Longtime Gorham residents Richard and Rosalie Barden celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary September 4. They met while Richard was working for his father at Barden Drug Store which was located where Gorham House of Pizza is now. His father, Nelson Barden, opened the drug store around 1937. In 1948, Rosalie was a student at Gorham State Teacher’s College. She and a college friend were picking up items at the store when they noticed a bobbing duck at the check-out. Her friend commented, “Isn’t he cute… the duck I mean!” After about a year of dating, Dick and Rosalie were married in Gorham at the First Parish Church in 1949.
Dick was the town pharmacist for his whole life, owning Gorham Pharmacy and later working at other pharmacies in town and Cook’s Hardware in retirement, finishing part-time at the age of 83. Rosalie was an art teacher at the University of Maine Portland-Gorham (now USM) and throughout the Gorham School system.
The Bardens have been community leaders their whole lives and their influence has spread far and wide. They were on multiple committees in their church and traveled throughout Europe singing with the church chorus. Dick also served on Gorham Town committees and they were both involved in various community service groups including the Lions Club and Hospice. Dick sang as a bass for many years in the Portland Magic of Christmas chorus and Rosalie was a well-known watercolor artist showing and selling paintings in many galleries around Maine and New England.
Photos courtesy Terrilynn DubreuilThe Bardens were married in 1949 and recently celebrated their 70th anniversary. Dick was the town pharmacist for years, beginning at his father’s company, Barden’s Drug Store.
They have three children, 10 grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild. They both also celebrated their 93rd birthdays in September. Rosalie has always called Dick her “knight in shining armor,” and Dick said, “The secret to a long, successful marriage is to do whatever she says.” Both agree that “dancing and singing together and traveling abroad has kept them close always.”
Richard’s parents were Nelson and Eva Barden of Church Street. Dick was born in Newton, MA, but the family moved to Gorham when he was eleven years old. He grew up in town and later graduated from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy as the Valedictorian and was offered a full scholarship to Perdue Graduate School. He chose to work for his father at the pharmacy, which was a full-service drug store including a soda fountain-type restaurant to the side. Later he joined with Bill Rickards of Carswell’s Drug Store and their partnership created Gorham Pharmacy (located where Hops and Vine is currently).
Barden’s Drug Store in 1966Rosalie’s parents were Clarence and Grace Preble. Rosalie grew up in the great Bath area (Days Ferry and Five Islands) and attended Morse High School. At the age of 16 she went to work at Bath Iron Works as a draughtsman. She later returned to school, attended Stevens College in Missouri and later Gorham State Teacher’s College majoring in Biology. Eventually she received her Masters in Education with a concentration in Fine Arts while raising three very active children, teaching them many things like skiing, water skiing, archery, rifle safety, sailing, boating, crafts, ironing (yes, even the boys), and many other things. She is a quintessential Renaissance woman.
Throughout their lives both Dick and Rosalie reached out to many people in the Gorham community, especially encouraging and promoting the young people in town. They were avid high school basketball and soccer fans. (Their older son Michael is in the Gorham High Hall of Fame). Dick was the type of pharmacist who would get up at 3 a.m. to run down to the drug store and fill an emergency prescription and deliver it to the person’s home.
They were dedicated to the First Parish Church congregation from the day of their wedding in 1949, both being deacons, on various committees, and staunch members of the church choir, which produced a beautiful CD and traveled through Europe singing in various countries. Rosalie would still love to make some Sunday services but can only do so if someone picks her up and drives her there.
Anyone who would like to send greetings may do so by emailing richrosebar@gmail.com. Rosalie is also on Facebook at Rosalie Barden. They love visitors for short periods of time but would appreciate an email first.