Page 14 - FEB2022

Page 14 NEWFOUNDLAKELIFE.COM February 2022
By William nieman
Bill & Edie Grout A Forever Valentine
I arrived at Bill and Edie’s lake shore cabin happily antici- pating that a couple married for 72 years would have a few Val- entine memories to share, and some helpful advice for young couples beginning their journey. I would not be disappointed.
At first, Bill and Edie’s recol- lections were general in nature and somewhat elusive. They in- sisted “there was no sudden in- fatuation”...”our love just grew slowly”...”we always sort of really liked each other”. How- ever, as we talked, the reticence of sharing something intimate began to disappear and vivid memories returned to enliven the following story.
Edie was preparing break- fast in the kitchen of the fam- ily’s Canton, Massachusetts home on a Spring day in 1948. She had just turned 16 on May 23, a sophomore in the local high school. Unexpectedly, the kitchen door swung open. The milkman had arrived. He was a man four years her senior, recently discharged from the army. He was worldly looking, as attested to by a tattoo with his name “Bill” inscribed on his forearm, as well as a jagged scar on his right cheek which added interest to his handsome face. He had been a star football player in high school and his physique remained that of an athlete. Bill was expecting Edie’s mother. The pretty young girl,
tall and trim with auburn hair, who greeted him, was a pleas- ant surprise. They spoke briefly. The young girl said her name was Edith Simpson but he could call her Edie. She was taken by his blue eyes. As evidence that this first meeting was special, the couple was soon on their first date. They decided to go canoe- ing on Glen Echo Lake in Can- ton, even though she had been dating another young man.
The boating rendezvous took place on a sunny and warm summer’s day. Edie, her face brightened by the sunlight re- flected off the lake’s surface, was facing Bill, who was paddling in the rear of the canoe. Edie was smiling. There was a mis- chievous glint in her hazel eyes as she watched her date. Bill, a
person of few words, stopped paddling and spoke softly. Edie listened intently. The words are no longer recalled, but Bill, who still writes poetry, must have conveyed some poignant thoughts. As proof that his date
was taken by his sentiments, the couple soon saw each other regularly, dining out and danc- ing at venues on the South Shore. Edie was no longer dat- ing the other young man.
Edie graduated from high school in 1949. She had been seeing Bill for a year, often vis- iting him at his home at Mc- Namara Farms in Stoughton. They were soon engaged. On August 13, 1950, they were married in Randolph, Massa- chusetts, at the Congregational Church and departed imme- diately in Bill’s 1941 light blue Ford coupe for a honeymoon that took them to New Hamp- shire, Canada, and New York State. The couple had hoped to see Niagara Falls, but as money was running out, they cut the trip short and returned to Mas- sachusetts. Edie and Bill found temporary living quarters in Lynn before buying a house at 15 Fairchild Avenue in Saugus, Massachusetts. They moved into the new home with their firstborn child, a boy named Bill after his father. That house would be home from 1953 to 1983. For the Grouts, those three decades were busy with a succession of jobs, a multitude of commitments to the Dorr Memorial Methodist Church,
and the joy-filled arrival of four additional children, Catherine, Stephen, Ernest, and Mabel. All of Edie and Bill’s children were born at home, with Dr. Cath- erine Lally assisting in the deliv- ery. Dr. Lally would become a close friend, and their daughter, Catherine, was named for her.
Mabel’s arrival engendered another of those “magic mo- ments.” Bill had been present with Edie as she delivered the four preceding children. Still, as the time for Mabel’s arrival in August of 1960 drew close, Bill’s expertise as an electrical engineer required a trip to Cal- ifornia to supervise work on tur- bines. For the first time, he was not expected to be present for Edie’s labors. However, when Mabel made her first earthly ap- pearance, there was Bill by the birthing bed, his face beaming with his famous smile. (Bill had been nicknamed “Smiley” by classmates at Stoughton High School.) Edie returned his smile, and the welcome baby cried!
In the 1960s, a few years after Mabel’s birth, Bill and Edie found themselves “out straight,” but it was “a happy time for us.” In addition to the challenges of raising a
young family, Edie was work- ing nights as a waitress. Bill had changed careers to follow his dream of working with young people. He was teaching at a regional vocational high school on the South Shore. In the eve- nings, Bill sold shoes at Sears. In addition, he had time and
the energy to supervise the pro- grams at a Boy Scout Summer camp in the summers.
Life changed dramatically for the Grouts in the 1970s. They had arrived at Newfound Lake. At first, Bill and Edie lived in a tent at their property on Nut- ting’s Beach. Then, Bill began working at Wellington State Park. The Grouts decided to live at the lake year-round after their retirements from Massa- chusetts careers. Bill and his son Ernest built a permanent log cottage on the tent property. It was completed in 1979. The “cottage” is one large room, all rustic pine with a central chim- ney rising from the basement. I asked where the bedroom was. Edie, smiling somewhat imp- ishly, pointed to a pull-out couch and chuckled, “We’re sorta like hippies!” Bill and Edie have lived there for most of the time they have worked at Welling- ton; Bill has worked at the park for 53 years and counting. Edie greeted visitors at the gatehouse for three decades.
As we continued our con- versation, Bill and Edie shared some time-tested wisdom and deep feelings. With the excep- tion of an early miscarriage and their son Ernest’s recent death, their life has been one of “good fortune.” Their advice is to “take life as it comes.” The Grouts expressed their “luck” in knowing so many “good peo- ple.” It is because of the pres- ence of good people that their spiritual faith endures. With his well-known smile, Bill ended his part of these reflections with the comment that he had “no re- grets,” and Edie was quick to make that feeling unanimous.
In the closing moments of my interview with Bill and Edie, see- ing that February was the month of Valentine’s Day, I asked them what sort of Valentine gifts they had given each other over the years. They appeared puzzled. Bill was quick to say they didn’t give each other presents.
Then Edie elaborated, “Bill gives himself to me. I give my- self to him. We are a gift to each other. That is our forever Val- entine.”