어제 여기 신문에 난 것인데..

 

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영어 공부도 될 겸.. 천천히 한번 읽어보시고 ..

 

한주 마무리 잘 하시고 .. 좋은 주말 맞으시길..

 

 

Lovers reconnect after 65 years

 

Today promises to be a day like no other for Phyllis Mitton.

  

  

 

The Daily Gleaner/James West Photo

Phyllis Mitton will be reunited with an old love today. Sixty-five years ago, Mitton, right, parted ways with her boyfriend Mike Stadnyk, currently of Hamilton, Ont., after he was transferred by the military. The two are seen above in a photo dated 1945 in downtown Fredericton.

 

 

 

After more than 65 years, the Fredericton resident is being reunited with her first sweetheart.

The last time Mitton, 82, saw Mike Stadnyk, 86, was in 1945.

Stadnyk, who now lives in Hamilton, Ont., is scheduled to fly into Fredericton this afternoon.

"When I see him come, it'll be terrific," Mitton said Monday. "I just can't imagine. We aren't young but it doesn't matter; it's the heart that matters."

Stadnyk began his quest to find Mitton at the beginning of this year.

He said he wasn't hopeful at the time, but now that he's found her, he can't believe his luck.

"I am excited; it's a wonderful feeling," Stadnyk said. "I never thought I would find her. We're at that age - very few people live long enough."

When the first call came and she realized it was Stadnyk, Mitton said she was stunned.

"I know my heart went right outside and back in again," she said. "I didn't know if he was living or dead, but I had thought of him over the years and I always remembered Mike."

Stadnyk was a member of the Canadian Army Medical Corps, working as a pharmacist assistant at a military facility in the city, when he met his sweetheart, then known as Phyllis Goodine.

At that time, he was 20 and she was 16.

"Age didn't matter to me; she was a good looking girl," Stadnyk said with a boyish giggle. "She was a beautiful girl."

Mitton said Stadnyk was shy back then.

"I was very taken with him because he was older than me and a perfect gentleman - very kind and loving."

The couple pursued their romance for several months until Stadnyk was posted to Sussex.

"When I left in 1945, I couldn't say a proper goodbye because I was shipped from Sussex back home and my home was originally in Alberta."

Upon discharge from the army, Stadnyk finished high school and went on to McMaster University in Hamilton where he graduated in 1951 with a bachelor's degree in chemistry.

"We corresponded by mail, maybe for a couple of years," Stadnyk said.

As things progressed, Stadnyk said he received a letter from Mitton's mother telling him her daughter was thinking about getting married and wanted to know what he thought about it.

"I couldn't afford a marriage at that time. I didn't have a job," he said. "I was still going to school."

As time went by, both went on their separate ways and married other people.

Phyllis wed fiddle great Earl Mitton, but has been a widow for the last 20 years.

Stadnyk married Lucienne in 1952. They were together for 57 years before she passed away in November.

Both Stadnyk and Mitton have two children.

At the beginning of this year, Stadnyk said he was going through an old trunk that contained photos of him in the army. That got him thinking about Mitton.

"I said to myself, 'I wonder if my first love is still around?' "

Stadnyk went to the library and got a list of all the Goodines listed in Fredericton and started dialing.

He didn't have a lot of luck initially but, somehow, word got back to Mitton that he was looking for her and she called him.

He later saw the number on his phone.

"I called her back and, boy, it was just wonderful," Stadnyk said with a giggle.

Mitton said they have been talking regularly for the last couple of months.

"I still can't believe it," she said. "It's very exciting and I am thrilled to hear from him again."