In the Age of Steel: Oral Histories from Bethlehem Pennsylvania -- Margaret Mowrer

Annotation Margaret Mowrer, née Brown (ca. 1906-December 23, 1999), born in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, was the daughter of George A. and Elsie Brown, née Morris. She was married to Clifton Elmer Mowrer, Sr., who established Mowrer's Dairy and was a community leader and a member of the Bethlehem City Council. In this interview she discusses moving from Phoenixville to Bethlehem, the merger of Northampton Heights into the city of Bethlehem, Fountain Hill borough, the Edgeboro Manor neighborhood, leisure and social activities, local families, the influenza epidemic of 1918-1919, education, traveling, Bethlehem Steel-financed housing, and conducting business during the Depression. This interview is part of a series of interviews conducted by Lehigh University students and faculty from 1974 through 1977 focusing on retired Bethlehem Steel workers, business people, and the heirs of industrial magnates. The project was co-sponsored by Bethlehem Steel Corporation, who provided contact information for retired steel workers. An oral history interview is an act of memory and hence both highly selective and highly subjective. While it accurately reflects what a narrator remembers (or chooses to tell) of his or her experience and viewpoints, it may not accurately represent what actually transpired or what another person may have experienced. As such users should subject interviews to the same degree of critical scrutiny they would any other historical source.