A Maine Event

The stated occasion of yesterday’s gathering was to celebrate the wedding anniversary of our friends, Ruth and Dick Coakley, who, on July 6th, had clocked (calendared?) fifty years of marriage. The fact that this event was taking place two months after the fact is the least of the unusual aspects of this affair. At the time, a marvelous gala was held, where the couples’ seven children and twenty grandchildren were joined by a large crowd of friends and family to wish them well in a much more traditional manner. But this was something different. This was a group of old friends gathering to celebrate a grand friendship.

We gathered at Chauncey Creek in southern Maine, a lobster-in-the-rough venue featuring outdoor tables, a BYOB policy and the best lobster in the state. In spite of a spectacular river view, the place falls squarely into the category of rustic dining. But what better place to gather for the group loosely organized under the “Cheap Eats” banner. The “Cheaps” were a group of young women who started throwing an occasional girls night out to gain a respite from the demands of raising young families. The locale would shift among various local restaurants, none of which provided white table cloths or cloth napkins. But the food was always good, the wine supply ample and the premises always able to withstand the barely-controlled hilarity of this fun-loving group. As time went on, situations changed, but the group continued its nights of camaraderie. And on those other occasions, where husbands and other friends were included, we found that same camaraderie through comfortable banter, good conversation and, above all, laughs, many, many laughs. Over the years, some of us have moved away, but the Winchester-based nucleus can always rally the troops. We have gathered to celebrate our children’s graduations, and then, later on, their weddings. We have tried to be there for each other on more solemn occasions, and as of late, ogle the pictures of grandchildren


Dick was a Dorchester boy (St. Mark’s parish) who met Ruthie when he went to work at Boston Edison, back in the fifties. They were married in Winchester’s Immaculate Conception Church on July 6, 1957. Boston Edison marked their marriage by immediately showing Ruthie the door. No married women allowed! So off they went to start their lives which would eventually include their wonderful family. When asked for the secret of such a long successful marriage, Dick answered, “patience”, A concise, and apt, formula for success, especially today where it seems as though all personal needs must be met before the end of the next commercial.

So we talked, ate lobster, drank some wine, and, best of all, had a lot of laughs until finally, the manager suggested that all those potential paying customers clustered on the dock might like the use of a table or two, sometime before first snowfall. So we packed up the cars, and headed back down I-95 under the grey skies of late summer thunderstorms that were unable to blot out the re-kindled glow of warm friendship.