of their Hayden home. "I had two older sisters who were not married, and my parents are from the Mediterranean area, and there, the oldest got married first."

Glenn was a sailor in the Navy during World War II. After Edna declined his proposal when he was home on leave, he went back out to sea with a heavy heart.

But soon, he received a letter from Edna that changed his life forever.

"I got a letter from her and she said she’s sorry that she said 'no' to the question that I had asked her," Glenn said. "So then I got ahold of my mother and father and said, ‘Hey, send me some of my money, I want to get her a ring.' So I bought her a ring."

“One thing my mother said to me, she said, ‘Edna, why don’t you wait and let him look around?’" Edna said, recalling the moment like it was yesterday. "I looked at her and I said, ‘Look around? What for?’ and that was it. She thought I should have waited. He still was not out of the service, per se, and she wanted me to wait. It was funny because I thought, 'Have him wait? What for?’ and that was it."

When the engagement was announced, Glenn's family threw them a party at his cousin's house.

"We rode with my aunt and uncle out there and on the way I took her hand and put the ring on her finger. And she left it there," Glenn said with a grin.

"I met a million of his cousins," Edna said, also grinning.

It was 70 years ago on Saturday that Glenn and Edna said "I do."

Their relationship was decided in a letter, but a letter is also where it all started.

Edna and her sisters moved into the house next door to Glenn's family in a neighborhood in California when he was in boot camp. One day, his mom visited and requested that Edna become Glenn's pen pal while he was fighting in the war. Edna said she didn't think it was a big deal because she was already writing to several servicemen.

"I said 'sure, no problem,' because I love to write," she said.

The pen pals soon became companions. When Glenn returned home on leave, they would go horseback riding, to the movies, to restaurants and just about everywhere together.

"We'd go do all these different things," Edna said. "We just started going together."

And they were never far apart because they were still neighbors.

“We did our courting in the driveway; we parked in the driveway," Glenn said.

"I married my neighbor," Edna said with a smile. "It was very convenient, very easy."

Glenn and Edna were married in 1946 when they were 22 and 20. Now, at 92 and 90, they have two lifetimes of memories to cherish and many more to come. And even though a 70th wedding anniversary is not very common, the Baums are humble about it and didn't feel the need for a big party.

Maybe some Mexican food, but not a party.

"It's just another day for us, Edna said.

"I just want a chili relleno," Glenn said.

So what is the key to a long marriage?

"Fighting, arguing," Glenn said.

"It's a two-way street, and it's give and take. That's cutting it short, but that's the truth," Edna said. "Anybody who has had a marriage as long as we have and has said they’ve never argued, something is wrong. They have to be a ‘yes, dear’ person, and neither of us are. We argue about a lot of things. Big things we know, we agree, but the small things (we argue)."

Aside from participating in the occasional healthy argument, Glenn and Edna stay motivated. They get up each morning and seize the day. They exercise regularly and up until a few years ago traveled all over the world. And they didn't actually retire until they were both in their 80s.

They also loved to golf together. Edna even took lessons so she could accompany Glenn.

"We’d be the first ones up," Edna said. "We’d go to Twin Lakes and we’d play and we’d be the first ones out there in the morning. It was nice, we really liked it. We still have our clubs."

The Baums still get out as much as they can. Edna doesn't own a bathrobe and the couple will never be caught lounging around in sweat pants. And they're in great health. With the exception of the heart surgery Edna had a few years ago, they're doing quite well for a couple of nonagenarians.

"We’re a hell of a lot slower now than we used to be,” Glenn said.

Their daughter, Patti Goodman, said she feels like she hit the "genetic jackpot" and celebrates that her parents have defied time itself to reach their 70th year together.

"I'm really proud of them to say the least, and I know that it's really an anomaly," she said. "They are just so special in so many ways."