(Photo by: Tiffany Strong) Robert and Agnes Crabtree live independently at their home in Camden.
When Robert Crabtree was 12 years old he would give his classmate Agnes Lermond, 6, piggyback rides to the one-room schoolhouse in South Hope that they both attended. That was 82 years ago, in 1927.
This year on Sunday, Nov. 29 the Crabtrees will celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary.
"We've had our ups and downs, but we've never walked out on each other," said Agnes, 88, describing how the two have stayed together for so long.
Both Robert, born March 29, 1915, and Agnes, born Nov. 23, 1921, went to Union High School after attending South Hope Grammar School. Robert graduated in 1932, Agnes in 1939.
It was at a dance around 1937 at the South Hope Grange Hall that the two started dating. That night they danced the waltz together.
Robert proposed in East Union, but doesn't remember the exact details and neither does Agnes. "I jumped with joy," said Agnes.
On Nov. 29, 1939, the two went to the home of the Rev. H.I. Holt in Rockport. At 7 p.m. they were married on the enclosed front porch of the parsonage with their friends Francis and Vivian Harden standing up with them.
The Crabtrees had served as witnesses at the Hardens' wedding not long before.
On Aug. 3, 1941, the Crabtrees' daughter Patricia was born. Agnes stayed home with Pat while Robert worked at F.J. Wiley Grain Company in Camden for $18 per week.
Agnes and Robert's second daughter, Susan, was born Sept. 28, 1948, but died at birth.
When Pat began to think about college, Agnes went to work at Chater's Green House and Flower Shop to help pay for it.
For most of his working years Robert was employed by Prudential Insurance Company.
During those years the couple traveled around the country attending agricultural fairs. They were horse-pulling fans and met many lifelong friends at the fairs.
They also enjoyed fishing and went on many fishing trips with Robert's brother Ken and his wife, Phyllis. They liked to fish at Moosehead Lake and China Lake. It was at China Lake that Agnes stuck her hands in the water to rinse them off, and watched in horror as her wedding ring floated to the bottom of the lake.
"I was flabbergasted," Agnes said. "I wanted Robert to jump overboard and get it but he wouldn't."
"I didn't do much fishing after that," she said.
In contrast, Robert, 94, has never taken his ring off. "This ring has not been off my finger since Agnes put it there almost 70 years ago," he said proudly, displaying his left hand.
The Crabtrees' daughter Pat Crabtree Girr, 68, of South Portland remembers her parents' relationship as only ups, with no downs. "I never heard them raise their voices at each other," she said. "I don't remember a cross word."
Both of her parents were very good dancers. "They used to dance around the house together," Girr said. "Their favorite song was 'Melody of Love' by Billy Vaughan."
Girr said that her father, who gave up his driver's license two years ago, is proud that he only got one ticket during 78 years of driving. "It was a parking ticket in Naples, Florida," she said. "I was with him and we drove straight to the police station and paid it."
Robert and Agnes still live independently in Camden. Girr said her father owes his longevity to genes on his mother's side. Robert's mother lived to be 99. Only two of his seven siblings have died.
"The Crabtree bunch is quite a crew," said Girr. Every summer they have a family reunion that is so large, with 100 to 150 people, that they've had to move it to the Union Fairgrounds, where Robert was a trustee for more than 30 years.
On Sunday, Nov. 29, exactly 70 years to the day, Pat will host an open house to celebrate her parents' many years of marriage.
"We've had squabbles," said Agnes, "but we've always hung together."
Pictured from left are Robert and Agnes Crabtree and Leo Girr and his wife, Pat Girr, in 2001. Leo died unexpectedly at age 73 in July 2008. Pat did not have children of her own. "I am blessed with four stepchildren and their families," she said. (Courtesy of: Agnes Crabtree)