Fred and Pauline Decker met at the Spanish Ballroom in Glen Echo in 1947 and got married two years later. They never went back until last Saturday, when the ballroom was re-opened after major renovations in the past year.

Many federal, state and local politicians spoke before the ribbon-cutting ceremony, and some stayed to dance. County Executive Doug Duncan (D) is scheduled to dance a Tango with U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) there at a gala celebration on Sept. 20, but assured the crowd that attended the opening of the ballroom that he would waltz with his wife before "doing any Tango with Sen. Mikulski."

Sen. Paul Sarbanes (D) said that despite the federal commitment to the Glen Echo project, the ballroom could not have opened without state and local funds.

The ballroom is part of a effort to renovate many of the facilities at Glen Echo Park with an eye to making it into a self-sustaining entity within a few years.

Since meeting in the ballroom 56 years ago, Fred and Ethel Decker have built their own home. They have two children, who are "grown up of course" and two grandchildren.

"I guess every now and then we have a disagreement," Fred said. "But I guess we get over it and realize we're better off together."