Who is the woman in pink? A Nova Scotia family went looking and found out
At first, Rebecca Benedict thought her two sisters had called her from Nova Scotia to play a game with her.
"They were laughing and saying, 'No, no, you have to hear this!'" she said of learning that her four-decade old portrait had surfaced on the East Coast.
Benedict now lives in Alberta at an equestrian centre with her husband, two cats, three dogs, and 11 show horses.
40-year-old photo
She was born and raised in Nova Scotia but moved away in 1993. Unbeknownst to her at the time she left behind the portrait, hidden behind a black and white print of the S.S. Kyle.
That framed print would later be bought by Port Wade resident Paul Sarty, who discovered Benedict's photo by accident.
The discovery of the photograph led the two families to connect, in a series of very "Maritimes" events that charmed and touched Benedict.
"It just reacquaints me with how in touch people are with each other there. And that's really missing in a lot of places," she said.
Benedict remembers the photo, which she thinks was probably taken when she was in her mid 20s, not long after her youngest son was born in 1974.
It was taken at Warren Gordon's photo studio in Sydney, and the pink dress came from Jacobson's Ladies Wear, also in Sydney.
'Tickled' by events
But she doesn't recognize the picture of the S.S. Kyle at all.
"It was a total surprise to me. I have no idea how that portrait got behind that picture of the ship. Absolutely no idea," she said.
Benedict says she would like to receive the photo and will keep it at her farm to show her granddaughter.
"She has a little romantic heart as well, and she just thinks it's a wonderful treat right now," she said, adding that her family has been "tickled" by the events of the past few days.
"This little story just makes me want to go [to Nova Scotia] tomorrow."
