I was born at the Lincoln County Poor Farm in Boothbay Harbor. I was a full-term baby and weighed four pounds. My mother walked there the evening before. I was born on Jan. 25, 1932, around 4 a.m.

She had never been seen by a doctor until that night. In fact, she told me that he said to her, “It’s a hard, cruel world for a little girl to be born into.”

Little did he know that nearing the end of my life, I could honestly say, “I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”

Growing up poor is difficult for any child, but learning to be grateful is a blessing one carries throughout life. Because I was poor, I learned to try harder and to set goals. By the time I was 14, I was working in the hotels and inns in the area. I earned enough money to get me through the winters. I loved my teachers and they became my role models.

As a child, I thought that Boothbay Harbor was the most beautiful place in the world. (I still do!). Memories of the lady slippers and lupines enthrall me. The bushes of the sea roses along the ocean shores with their fragrance that lingers in my soul lives forever in my heart.

Throughout my adult years, I have lived in Louisiana, Texas and Kansas, where I now reside. My four children were born in Kansas. They love Maine. My son, Pierce, spends his summer vacation out on the lobster boat with his Uncle Henry. I tell him, “It must be in your genes!”

After raising my children, my working years have been a blessing to me. First, I worked as a Christian educator with my late husband, a Presbyterian pastor in east Texas. After his death, I worked as executive director of a couple of councils on alcohol and drug abuse. The 12-Step Program of Alcoholics Anonymous became a spiritual gift in my life.

After returning to Topeka to be closer to my children as I grew older, I became the executive director of an emergency crisis center for the poor. As they say, “What goes round, comes round.” I resisted taking this position. I felt that I had left all this behind me.

I struggled with the decision to come face to face with the issues of poverty that had been hurtful to me as a child. However, I really felt I was being called.

It turned out to be the most satisfying 10 years of my work life. It was a healing experience.

So as I look back at “my story” I can truly say, “Thank you for the birthplace that has brought me into these aging years. Again, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world!”

Mona Pierce Logan Magee

Class of 1950, Boothbay Harbor High School