Mother and son reunite in Libby

Meeting somebody for the first time can be an awkward experience. 53-year-old Mike Peterson of Medina, N.D., went through that awkward experience recently when he met his biological mother, Beverly Stubbs, for the first time at the Libby Care Center.

“It was odd,” Peterson said. “It was a weird experience looking at your mother for the first time at the age of 53. To look at somebody who has the same facial features as you and say ‘oh that’s what my mother looks like,’ it’s not just a picture you are holding in your hand. You are actually looking at her in person and she’s right in front of you. It’s a little awkward. She is a stranger, but she’s really not.”

Peterson began his search for his biological mother when the state of Washington unsealed birth certificates and adoption records.

“Last year the state of Washington released the birth certificates,” he said. “So I was able to track her down. I found out her maiden name was Shober and after many calls I was able to find my mother’s sister’s family. It took a good solid month of computer searching to track her down.”

Peterson said his mother gave him up because she wasn’t married at the time of his birth.

“She never saw me at birth,” Peterson said. “She gave me up for adoption because she wasn’t married. She felt pressure from her family to give me up. It wasn’t socially acceptable back in the sixties to have a kid and not be married. She told me that she regrets giving me up.”

Peterson traveled from North Dakota to Libby to meet Stubbs for the first time at the Libby Care Center.

“I talked to the nurse when I arrived,” he said. “I never knew what she looked like. I had talked to her on the phone a few times. She had no idea that I was coming. I explained to the nurse who I was and who I was looking for. She pointed me to the cafeteria and told me that she would be in there. Her back was turned so my wife and I walked up around her. I didn’t say anything; I just stood in front of her and looked at her. She looked at me and then looked at the nurse, then back at me and then at the nurse again. She then asked me ‘am I supposed to know you?’ and I said ‘yes,’ then she asked if I was her son. The nurse started crying and I got a little teary-eyed. I gave her a big hug.”

Peterson said his next goal is to arrange a meeting between his biological and adopted mothers.

“Everyone should look up their biological parents as long as they have the blessing of their adopted parents,” he said. “It can be looked at as disrespectful to the adopted parents. It was a good day at the Libby Care Center and Mother’s Day is now more expensive for me.”