Erma McLain had her first kiss in September 1948. It was her third date with Milton, and they were in the front seat of his Chevy sedan.

Erma wasn’t Milton’s first kiss, which happened in 1944. He was 18 and an Army man. The smooch happened in a Washington, D.C., park with a woman also in the military.

Nearly 65 years after that first kiss with each other, Erma, 86, and Milton, 85, have been married for 62 years and have three children. They both are residents at Heritage Park.

A kiss can take a split second or span the length of the movie “Titanic.” It can be familiar, romantic, comfortable or nerve-racking, inducing clammy palms or happy butterflies and flushed cheeks.

Not all kisses are memorable – and some leave us wishing we could just forget them – but there’s something about a first kiss.

In celebration of Valentine’s Day, local readers wrote in to tell about their first kisses.

I was a senior. She was a sophomore in a small local school in Ohio. One day in speech class, she walked in, and it hit me like a ton of bricks: “Someday, I am going to marry that good-looking gal.” After a year of working up enough nerve to ask her out on a date and a few drilling questions from her father, we went on our first date to the movies.

My heart was racing, and I thought, “Now or never.” Talk about fireworks. Wow. That first kiss made an everlasting impression on me because after 42 years together and 41 years of marriage, that good-looking gal is still the only woman I ever have kissed.

– Peter “Mike” Brady, 62, Paulding, Ohio

Karen was the daughter of a Baptist minister. She was 14 years old and beautiful, with auburn hair and glasses. I was 15 and awestruck by her beauty. We rode our bikes along the river road in Bluffton. We stopped at the pavilion to rest and talk. I asked if I could kiss her, and when she said yes, I missed; I kissed the corner of her mouth. She grabbed my head, and we kissed ever so gently. Karen was my first love and heartbreak. I sincerely hope that she remembers me with the same fondness.

– John Symon, 56, Bluffton

My first kiss was as a 14-year-old fairly harmless delinquent. I say that as I skipped a class the only time a boy asked me to. We went to his house. He wasted no time in making a move. I was intrigued and liked his style, so when he kissed me, I just let my mind embrace it. Looking back, I thought it was normal, and I know now it was exceptional.

Now, as a 14-year-old boy, he had more on his mind, but I praise God I was smarter than that and just laughed at his suggestion. He never minded too much, and we got along very well. We dated for a year, but my folks and I moved away.

I happily never gave in but will always remember with love, as I grew older, that beautiful and satisfying kiss.

– Anna Dekan, 51, Woodburn

My first kiss was in 1945 in my first grade class at Thorncreek Township grade school in Whitley County. My classmate Jackie Kilty from Tri Lakes was a cute blond standing by a raised sand box. We looked at each other, and I spontaneously leaned over and kissed her on the lips. Then we did it two more times. She lives in Florida now.

I didn’t see her again after high school until our 45th class reunion. I asked her if she remembered the kiss. I think she wasn’t sure, but for me something about it was absolutely unforgettable. The irony is that neither one of us ever married. And I didn’t kiss another girl again until I was a senior in high school.

– Jon Pontzius, 72, Columbia City