Reverend, wife recovering after house fire
WATERFORD – The Rev. Earl Bell is still sifting through the remains of what used to be his home.
Charred books, sooted clothes and things so melted and twisted that they are unrecognizable were piled outside the shell of his home on Wednesday.
Work has been slow for the 73-year-old Bell and his wife, Marilyn, 74.
Searching for something worth saving from more than 50 years of marriage takes awhile.
Materially, they lost everything.
The couple had a two-story cottage and a 600-square-foot addition on Papoose Pond chock full of pictures, books, computers and memorabilia.
Earl’s two hearing aids were melted.
They lost their dog, Holly, whose barking saved their lives and their cat, Fluffy.
“The only things we really salvaged were the clothes on our backs and I went out the window in my underwear!” Earl said. “You know, when possessions pass away they lose their value.”
Earl said that despite the loss, he and Marilyn still have a lot. They have each other, their three children, a sense of humor and their memories.
“The first night we went to sleep after the fire we hugged each other,” Earl said. “We were happy to have each other.”
They have also learned that more people care about them than they could have imagined.
Since the July 3 fire people have been giving them household items, clothes and money. The attention hasn’t been easy for Bell, who is more used to giving than receiving.
“We tried to be giving people in the ministry and it’s hard now to be a gracious receiver,” Earl said. “One minister recently told me that it is important to learn how to be a gracious receiver.”
Earl began his pastoral duties in 1955 in western New York.
Earl said he eventually contacted the bishop in Boston seeking a ministry in Maine. He moved to Maine in 1985 to become minister of the Deering Memorial United Methodist Church in South Paris.
He retired in 1991, shortly after having a heart operation in 1990.
“I didn’t know how long I would live with a heart valve,” Earl said.
Since he “retired,” he has spent one year as a pastor in West Baldwin; has done a weekly service at the Sweden Community Church since 2000; and last August began a weekly service at the West Bethel Union Church. The churches are affiliated with the United Church of Christ.
The Sunday after the fire he preached in West Bethel in the morning and Sweden in the evening and he said his sermon was entitled “Up from the Ashes.”
He said he can close his eyes and see people who have had heart surgery, cancer and other physical problems. He sees some who lost mates, struggled through abuses, divorce and lost children.
He said his problems seem small when compared to those.
“Each of us, as we walk through life, have crises but our faith in God and in one another see us through,” Earl said.
He said he did have one loss that may not be mourned by many.
“I had a couple of sermons that burned up and maybe some would say that it was a good thing,” he said, sharing a big smile. “If I can’t laugh anymore, I might as well give up. It keeps me mentally balanced.”
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