Stories related of love found and never lost

Every February 14 Valentine's Day reminds everyone of how important it is to have someone to love and to be loved, not only for the present and future but for the memories that carry people through times of loss and renewal.

Words of love carry through life
Words give moments life. When words are collected and placed on paper with love, they make that moment perfect. That is why, when Bill and Sandra Prescott of Machiasport gathered nine years ago at Kimball Hall on the campus of the University of Maine at Machias (UMM) to celebrate 50 years of marriage, Bill recited a poem. While Sandra sat on the very bench where they first met, Bill spoke the same words he wrote for her on Valentine's Day, two days before they were to marry. On Tuesday, February 16, Bill and Sandra will celebrate 59 years of marriage.
Sandra grew up in Eastport, where as a young girl she participated in the July 4th parade, and every year since she has returned for the celebration. Bill grew up in Machiasport and attended Washington Academy, where he played baseball and basketball. They met at Washington State Teachers College, now UMM. This is where Bill would lean over a railing at Kimball Hall and say, "Where did you get those big blue eyes?" Four months later, in front of her home on Customs Street, he proposed. They married during school break.
After graduation, they moved to Lincoln. He began a career in education and she in substitute teaching while raising their three children, Billy, Jo Marie and Michael. Later, she would become the first woman to represent Hampden for three terms in the Maine House of Representatives.
In the 1980s they returned Downeast to Machiasport, settling in Bucks Harbor. Bill started the longest serving tenure at 47 years as principal of Machias Memorial High School, after which he returned to UMM, where he taught others how to teach. Sandra spent 23 years as the executive director of the Washington Hancock Community Agency.
The couple volunteered their time and resources for the betterment of Machiasport, serving on numerous boards and other town committees. Their success is evident not only in the brick and mortar buildings that dot this place, but also in the sense of service they instilled in others. Both believe their work to be a testament to the Downeast way of life they hold dear.
Living Downeast also afforded them the time to watch their three children make their own marks on life. Their oldest is a successful fisherman; the other two pursued education and are teachers. The family has grown to include four grandchildren and three great grandchildren.
Kimball Hall may no longer stand on the campus of UMM, but those words whispered from one to another so many years ago remain a loving moment just as much today as it did when they first took flight. "Your eyes are blue like limpid pools, your lips are red like wine, I'll always know within my heart you will be forever mine. As we go along life's highway with barriers in our way, we will win them all one by one and together we will stay."
Now retired from what were very active lives, Bill and Sandra take the days as they come. They continue to embrace those words, making each moment together perfect, in this Downeast place they cherish and call home.

Blind date becomes forever valentine
Sometimes blind dates are the stuff of dreams come true. Marged Higginson of Eastport met her future husband, Peter, when she lived in New Jersey as a young woman. He was brought along for a double date. That was in 1958. Peter was with the British Royal Merchant Navy and came into port in New York City every two weeks, often just for a few hours. "We courted by mail," says Marged. "Our big dates in those few hours were a trip to Sam Goody's, grilled cheese sandwiches and milk at Howard Johnson's and a trip to Woolworth's."
They would take the two precious hours and visit the Empire State Building, the United Nations and more. When Peter suggested the Statue of Liberty, Marged was game. When they were in the crown, he proposed, despite the presence of Cub Scouts who were not the least bit interested in the romance taking place before their eyes, she remembers with a chuckle.
Peter finished his service, and they married in 1959. "We packed an old car requiring more oil than gas, a tent, our Gordon setter, some extra tires and proceeded to camp in most of the states in this country on that trip, covering 13,000 miles," Marged remembers. The couple settled in New Jersey, where they raised their two daughters and numerous rescue pets. "Our talents complemented each other, and we both grew," Marged notes. When Marged returned to college for a healthcare degree, which meant she would be making as much as he was and it would give the family health benefits, he understood the value she was bringing to the family. "And then we had two strong, very capable daughters. He was out numbered," she says with a laugh about any ideas he might have had about traditional female roles.
They supported each other's dreams, which included Marged's participation in the internationally known Monmouth Civic Chorus. When their daughters flew the nest, Peter said it was time to follow a new dream, and they did, buying, renovating and operating for 17 years the Under Mountain Inn in Connecticut. It turns out their skills made the separation of duties easy. The culmination of their success was to see glowing reviews, including a 12 page article in Yankee.
As the years passed, Peter yearned to return to the sea. In 2002 they found their retirement home in Eastport, moving just weeks after their 43rd wedding anniversary. Sadly, Peter was diagnosed with metastatic cancer and passed away after only 12 weeks at their new home. "After he passed, the girls and I decided the best way to honor his memory was to make things he had cherished accessible to others," Marged says. Peter had suffered from mobility issues made more difficult by Eastport's older buildings during his last weeks. Friends and family contributed to what became the challenge fund for grants to install the elevator at the Eastport Arts Center, which makes the second floor performance space easily accessible.
For almost 20 years now in the home they chose together, every spring when the daffodils bloom that Peter planted but did not live to see, Marged thanks him and tells him, "The daffodils are beautiful. Thank you, my forever valentine."

Lucky in love the second time
Lois and Jim Bezanson met in Lubec in 1993. They had both lost their spouses to cancer, Lois explains, and got to know each other when Jim signed up for an adult education class she was teaching for piano lessons. They hit it off right away, and she admits they had so much fun talking and laughing that she's not sure he learned a whole lot. It didn't matter; their friendship was formed, and in 1995 they married. "As for practicing the piano, well, that didn't happen too much, but he did help with recitals. However, he was the spokesperson, not a recitalist," she explains.
Jim had retired from being port director of customs for Lubec and Eastport by the time he and Lois met. Lois relates that Jim's service during WWII was life changing. He was a dive bomber off the USS Yorktown, and at the end of the war was part of a unit that brought food to prisoners of war who had been held by the Japanese. He was profoundly disturbed by the experience, she says. "He was a very good man in every way. He helped a lot of people" during his life, she says.
The couple postponed their honeymoon until 2000 and went to the Passion Play at Oberammergau, Germany, and then went on to England, France, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Lois says, "It was a wonderful honeymoon." They loved traveling together, whether in another country or in Maine, where they would take drives exploring their state.
Lois was the organist and director of music for the First Congregational Church of Calais. "Jim was always supportive," she explains. "He would repair the pipe organ on Sunday if it didn't work properly. Also, when I was teaching in my studio he would always bring a drink to us and would provide whatever we needed."
"Jim and I had the most wonderful happy marriage. We played games, especially Scrabble, watched wildlife and enjoyed entertaining our relatives and friends," Lois says. "He was the smartest man I ever knew and enjoyed my challenging wit." When they weren't traveling, they were at the home that they built together on North Lubec Road. "We just didn't have any trouble," she says and then adds with a chuckle, "We just had fun, and if it got too quiet he'd just say something and stir it up. We enjoyed each other's differing opinions." She pauses, "We just understood each other." Jim passed away in 2020 after almost 25 years of marriage. "You can understand why I miss him," she adds.