On the home front: Memorializing the Athens 'Magazine Lady'

In 1971, the National Holiday Act established Memorial Day as a three-day-weekend. Since then, Memorial Day has been celebrated more with barbeques and sporting events than honoring those who have died while in service to our country. The VFW states, "Changing the date merely to create three-day weekends has undermined the very meaning of the day. No doubt, this has contributed greatly to the general public's nonchalant observance of Memorial Day." This story is about a woman who at her time of death in 1974, age 77, did not die in service. Rather, it is about her simple act of giving during World War II that eased the minds of thousands upon thousands of soldiers - many never to return - that passed through Athens aboard troop trains, before their final destination to fight for victory.The idea came while she paused from the sweeping of her porch.

On Dec. 7, 1941, Mrs. Margaret E. McGraner, age 45 at the time, stood on her porch and watched the first of many troop trains roll into Athens.

Pearl Harbor had just been bombed. Citizens lined up, ready to enlist. The majority wanted to serve; Mrs. McGraner was no exception.

In a recorded oral history at the Athens County Historical Society and Museum, McGraner, who would later become famously known as the "Athens Magazine Lady," said she felt she had to do something. She assessed the resources she had: 75 magazines and an Athens Messenger.

"I'll give to them," she said. "That's what started it."

She walked from her house to the train station that night, bearing her gifts, and would continue to give to the soldiers for the entire duration of the war, no matter the weather or the hour.

After that night, she relayed her plan to the Athens Messenger owners, hoping the rest of Athens would support her idea with donations of magazines and newspapers to give to the troops. Athens responded. Soon, the gifts offered also included playing cards, testaments, post cards and song sheets.

Once, she recalled, she and her husband were interrupted from their supper by a delivery of 1,500 magazines. Word was spreading. People heard of her efforts and sent magazines from all over the country. "Magazines came from every state, except South Dakota," she said.

Throughout the entire war, she never missed a train.

Robert Hedges, 87, a retired U. S. Postal Service employee, recalled what she did for the soldiers. "She put Athens on the map," he said.

Anna Hedges, wife of Robert, added, "It became a town project."

War would change the face of the world, the country and the town. People learned to survive on little, and to reuse what they already had. Soon slogans such as: "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without" or "Roses are red, violets are blue. Sugar is sweet. Remember?" would highlight the mood of the country.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt would make a series of speeches, "fireside chats," on nighttime radio programs, meant to encourage those on the home front. In April, 1942, he said, "One front and one battle where everyone in the United States - every man, woman, and child - is in action. That front is right here at home, in our daily lives."

This "action" translated into a new determination, a purpose of life.

In July 1943, he said, "We shall not settle for less than total victory. That is the determination of every American on the fighting fronts. That must be and will be the determination of every American at home."

Sacrifices at home helped serve the country. Suddenly, the acts of growing a garden, rationing or salvaging scraps weren't merely to save money. They meant more for soldiers overseas - remaining food supplies provided strength for battle and gathered materials went toward making weapons. The end goal was Victory.

Robert Hedges remembered, "It was a different time back then. People really wanted to help out in community efforts." He and his wife, Anna, recalled the various stations around town where rubber, magazines, newspapers, and tin were collected " even down to foil gum wrappers.

McGraner's idea - the simple law of "demand and supply" - was met creatively utilizing pared-down war-era resources. It appealed to town members in its simplicity and goodwill.

Janice Sapp, 90, who helped by delivering magazines to McGraner, recalled, "She was a good woman." Sapp, who also served during the war in a "cage" - a contained secure office - working on blueprints for the Helldiver dive-bomber, said she believes that what McGraner did changed Athens " the community changed "in giving" and ultimately made the soldiers happy.

Multitudes of letters from soldiers were received expressing their gratitude. One such letter from Auburn, Ala. stated:

"I thought I would write to you and let you know how much the boys appreciate the magazines and cards that you gave us when we came through your town. You are really helping us keep up our morale..."
When supplies were low, Mrs. McGraner would call up the Messenger, who wrote the appeal:

From the Athens Messenger, Thursday February 17, 1944: "More magazines, playing cards, and money to purchase postcards are needed by Mrs. Earnest McGraner, Athens' 'Magazine Lady'... The call for magazines came Wednesday... She is now out of magazines... Unless Athens' 'Magazine Lady' is to miss the troop trains, whose officers have come to know her and look for her, magazines must be brought to her at once."

"Before the war was over," McGraner said in the recording, "I would give the boys 2 million, 500,000 magazines, besides the decks of cards."

"I tell you," she said in the recording, "I was busy." Yet, she boasted that she still kept her house "nice and pretty."

Nominated and entered into the Congressional Record (78th Congress, Second Session) for her act of service, she would also guest-star on numerous radio shows of the time, and be featured in national publications.

But fame did not stray her from her course. Once, she refused to be interviewed on a California radio show lest the required travel made her miss the trains.

The address where the McGraners house once stood, 183 W. Union St., does not exist today. An Ohio University Human Resources building is in its place; across the street is the HDL center. In the 1940s, a junkyard, a lumberyard, two service stations and numerous factories occupied this area of town. The train station, now on the National Register of Historic Places, would have been in direct line of view from the McGraners' porch.

MARGARET E. MCGRANER'S 1974 obituary stated she died after a long illness, with no living extended family. Her husband had passed on in 1951. She had been a member of her church and of the local American Legion Auxiliary.

She rests under a tree that shades her grave, in between her husband and brother-in-law, both veterans of World War I.

Row after row of graves in this and other local cemeteries have stories to tell. Many died while serving our country overseas; many died while serving at home.

According to recent statistics, veterans of World War II are dying at a rate of over 1,000 a day. Their stories, history and tales of survival through an unprecedented time die with them.

Today, younger generations face conditions they are unaccustomed to - recession, job eliminations and layoffs, high costs of basic needs. Survivors of rationing, blackouts and fear could have much to teach to a generation whose "plenty" has been diminished.

If Memorial Day is set aside for us to preserve the memory of, to honor, and to celebrate those who sacrificed their lives, then remembering Margaret E. McGraner's story celebrates a uniqueness in its simplicity: everyone has the capacity to serve and make things a little brighter in difficult times " just look around for the need, and fill it with resources at hand.

Special thanks to Anna and Robert Hedges; Nikki Metts at the Lindley Inn; Janice Sapp, Larry Sapp and his wife; Margaret Shafer, manager of Athens Station Project; Kelee Riesbeck and the Athens County Historical Society and Museum; Joanne Prisley; Todd Bastin at the Athens Public Library; and Judy Connick with Ohio University's Archives and Special Collections.