Harris and Peggy Blackburn info from the Winona Republican-Herald
Harris Franklin was born November 8, 1904, in Malta Bend. MO. He spent his youth in Malta Bend and graduated from Kansas State College, Manhattan, Kan, in 1927 with a degree in electrical engineering. He was a member of the Alpha Sigma Psi fraternity while at Kansas State. From 1927-1930 he was a student test engineer for the General Electric Company at Schenectady, N. Y., and in 1930 he was promoted to transformer specialist and at some point that year he was transferred to Chicago. He soon met and then married Margaret (Peggy) Daugherty on June 12, 1931 (the newspaper said she was Margaret Cramer so she may have been married before). They came to Winona from Chicago in late October, 1937.
Over 220 newspaper clippings have been found from Winona giving in site into the life that Harris and Peggy lived in Winona. They were both very active socially and both were mentioned as volunteering for different community activities. Their activities at the Winona Country Club were also well documented. I will try to summarize their lives through this information.
Little Theater Playhouse
They were both active in the Little Theater Playhouse, both as actors and as helping to manage the organization. As early as 10/27/1938 they are noted as being cast members. Eighteen articles were found documenting their participation, with the 5/6/1944 clipping saying that Harris as vice-president and business manager was given the honor of introducing their guest Sinclair Lewis. This was also the last mention of Harris or Peggy relating to the theater.
Society page
Society page clippings noted that Harris' Mom and Brother arrived on 6/17/1940 for a visit and that Peggy had a chain party at her house on 6/18/1940 for the Red Cross and that her visitors attended. On 12/22/1942 Peggy's Mother, Mrs. George W. Mockmore arrived to spend the holidays.
Community Volunteering
Both Peggy and Harris were active in the community volunteering for many things. On 11/15/1941 it was said that Peggy was a new committee member for the committee in charge of local activities for Bundles for Britain, Inc. She was active with the library at the hospital (6 clippings) and was shown in a photograph on 1/14/1942 with a "recently acquired" 2-wheel dolly being used to bring books to patients. She was noted as being the decorations chair person and on the ticket sales committee for the Charity Ball. Peggy was shown on 1/14/1939 in a picture showing people that were providing voices for the Radio Theater Workshop on KWNO, Winona's local radio station. In 12/1939, Harris was nominated for a directorship of the Association of Commerce for Winona. Harris was helping with the USO on 5/15/1942. On 1/21/1943 Harris was mentioned as a committee member for a wartime program by the Minnesota Fire Marshalls for inspecting Winona's non-residential buildings. On 8/31/1943 Harris was listed as a precinct captain for the 3rd War Bond Drive and on 9/26/1945 Harris was conducting a War Service Fund drive in the central business and industrial district of Winona. A clothing drive tribute held after FDR's death and Harris was noted as being in charge of collection for this drive. Harris was listed on May 29, 1946 as being on the agricultural committee for the upcoming 4-H Calf Show. On June 20, 1946 it was noted that Harris had been named to the Board of Directors for the Winona Executives Club.
Winona Saddle and Bridle Club
Both Harris and Peggy evidently joined the Winona Saddle and Bridle Club soon after arriving in Winona (26 total clipping found) with Harris noted as being in charge of trails on 2/9/1938. No mention was found regarding the ownership of horses by Harris and Peggy, but it can be assumed that they did own horses since on 6/24/1940 it was stated that Harris took 1st place in the men's equestrian event and Peggy took 3rd in the women's event. This 6/24/1940 clipping was the last one to mention Harris. Many of these clippings noted that Peggy (sometimes with the help of others) was responsible for arrangements. On 6/4/1938 an article detailed the visit of the horse Sea Biscuit and the club members go see the horse while it was on exhibition.
DAR
Peggy was very active in the DAR (30 total clippings found) from as early as 10/5/1940 when it was noted that she was the assisting hostess. By 1942 she was a vice-regent and on 5/11/1944 she was elected as regent and served two years in this position. Her DAR application (with associated genealogy) has been requested.
Bridge Club
Harris and Peggy were active bridge players at the Winona Country Club (16 total clippings) from as early as 7/21/1939. Harris individually was mentioned as a winner on 6/28/1940. Both were mentioned as the general chairmen of the bridge club for 6/1940. The rest of the clippings mentioned Peggy alone and usually as club social chairman.
Rotary Club and Elks Club
Harris was a member of the Rotary Club from as early as 5/9/1940 when he was listed as a board member. He was elected President on 5/7/1941, Vice-President 5/7/1942, back on the board on 4/8/1943, Program Chairman 6/28/1944, with his last mention on 4/4/1945 when spoke at a meeting. His obituary also noted that he was an Elks Club Member.
Teaching
Harris was mentioned 8 times in regards to education activities. On 3/7/1941 he was on an advisory committee for high school vocational training. He was mentioned 4 times in 1942 and 1943 for teaching the electrical portion of a radio course at the local college. On 5/25/1946 he was on an advisory committee for returning veterans vocational training.
Winona Country Club
Both Harris and Peggy were very active at their Winona Country Club with the previously mentioned bridge club activities and with 21 additional clippings regarding their work as social chairmen, dance organizers, and 47 clippings about their golf activities. Harris and Peggy participated in many golf tournaments at the club and appeared to be in the top three golfers for their gender at the club. Harris' handicap was shown as a low of 12 and a high of 15 and Peggy's although not listed appeared to be in the same range. Both were noted as winners or runner-up on several occasions.
Mississippi Public Service Company (MVPS)
Harris began work at MVPS in late October, 1937 as an electrical engineer in charge of the electrical distribution and electrical generation systems. His name was mentioned several times as the spokesman regarding outages and new construction projects on the electrical system. On 4/24/1946 he was appointed the Assistant General Manager. On 3/5/1946 a City Council member raised the question of the city letting the franchise agreement with MVSP expire and then taking over MVSP's Winona assets. Discussions and negotiations about this continued until 8/27/1946 when it was voted to accept a proposal by MVSP that there be a 5% tax on MVSP's gross revenue. As the Assistant General Manager, Harris would have been one of the day-to-day leaders for MVSP on this work. Franchise agreements and their negotiations can be very contentious. This may have caused some stress in Harris' life during this time.
Harris' Death
The following is from Harris' obituary that appeared in the Winona Republican-Herald the same day as his death: Harris F. Blackburn. 861 West Mark Street, was found dead of carbon monoxide poisoning in the garage of his home between 6:30 and 7:00 a.m. today. The body of Mr. Blackburn, Assistant general manager of the Mississippi Valley Public Service Company was found slumped over in his car which was parked in the garage, according to Dr. Robert Tweedy, Winona county coroner, who was called. Dr. Tweedy gave a verdict of suicide. Both the doors of the car and the garage were closed and the motor was running, said the coroner. Mr. Blackburn apparently had been dead since about 3:30 a. m. and was fully dressed. Mrs. Black-burn, on arising, failed to locate him in the house or garden. She noticed smoke coming out of the garage and on investigating, found the body. Friends of Mr. Blackburn were unable to ascribe a motive for the suicide. The coroner said there was no note, and added that Mr. and Mrs. Blackburn entertained friends Wednesday evening and that he appeared to be in good spirits at that time. Wednesday noon he attended a Rotary club meeting at Hotel Winona. An official of M.V.P.S. company said that Mr. Blackburn's mother, his sister and his brother were ex-pected to arrive by auto in Winona today from Kansas City for a visit. Mr. Blackburn had been in Winona since 1937, when he joined M.V.P.S. as an electrical engineer. Last April he was promoted to assistant general manager.
It can be assumed the coroner probably did not do an autopsy on Harris and that his findings were based on the obvious conditions found at the garage since the results appeared in the local paper just hours after the body was found. It can be seen from all of the clippings found that Harris and Peggy were very happy, successful, and socially active people and as noted in the obituary "Friends of Mr. Blackburn were unable to ascribe a motive for the suicide." One can't help but wonder if maybe Harris' position (it is unknown if he was for or against MVSP's 5% tax) regarding the franchise could have caused some problems with someone in the community. Family lore has noted that Harris had some financial problems at the time, but it might be more than coincidence that the franchise was settled only 5 days after his death and that his death might not have been a suicide.
Miscellaneous Items
Two clippings were found detailing the results of the MVPS bowling league with results for Harris on those nights. The 4/13/1940 paper had an article detailing an upcoming of the First Congressional Church meeting and that Harris was a member of the committee that was scheduled to meet. A 10/15/1938 clipping was a notice that Harris had had his gloves and some candy stolen from his car. Two articles from 2/3/1942 and from 3/22/1943 offered a reward for Harris' lost black Scottish terrier named Stubby, there was no notice that the dog was ever found and there may be a discrepancy with one of the dates during the transcription process of getting these clippings indexed and then online.
Peggy Follow-up
A funeral notice was published on 8/24/1946 and several other news articles for reflections of news that was 10 years old, and these were the last mention of either Harris or Peggy in the Winona newspapers. It seems ironic today that with everything Harris and Peggy were involved in that there was no further reference containing their names. One would think that one of the clubs would have mentioned that a person had taken their place or that she quit because of his death. It is almost as if Peggy was exiled into social obvlion after Harris' death because of the apparent nature of the death.
Gladys McNelly was instrumental in getting Peggy a position with the Community Concert Association (which provided performances by professional musicians (mostly classical artists) in towns and small cities all over the country). Peggy became the regional representative for the Association in the Rocky Mountain and Southwest states. It is not known when Peggy moved to Montana to begin this job. After retirement, she was tragically hit by a car on May 14, 1978 when she was 73 years old.
Harris Franklin was born November 8, 1904, in Malta Bend. MO. He spent his youth in Malta Bend and graduated from Kansas State College, Manhattan, Kan, in 1927 with a degree in electrical engineering. He was a member of the Alpha Sigma Psi fraternity while at Kansas State. From 1927-1930 he was a student test engineer for the General Electric Company at Schenectady, N. Y., and in 1930 he was promoted to transformer specialist and at some point that year he was transferred to Chicago. He soon met and then married Margaret (Peggy) Daugherty on June 12, 1931 (the newspaper said she was Margaret Cramer so she may have been married before). They came to Winona from Chicago in late October, 1937.
Over 220 newspaper clippings have been found from Winona giving in site into the life that Harris and Peggy lived in Winona. They were both very active socially and both were mentioned as volunteering for different community activities. Their activities at the Winona Country Club were also well documented. I will try to summarize their lives through this information.
Little Theater Playhouse
They were both active in the Little Theater Playhouse, both as actors and as helping to manage the organization. As early as 10/27/1938 they are noted as being cast members. Eighteen articles were found documenting their participation, with the 5/6/1944 clipping saying that Harris as vice-president and business manager was given the honor of introducing their guest Sinclair Lewis. This was also the last mention of Harris or Peggy relating to the theater.
Society page
Society page clippings noted that Harris' Mom and Brother arrived on 6/17/1940 for a visit and that Peggy had a chain party at her house on 6/18/1940 for the Red Cross and that her visitors attended. On 12/22/1942 Peggy's Mother, Mrs. George W. Mockmore arrived to spend the holidays.
Community Volunteering
Both Peggy and Harris were active in the community volunteering for many things. On 11/15/1941 it was said that Peggy was a new committee member for the committee in charge of local activities for Bundles for Britain, Inc. She was active with the library at the hospital (6 clippings) and was shown in a photograph on 1/14/1942 with a "recently acquired" 2-wheel dolly being used to bring books to patients. She was noted as being the decorations chair person and on the ticket sales committee for the Charity Ball. Peggy was shown on 1/14/1939 in a picture showing people that were providing voices for the Radio Theater Workshop on KWNO, Winona's local radio station. In 12/1939, Harris was nominated for a directorship of the Association of Commerce for Winona. Harris was helping with the USO on 5/15/1942. On 1/21/1943 Harris was mentioned as a committee member for a wartime program by the Minnesota Fire Marshalls for inspecting Winona's non-residential buildings. On 8/31/1943 Harris was listed as a precinct captain for the 3rd War Bond Drive and on 9/26/1945 Harris was conducting a War Service Fund drive in the central business and industrial district of Winona. A clothing drive tribute held after FDR's death and Harris was noted as being in charge of collection for this drive. Harris was listed on May 29, 1946 as being on the agricultural committee for the upcoming 4-H Calf Show. On June 20, 1946 it was noted that Harris had been named to the Board of Directors for the Winona Executives Club.
Winona Saddle and Bridle Club
Both Harris and Peggy evidently joined the Winona Saddle and Bridle Club soon after arriving in Winona (26 total clipping found) with Harris noted as being in charge of trails on 2/9/1938. No mention was found regarding the ownership of horses by Harris and Peggy, but it can be assumed that they did own horses since on 6/24/1940 it was stated that Harris took 1st place in the men's equestrian event and Peggy took 3rd in the women's event. This 6/24/1940 clipping was the last one to mention Harris. Many of these clippings noted that Peggy (sometimes with the help of others) was responsible for arrangements. On 6/4/1938 an article detailed the visit of the horse Sea Biscuit and the club members go see the horse while it was on exhibition.
DAR
Peggy was very active in the DAR (30 total clippings found) from as early as 10/5/1940 when it was noted that she was the assisting hostess. By 1942 she was a vice-regent and on 5/11/1944 she was elected as regent and served two years in this position. Her DAR application (with associated genealogy) has been requested.
Bridge Club
Harris and Peggy were active bridge players at the Winona Country Club (16 total clippings) from as early as 7/21/1939. Harris individually was mentioned as a winner on 6/28/1940. Both were mentioned as the general chairmen of the bridge club for 6/1940. The rest of the clippings mentioned Peggy alone and usually as club social chairman.
Rotary Club and Elks Club
Harris was a member of the Rotary Club from as early as 5/9/1940 when he was listed as a board member. He was elected President on 5/7/1941, Vice-President 5/7/1942, back on the board on 4/8/1943, Program Chairman 6/28/1944, with his last mention on 4/4/1945 when spoke at a meeting. His obituary also noted that he was an Elks Club Member.
Teaching
Harris was mentioned 8 times in regards to education activities. On 3/7/1941 he was on an advisory committee for high school vocational training. He was mentioned 4 times in 1942 and 1943 for teaching the electrical portion of a radio course at the local college. On 5/25/1946 he was on an advisory committee for returning veterans vocational training.
Winona Country Club
Both Harris and Peggy were very active at their Winona Country Club with the previously mentioned bridge club activities and with 21 additional clippings regarding their work as social chairmen, dance organizers, and 47 clippings about their golf activities. Harris and Peggy participated in many golf tournaments at the club and appeared to be in the top three golfers for their gender at the club. Harris' handicap was shown as a low of 12 and a high of 15 and Peggy's although not listed appeared to be in the same range. Both were noted as winners or runner-up on several occasions.
Mississippi Public Service Company (MVPS)
Harris began work at MVPS in late October, 1937 as an electrical engineer in charge of the electrical distribution and electrical generation systems. His name was mentioned several times as the spokesman regarding outages and new construction projects on the electrical system. On 4/24/1946 he was appointed the Assistant General Manager. On 3/5/1946 a City Council member raised the question of the city letting the franchise agreement with MVSP expire and then taking over MVSP's Winona assets. Discussions and negotiations about this continued until 8/27/1946 when it was voted to accept a proposal by MVSP that there be a 5% tax on MVSP's gross revenue. As the Assistant General Manager, Harris would have been one of the day-to-day leaders for MVSP on this work. Franchise agreements and their negotiations can be very contentious. This may have caused some stress in Harris' life during this time.
Harris' Death
The following is from Harris' obituary that appeared in the Winona Republican-Herald the same day as his death: Harris F. Blackburn. 861 West Mark Street, was found dead of carbon monoxide poisoning in the garage of his home between 6:30 and 7:00 a.m. today. The body of Mr. Blackburn, Assistant general manager of the Mississippi Valley Public Service Company was found slumped over in his car which was parked in the garage, according to Dr. Robert Tweedy, Winona county coroner, who was called. Dr. Tweedy gave a verdict of suicide. Both the doors of the car and the garage were closed and the motor was running, said the coroner. Mr. Blackburn apparently had been dead since about 3:30 a. m. and was fully dressed. Mrs. Black-burn, on arising, failed to locate him in the house or garden. She noticed smoke coming out of the garage and on investigating, found the body. Friends of Mr. Blackburn were unable to ascribe a motive for the suicide. The coroner said there was no note, and added that Mr. and Mrs. Blackburn entertained friends Wednesday evening and that he appeared to be in good spirits at that time. Wednesday noon he attended a Rotary club meeting at Hotel Winona. An official of M.V.P.S. company said that Mr. Blackburn's mother, his sister and his brother were ex-pected to arrive by auto in Winona today from Kansas City for a visit. Mr. Blackburn had been in Winona since 1937, when he joined M.V.P.S. as an electrical engineer. Last April he was promoted to assistant general manager.
It can be assumed the coroner probably did not do an autopsy on Harris and that his findings were based on the obvious conditions found at the garage since the results appeared in the local paper just hours after the body was found. It can be seen from all of the clippings found that Harris and Peggy were very happy, successful, and socially active people and as noted in the obituary "Friends of Mr. Blackburn were unable to ascribe a motive for the suicide." One can't help but wonder if maybe Harris' position (it is unknown if he was for or against MVSP's 5% tax) regarding the franchise could have caused some problems with someone in the community. Family lore has noted that Harris had some financial problems at the time, but it might be more than coincidence that the franchise was settled only 5 days after his death and that his death might not have been a suicide.
Miscellaneous Items
Two clippings were found detailing the results of the MVPS bowling league with results for Harris on those nights. The 4/13/1940 paper had an article detailing an upcoming of the First Congressional Church meeting and that Harris was a member of the committee that was scheduled to meet. A 10/15/1938 clipping was a notice that Harris had had his gloves and some candy stolen from his car. Two articles from 2/3/1942 and from 3/22/1943 offered a reward for Harris' lost black Scottish terrier named Stubby, there was no notice that the dog was ever found and there may be a discrepancy with one of the dates during the transcription process of getting these clippings indexed and then online.
Peggy Follow-up
A funeral notice was published on 8/24/1946 and several other news articles for reflections of news that was 10 years old, and these were the last mention of either Harris or Peggy in the Winona newspapers. It seems ironic today that with everything Harris and Peggy were involved in that there was no further reference containing their names. One would think that one of the clubs would have mentioned that a person had taken their place or that she quit because of his death. It is almost as if Peggy was exiled into social obvlion after Harris' death because of the apparent nature of the death.
Gladys McNelly was instrumental in getting Peggy a position with the Community Concert Association (which provided performances by professional musicians (mostly classical artists) in towns and small cities all over the country). Peggy became the regional representative for the Association in the Rocky Mountain and Southwest states. It is not known when Peggy moved to Montana to begin this job. After retirement, she was tragically hit by a car on May 14, 1978 when she was 73 years old.
Harris and Peggy Blackburn info from the Winona Republican-Herald
Harris Franklin was born November 8, 1904, in Malta Bend. MO. He spent his youth in Malta Bend and graduated from Kansas State College, Manhattan, Kan, in 1927 with a degree in electrical engineering. He was a member of the Alpha Sigma Psi fraternity while at Kansas State. From 1927-1930 he was a student test engineer for the General Electric Company at Schenectady, N. Y., and in 1930 he was promoted to transformer specialist and at some point that year he was transferred to Chicago. He soon met and then married Margaret (Peggy) Daugherty on June 12, 1931 (the newspaper said she was Margaret Cramer so she may have been married before). They came to Winona from Chicago in late October, 1937.
Over 220 newspaper clippings have been found from Winona giving in site into the life that Harris and Peggy lived in Winona. They were both very active socially and both were mentioned as volunteering for different community activities. Their activities at the Winona Country Club were also well documented. I will try to summarize their lives through this information.
Little Theater Playhouse
They were both active in the Little Theater Playhouse, both as actors and as helping to manage the organization. As early as 10/27/1938 they are noted as being cast members. Eighteen articles were found documenting their participation, with the 5/6/1944 clipping saying that Harris as vice-president and business manager was given the honor of introducing their guest Sinclair Lewis. This was also the last mention of Harris or Peggy relating to the theater.
Society page
Society page clippings noted that Harris' Mom and Brother arrived on 6/17/1940 for a visit and that Peggy had a chain party at her house on 6/18/1940 for the Red Cross and that her visitors attended. On 12/22/1942 Peggy's Mother, Mrs. George W. Mockmore arrived to spend the holidays.
Community Volunteering
Both Peggy and Harris were active in the community volunteering for many things. On 11/15/1941 it was said that Peggy was a new committee member for the committee in charge of local activities for Bundles for Britain, Inc. She was active with the library at the hospital (6 clippings) and was shown in a photograph on 1/14/1942 with a "recently acquired" 2-wheel dolly being used to bring books to patients. She was noted as being the decorations chair person and on the ticket sales committee for the Charity Ball. Peggy was shown on 1/14/1939 in a picture showing people that were providing voices for the Radio Theater Workshop on KWNO, Winona's local radio station. In 12/1939, Harris was nominated for a directorship of the Association of Commerce for Winona. Harris was helping with the USO on 5/15/1942. On 1/21/1943 Harris was mentioned as a committee member for a wartime program by the Minnesota Fire Marshalls for inspecting Winona's non-residential buildings. On 8/31/1943 Harris was listed as a precinct captain for the 3rd War Bond Drive and on 9/26/1945 Harris was conducting a War Service Fund drive in the central business and industrial district of Winona. A clothing drive tribute held after FDR's death and Harris was noted as being in charge of collection for this drive. Harris was listed on May 29, 1946 as being on the agricultural committee for the upcoming 4-H Calf Show. On June 20, 1946 it was noted that Harris had been named to the Board of Directors for the Winona Executives Club.
Winona Saddle and Bridle Club
Both Harris and Peggy evidently joined the Winona Saddle and Bridle Club soon after arriving in Winona (26 total clipping found) with Harris noted as being in charge of trails on 2/9/1938. No mention was found regarding the ownership of horses by Harris and Peggy, but it can be assumed that they did own horses since on 6/24/1940 it was stated that Harris took 1st place in the men's equestrian event and Peggy took 3rd in the women's event. This 6/24/1940 clipping was the last one to mention Harris. Many of these clippings noted that Peggy (sometimes with the help of others) was responsible for arrangements. On 6/4/1938 an article detailed the visit of the horse Sea Biscuit and the club members go see the horse while it was on exhibition.
DAR
Peggy was very active in the DAR (30 total clippings found) from as early as 10/5/1940 when it was noted that she was the assisting hostess. By 1942 she was a vice-regent and on 5/11/1944 she was elected as regent and served two years in this position. Her DAR application (with associated genealogy) has been requested.
Bridge Club
Harris and Peggy were active bridge players at the Winona Country Club (16 total clippings) from as early as 7/21/1939. Harris individually was mentioned as a winner on 6/28/1940. Both were mentioned as the general chairmen of the bridge club for 6/1940. The rest of the clippings mentioned Peggy alone and usually as club social chairman.
Rotary Club and Elks Club
Harris was a member of the Rotary Club from as early as 5/9/1940 when he was listed as a board member. He was elected President on 5/7/1941, Vice-President 5/7/1942, back on the board on 4/8/1943, Program Chairman 6/28/1944, with his last mention on 4/4/1945 when spoke at a meeting. His obituary also noted that he was an Elks Club Member.
Teaching
Harris was mentioned 8 times in regards to education activities. On 3/7/1941 he was on an advisory committee for high school vocational training. He was mentioned 4 times in 1942 and 1943 for teaching the electrical portion of a radio course at the local college. On 5/25/1946 he was on an advisory committee for returning veterans vocational training.
Winona Country Club
Both Harris and Peggy were very active at their Winona Country Club with the previously mentioned bridge club activities and with 21 additional clippings regarding their work as social chairmen, dance organizers, and 47 clippings about their golf activities. Harris and Peggy participated in many golf tournaments at the club and appeared to be in the top three golfers for their gender at the club. Harris' handicap was shown as a low of 12 and a high of 15 and Peggy's although not listed appeared to be in the same range. Both were noted as winners or runner-up on several occasions.
Mississippi Public Service Company (MVPS)
Harris began work at MVPS in late October, 1937 as an electrical engineer in charge of the electrical distribution and electrical generation systems. His name was mentioned several times as the spokesman regarding outages and new construction projects on the electrical system. On 4/24/1946 he was appointed the Assistant General Manager. On 3/5/1946 a City Council member raised the question of the city letting the franchise agreement with MVSP expire and then taking over MVSP's Winona assets. Discussions and negotiations about this continued until 8/27/1946 when it was voted to accept a proposal by MVSP that there be a 5% tax on MVSP's gross revenue. As the Assistant General Manager, Harris would have been one of the day-to-day leaders for MVSP on this work. Franchise agreements and their negotiations can be very contentious. This may have caused some stress in Harris' life during this time.
Harris' Death
The following is from Harris' obituary that appeared in the Winona Republican-Herald the same day as his death: Harris F. Blackburn. 861 West Mark Street, was found dead of carbon monoxide poisoning in the garage of his home between 6:30 and 7:00 a.m. today. The body of Mr. Blackburn, Assistant general manager of the Mississippi Valley Public Service Company was found slumped over in his car which was parked in the garage, according to Dr. Robert Tweedy, Winona county coroner, who was called. Dr. Tweedy gave a verdict of suicide. Both the doors of the car and the garage were closed and the motor was running, said the coroner. Mr. Blackburn apparently had been dead since about 3:30 a. m. and was fully dressed. Mrs. Black-burn, on arising, failed to locate him in the house or garden. She noticed smoke coming out of the garage and on investigating, found the body. Friends of Mr. Blackburn were unable to ascribe a motive for the suicide. The coroner said there was no note, and added that Mr. and Mrs. Blackburn entertained friends Wednesday evening and that he appeared to be in good spirits at that time. Wednesday noon he attended a Rotary club meeting at Hotel Winona. An official of M.V.P.S. company said that Mr. Blackburn's mother, his sister and his brother were ex-pected to arrive by auto in Winona today from Kansas City for a visit. Mr. Blackburn had been in Winona since 1937, when he joined M.V.P.S. as an electrical engineer. Last April he was promoted to assistant general manager.
It can be assumed the coroner probably did not do an autopsy on Harris and that his findings were based on the obvious conditions found at the garage since the results appeared in the local paper just hours after the body was found. It can be seen from all of the clippings found that Harris and Peggy were very happy, successful, and socially active people and as noted in the obituary "Friends of Mr. Blackburn were unable to ascribe a motive for the suicide." One can't help but wonder if maybe Harris' position (it is unknown if he was for or against MVSP's 5% tax) regarding the franchise could have caused some problems with someone in the community. Family lore has noted that Harris had some financial problems at the time, but it might be more than coincidence that the franchise was settled only 5 days after his death and that his death might not have been a suicide.
Miscellaneous Items
Two clippings were found detailing the results of the MVPS bowling league with results for Harris on those nights. The 4/13/1940 paper had an article detailing an upcoming of the First Congressional Church meeting and that Harris was a member of the committee that was scheduled to meet. A 10/15/1938 clipping was a notice that Harris had had his gloves and some candy stolen from his car. Two articles from 2/3/1942 and from 3/22/1943 offered a reward for Harris' lost black Scottish terrier named Stubby, there was no notice that the dog was ever found and there may be a discrepancy with one of the dates during the transcription process of getting these clippings indexed and then online.
Peggy Follow-up
A funeral notice was published on 8/24/1946 and several other news articles for reflections of news that was 10 years old, and these were the last mention of either Harris or Peggy in the Winona newspapers. It seems ironic today that with everything Harris and Peggy were involved in that there was no further reference containing their names. One would think that one of the clubs would have mentioned that a person had taken their place or that she quit because of his death. It is almost as if Peggy was exiled into social obvlion after Harris' death because of the apparent nature of the death.
Gladys McNelly was instrumental in getting Peggy a position with the Community Concert Association (which provided performances by professional musicians (mostly classical artists) in towns and small cities all over the country). Peggy became the regional representative for the Association in the Rocky Mountain and Southwest states. It is not known when Peggy moved to Montana to begin this job. After retirement, she was tragically hit by a car on May 14, 1978 when she was 73 years old.
Harris Franklin was born November 8, 1904, in Malta Bend. MO. He spent his youth in Malta Bend and graduated from Kansas State College, Manhattan, Kan, in 1927 with a degree in electrical engineering. He was a member of the Alpha Sigma Psi fraternity while at Kansas State. From 1927-1930 he was a student test engineer for the General Electric Company at Schenectady, N. Y., and in 1930 he was promoted to transformer specialist and at some point that year he was transferred to Chicago. He soon met and then married Margaret (Peggy) Daugherty on June 12, 1931 (the newspaper said she was Margaret Cramer so she may have been married before). They came to Winona from Chicago in late October, 1937.
Over 220 newspaper clippings have been found from Winona giving in site into the life that Harris and Peggy lived in Winona. They were both very active socially and both were mentioned as volunteering for different community activities. Their activities at the Winona Country Club were also well documented. I will try to summarize their lives through this information.
Little Theater Playhouse
They were both active in the Little Theater Playhouse, both as actors and as helping to manage the organization. As early as 10/27/1938 they are noted as being cast members. Eighteen articles were found documenting their participation, with the 5/6/1944 clipping saying that Harris as vice-president and business manager was given the honor of introducing their guest Sinclair Lewis. This was also the last mention of Harris or Peggy relating to the theater.
Society page
Society page clippings noted that Harris' Mom and Brother arrived on 6/17/1940 for a visit and that Peggy had a chain party at her house on 6/18/1940 for the Red Cross and that her visitors attended. On 12/22/1942 Peggy's Mother, Mrs. George W. Mockmore arrived to spend the holidays.
Community Volunteering
Both Peggy and Harris were active in the community volunteering for many things. On 11/15/1941 it was said that Peggy was a new committee member for the committee in charge of local activities for Bundles for Britain, Inc. She was active with the library at the hospital (6 clippings) and was shown in a photograph on 1/14/1942 with a "recently acquired" 2-wheel dolly being used to bring books to patients. She was noted as being the decorations chair person and on the ticket sales committee for the Charity Ball. Peggy was shown on 1/14/1939 in a picture showing people that were providing voices for the Radio Theater Workshop on KWNO, Winona's local radio station. In 12/1939, Harris was nominated for a directorship of the Association of Commerce for Winona. Harris was helping with the USO on 5/15/1942. On 1/21/1943 Harris was mentioned as a committee member for a wartime program by the Minnesota Fire Marshalls for inspecting Winona's non-residential buildings. On 8/31/1943 Harris was listed as a precinct captain for the 3rd War Bond Drive and on 9/26/1945 Harris was conducting a War Service Fund drive in the central business and industrial district of Winona. A clothing drive tribute held after FDR's death and Harris was noted as being in charge of collection for this drive. Harris was listed on May 29, 1946 as being on the agricultural committee for the upcoming 4-H Calf Show. On June 20, 1946 it was noted that Harris had been named to the Board of Directors for the Winona Executives Club.
Winona Saddle and Bridle Club
Both Harris and Peggy evidently joined the Winona Saddle and Bridle Club soon after arriving in Winona (26 total clipping found) with Harris noted as being in charge of trails on 2/9/1938. No mention was found regarding the ownership of horses by Harris and Peggy, but it can be assumed that they did own horses since on 6/24/1940 it was stated that Harris took 1st place in the men's equestrian event and Peggy took 3rd in the women's event. This 6/24/1940 clipping was the last one to mention Harris. Many of these clippings noted that Peggy (sometimes with the help of others) was responsible for arrangements. On 6/4/1938 an article detailed the visit of the horse Sea Biscuit and the club members go see the horse while it was on exhibition.
DAR
Peggy was very active in the DAR (30 total clippings found) from as early as 10/5/1940 when it was noted that she was the assisting hostess. By 1942 she was a vice-regent and on 5/11/1944 she was elected as regent and served two years in this position. Her DAR application (with associated genealogy) has been requested.
Bridge Club
Harris and Peggy were active bridge players at the Winona Country Club (16 total clippings) from as early as 7/21/1939. Harris individually was mentioned as a winner on 6/28/1940. Both were mentioned as the general chairmen of the bridge club for 6/1940. The rest of the clippings mentioned Peggy alone and usually as club social chairman.
Rotary Club and Elks Club
Harris was a member of the Rotary Club from as early as 5/9/1940 when he was listed as a board member. He was elected President on 5/7/1941, Vice-President 5/7/1942, back on the board on 4/8/1943, Program Chairman 6/28/1944, with his last mention on 4/4/1945 when spoke at a meeting. His obituary also noted that he was an Elks Club Member.
Teaching
Harris was mentioned 8 times in regards to education activities. On 3/7/1941 he was on an advisory committee for high school vocational training. He was mentioned 4 times in 1942 and 1943 for teaching the electrical portion of a radio course at the local college. On 5/25/1946 he was on an advisory committee for returning veterans vocational training.
Winona Country Club
Both Harris and Peggy were very active at their Winona Country Club with the previously mentioned bridge club activities and with 21 additional clippings regarding their work as social chairmen, dance organizers, and 47 clippings about their golf activities. Harris and Peggy participated in many golf tournaments at the club and appeared to be in the top three golfers for their gender at the club. Harris' handicap was shown as a low of 12 and a high of 15 and Peggy's although not listed appeared to be in the same range. Both were noted as winners or runner-up on several occasions.
Mississippi Public Service Company (MVPS)
Harris began work at MVPS in late October, 1937 as an electrical engineer in charge of the electrical distribution and electrical generation systems. His name was mentioned several times as the spokesman regarding outages and new construction projects on the electrical system. On 4/24/1946 he was appointed the Assistant General Manager. On 3/5/1946 a City Council member raised the question of the city letting the franchise agreement with MVSP expire and then taking over MVSP's Winona assets. Discussions and negotiations about this continued until 8/27/1946 when it was voted to accept a proposal by MVSP that there be a 5% tax on MVSP's gross revenue. As the Assistant General Manager, Harris would have been one of the day-to-day leaders for MVSP on this work. Franchise agreements and their negotiations can be very contentious. This may have caused some stress in Harris' life during this time.
Harris' Death
The following is from Harris' obituary that appeared in the Winona Republican-Herald the same day as his death: Harris F. Blackburn. 861 West Mark Street, was found dead of carbon monoxide poisoning in the garage of his home between 6:30 and 7:00 a.m. today. The body of Mr. Blackburn, Assistant general manager of the Mississippi Valley Public Service Company was found slumped over in his car which was parked in the garage, according to Dr. Robert Tweedy, Winona county coroner, who was called. Dr. Tweedy gave a verdict of suicide. Both the doors of the car and the garage were closed and the motor was running, said the coroner. Mr. Blackburn apparently had been dead since about 3:30 a. m. and was fully dressed. Mrs. Black-burn, on arising, failed to locate him in the house or garden. She noticed smoke coming out of the garage and on investigating, found the body. Friends of Mr. Blackburn were unable to ascribe a motive for the suicide. The coroner said there was no note, and added that Mr. and Mrs. Blackburn entertained friends Wednesday evening and that he appeared to be in good spirits at that time. Wednesday noon he attended a Rotary club meeting at Hotel Winona. An official of M.V.P.S. company said that Mr. Blackburn's mother, his sister and his brother were ex-pected to arrive by auto in Winona today from Kansas City for a visit. Mr. Blackburn had been in Winona since 1937, when he joined M.V.P.S. as an electrical engineer. Last April he was promoted to assistant general manager.
It can be assumed the coroner probably did not do an autopsy on Harris and that his findings were based on the obvious conditions found at the garage since the results appeared in the local paper just hours after the body was found. It can be seen from all of the clippings found that Harris and Peggy were very happy, successful, and socially active people and as noted in the obituary "Friends of Mr. Blackburn were unable to ascribe a motive for the suicide." One can't help but wonder if maybe Harris' position (it is unknown if he was for or against MVSP's 5% tax) regarding the franchise could have caused some problems with someone in the community. Family lore has noted that Harris had some financial problems at the time, but it might be more than coincidence that the franchise was settled only 5 days after his death and that his death might not have been a suicide.
Miscellaneous Items
Two clippings were found detailing the results of the MVPS bowling league with results for Harris on those nights. The 4/13/1940 paper had an article detailing an upcoming of the First Congressional Church meeting and that Harris was a member of the committee that was scheduled to meet. A 10/15/1938 clipping was a notice that Harris had had his gloves and some candy stolen from his car. Two articles from 2/3/1942 and from 3/22/1943 offered a reward for Harris' lost black Scottish terrier named Stubby, there was no notice that the dog was ever found and there may be a discrepancy with one of the dates during the transcription process of getting these clippings indexed and then online.
Peggy Follow-up
A funeral notice was published on 8/24/1946 and several other news articles for reflections of news that was 10 years old, and these were the last mention of either Harris or Peggy in the Winona newspapers. It seems ironic today that with everything Harris and Peggy were involved in that there was no further reference containing their names. One would think that one of the clubs would have mentioned that a person had taken their place or that she quit because of his death. It is almost as if Peggy was exiled into social obvlion after Harris' death because of the apparent nature of the death.
Gladys McNelly was instrumental in getting Peggy a position with the Community Concert Association (which provided performances by professional musicians (mostly classical artists) in towns and small cities all over the country). Peggy became the regional representative for the Association in the Rocky Mountain and Southwest states. It is not known when Peggy moved to Montana to begin this job. After retirement, she was tragically hit by a car on May 14, 1978 when she was 73 years old.
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