I’ve had the Just Among Us Cookbook compiled by the women of the First Presbyterian Church in Watsontown, PA for a long time now. It’s a large cookbook that includes wonderful cheese dips, coconut Easter eggs, corn muffins, treasured receipts and treats for kids. It’s adorned with illustrations and interesting quotes from history, like this one:
General notions are generally wrong.
Montagu
I agree with that.
I pulled the receipt book from the shelf last night because the kiddo was sick. I had a feeling Monday was going to be a quiet at-home day, and sure enough, here we are snuggled up with snoozing dogs while corn muffins bake in the oven.
I chose Mrs. Beagle’s Corn Muffins based on…her name. I am a sucker for a good beagle. The muffins mixed up in minutes.
The only surprising bit about them was the inordinate amount of butter. Mrs. Beagle called for a full half cup. I am not entirely sure if I was supposed to melt it or not, but my instinct was to melt it because most muffins call for an oil along with milk and this one was using butter rather than oil….so, I went with liquid.
The muffins were short, as in itty-bitty, and I filled the cups nearly full, but guess what? The flavor was absolutely delightful. I think many corn muffins call for more flour than they do corn meal and in this case, the corn, butter and sugar were on full display. Enjoyable.
You know who else was enjoyable? Mrs. Beagle. I went to the archives and found her right away. It made my life easier that she was a lifelong resident of Watsontown, Pennsylvania and affiliated with clubs, orgs and the Presbyterian Church.
Mrs. Mae Morgan Beagle
Mae was born on the 29th of April 1885 in Watsontown, Pennsylvania. Her dad was Samuel B. Morgan, a civil war veteran of the Union Army, and her mom was Margaret Leighow. When Mae was born, Watsontown had a population of about 2,000. It featured a couple of lumber mills, a brick yard, furniture, cigar and grocery shops and more. As Mae grew, she had an interest in music and left Watsontown for a short period of time to attend Bucknell University.
Mae played piano and potentially other instruments. I saw reference mostly to piano.
After university, Mae was back in town and married a guy named George Elroy Beagle. They were both about town for a long time, so she probably knew him for a while before tying the knot. George was a local carver who worked at the furniture shop. They got married at 9:30pm on Halloween Eve in 1912 and the newspaper reported that they took a midnight train to New York and Philadelphia – and other points east – for their honeymoon.
It doesn’t look like Mae and George had children, instead Mae was big into career and community. She showed up as part of the Order of the Eastern Star in 1920. The OES is the female affiliate of the Freemasons and was chartered in the mid-19th century.
She appeared to be associated with the Watsontown O.E.S. her entire life and became a conductress and matron (or perhaps that’s one in the same?) She was obviously dedicated to the order.
Mae had a career as a postmistress, beginning in 1934.
During the next decade and a half, she was regularly reporting from the post office regarding postal service. Over the next several years she diligently registered people and motor vehicles and dealt with the typical holiday hustle and bustle, as we can see in this notice just 10 days prior to Christmas.
She also attended postal conventions and even went to the White House and attended a tea held by Mrs. Roosevelt. I think that’s pretty neat.
The address that F.D.R. gave at this convention is available to read in full at the National Archives. And yes, he did quote Herodotus : “Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.”
Over the next several months, the mail would have been even more vital as troops mustered out and Mrs. Beagle and her crew would manage precious letters from families to soldiers (and back again) during WWII.
By 1949, Mrs. Beagle retired. She spent time with the Order of the Eastern Star, the Guild, the church and community. She even judged the Yule decorations in town one year. This was after George had passed away in 1952. In 1956, Mae took time to travel West and explore with a few friends.
In 1960, Mrs. Beagle became sick and went to the Park Home. Before she left, The Guild honored her with a special dinner
Mrs. Mae Beagle, a charter member, was honored at the annual dinner-meeting of Watsontown Guild at Lewisburg Inn. Mrs. Beagle has left for the Park home at Williamsport where she will be a guest.
She was presented with a life membership and a corsage in appreciation of her long period of service to the Guild.
“Watsontown Guild Fetes Mrs. Beagle,” The Daily Item (Sunbury, Pennsylvania) 24 May 1960, p. 15, c. 6; digital images, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 27 November 2023)
With all the best wishes, it seems, Mrs. Beagle, retired postmistress, lived out her days at Park home. She passed away there on 12 December 1964.
I hope her story reminds us all of the busy postal workers this holiday season. Perhaps they could use a batch of Mrs. Beagle’s Corn Muffins.