ROCK SPRING, Ga. -- Light from tiny bulbs glows through the glass-framed miniature courthouse in Fred and Francis Farr's living room.
The Farrs have collected numerous specially made ceramic buildings that are lit from the inside, each representing a portion of their life together.
They will celebrate their 60th anniversary in October. They finish each other's sentences.
On a shelf in their living room, they have churches, a fire station, a cottage and dozens of small structures.
The courthouse represents a moment 24 years ago -- the start of their work as bailiffs at the Walker County Courthouse.
Mr. Farr, who retired in 1985 from work as an engineer, said he was at the courthouse on jury duty when he was approached by the county sheriff at the time, a friend of his.
"(The sheriff) said, 'Come down here and I'll give you a job.' I just laughed at him and said, 'I just left one,'" Mr. Farr said.
But after a little more persuasion, he took the position.
Soon after, the courthouse needed a woman on a case involving a sequestered jury.
"(An official) called and wanted to know if Francis might do it, and I said, 'I don't know, ask her.' So I handed the phone to her," he said with a laugh.
And she agreed.
Since then the couple commute together to the courthouse whenever bailiffs are needed for a criminal or civil trial.
Their main job is to take care of the jury, to get them water, make sure no one is questioning them and watch them in the courthouse.
"If they get sleepy, you walk behind them and ..." Mrs. Farr said, snapping her fingers.
"People are liable to fall asleep at any time," Mr. Farr said.
Sometimes the work is more grueling, especially when the evidence for a case involves graphic details, she said.
Mrs. Farr said she had difficulty falling asleep after one case involving a father who was charged with molesting his daughter.
Mr. Farr said he changed her schedule when the next child molestation case was coming to trial so he could work it by himself.
"As an adult you can't help but be touched by something like that -- especially a mother," he said.
His wife nodded.
The Farrs are well-known figures around town, said Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson.
"Everybody knows the Farrs," he said. "They've got quite a bit of seniority in the courthouse."
They often work in separate courtrooms when court is in session, but sometimes they are needed to stay at a hotel with a sequestered jury, Sheriff Wilson said.
"They just don't seem to slow down much over the past 24 years," he said.
The Farrs were introduced at a high school basketball game when she was 15 and he was 18.
"I didn't see her again for almost a year," Mr. Farr said. "But I decided right away I wanted to get married."
While Mr. Farr was in the Navy and stationed in New York, the two went on a few dates when he could make the trip by train to visit. But they mainly corresponded through letters.
"I've been married all my life," Mrs. Farr said, as she turned and looked at her husband. "I had other boyfriends, but he was the one."