Remembering Kay

8 years ago

To the editor:

Seeing Kay Bell on the front page was first, OMG with shock and sadness; then gladness that she had lived so long, healthy and sharp; and finally, gratitude for the article by Joe Cyr, which, with the obituary, took us back in time and reminded us of her full, satisfying and productive life.

Kay educated me, like others, at the Museum. Then came our letters, and phone calls to Houlton and Machias, when she was staying at her daughter’s home. I quite fell in love with her apartment, more charming and inviting than any I had lived in or ever seen elsewhere.

She invited me to visit her. She loaned me a small book, which included a chapter by her about growing up on a farm. Reading it, like knowing Kay, was an honor and a pleasure. I do hope that it is available at the Museum and at the Cary Library.

Thank you, Kay, for being there all those years, and thank you to the Pioneer for bringing her back, however briefly, and giving us mementos in black and white.

Byrna Porter Weir
Rochester, N.Y.