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HER STORY

    Mary Ellen Baughman was born 18 Jul 1928 in Brookville, Jefferson County, Pennsylvania. World War I, The Great War, had ended ten years earlier and the Great Depression was two years off. Coal and the railroad were big industries in Jefferson County and Brookville was the county seat of Jefferson County. Mary Ellen was the daughter of Victor Jay Baughman (1900-1992) and Sara Elizabeth Painter (1903-1994). She was given her name by her mother and was named after her Aunt Mary & Grandma Painter. She was always called “Mary Ellen” (perhaps to distinguish herself from all the Mary’s in the world) except among her family where she was called “Yud.” Mary Ellen said, “My brother couldn’t say Mary Ellen – I don’t know where he got the name. That is all my family has ever called me to this day!”
    Mary Ellen had four siblings. They were: Jean Baughman, Louise Baughman, Leo Baughman, and Joan Baughman. They were born in either Conifer or Brookville, Pennsylvania. Her paternal grandparents are Clover Baughman (1875-1964) and Lavina Schaffner (1878-1955). According to Mary Ellen, ‘Clover always called Lavina; “Vine.”’ Her maternal grandparents are James Monroe Painter (1875 – 1950) and Mary McIntosh (1875 – 1950).
    Mary Ellen’s father worked on the railroad as a brakeman. In the 1930 US Federal Census he said he was working as a laborer at odd jobs. In 1940, he told the census taker for the US Federal Census that he was working in construction in the building industry making $640 per year. He worked in New York State in construction for the HR Baughman Company. Mary Ellen’s mother worked for the American Hotel, Frampton Diner as a cook and kitchen helper when the kids were growing up. Later, Sara worked at Sylvania until she retired. The family always lived on Euclid Avenue down on “the river” (Sandy Lick Creek). Sandy Lick Creek and North Fork Creek came together to form Redbank Creek just down the hill from Main Street, Brookville.
    When Mary Ellen was growing up she participated in Girl Scouts, Prayer Meeting, YMCA, and True Blue. [True Blue was a high school sorority at Brookville High School.] In Brookville, the minister’s house is right next to, uphill of the church. She enjoyed playing games, roller skating, being with her friends, being with her grandparents and Aunt Mimi. She was very fond of her Aunt Mimi. The games they played were hide and seek, Red Rover, card games, tag, red light-green light, and ball games. Her favorite toy was a doll baby. She said they didn’t have any big toys like bikes, scooters, wagons, etc. Her favorite treats were “ice cream cones - big ones for five cents” and penny candy. She said the scents and sounds of chalk boards, marching bands, fastball, and school rooms immediately take her back to her childhood.
    Mary Ellen describes her early home life, “We always had a decent home, the necessities, and it was clean. My mother worked outside the home so we could buy a few groceries. My Dad worked for Uncle Leonard in New York State. He was rarely there – mean as hell if he was. He was especially mean to my Mother – had a terrible temper. Beatings were not uncommon. He did come home after he retired but all of us kids were on our own till then. I never saw him show any affection to any of us. Memories not good! Everyone was “poor” in those days.” On Sundays, “Sunday school and church – big meal at noon – visiting.” She said that sometimes her mother tucked her in, but more often the kids went to bed by themselves. Her favorite prayer was, “Now I lay me down to sleep … .” Mary Ellen says of her mother that, “She was the kindest, loving Mother when she had some time for us, but she was always working or fixing meals for us. Her last years were spent at Memorial Home. I visited her often, told her I loved her and we kissed.”
At the Easter morning service of the Presbyterian church the following persons were received into membership. On profession of faith, Mary Ellen Baughman, Martha Best, Clyde Edgar Case, Meriam Joann Case, Patricia Joan Baughman, Nancy Crawford, Howard Hughes, Betty Rishell, Patty Rishell, Georgia Ann Deiner, Molly Matson, Linda Leathers, Eugene Kroh, Paul Fleming, Esther Smith, Marcus Johns, David Summerville, Margaret White, Mr. William Plant, Mrs. Lois Galbraith;Reaffirmation of faith, Mrs. James Painter and Mrs. Ben Case; Mr. and Mrs. B. C. Wadding, by letter; Mr. and Mrs. Raul Siar. [The Brookville American (Brookville, Pennsylvania) 29 Apr 1943, Thu, Page 8]     After graduation from Brookville High School, Mary Ellen moved to Erie to attend Erie Commercial College. This College had its classes on the second floor of a building in Erie. Mary Ellen stayed with her sister Jean who had been living in Erie. And for a while their sister Joan lived with them and attended the College, but she didn’t stay with it very long. One of Mary Ellen’s most vivid memories of her College days was of the large bathroom they had established for the use of the young women attending the College. She said that so many of the women went in there and smoked that when you opened the doors to go in, then large clouds of grey smoke would issue forth.
    After graduation she moved back to Brookville and went to work for Sylvania. The Sylvania plant in Brookville was making vacuum tubes for televisions, radios, and other devices. Mary Ellen worked on the line for a while making tubes. But, then there was an opening for a secretary and she had the training to fill the job so she moved up. This was a large plant and there were not enough people in Brookville to staff the plant so they were bussing women in from all over Jefferson County. The young men in Brookville loved this and many matches were made as a result of this movement. However, after many years, the plant closed and all these people lost their jobs. Wayne was one of the first to leave and transferred to the plant in Warren, Pennsylvania. Then, he helped Leo (Bud) Baughman to get a job up there too.
    Wayne McManigle was good friends with Mary Ellen’s brother Leo, who was called Bud, and lived at the Baughman’s house. They were all working at the Sylvania plant. Wayne got promoted and transferred to the Sylvania plant in Shawnee, Oklahoma. He asked Mary Ellen if she would go with him and she said yes. In 1950 Mary Ellen Baughman married Wayne Irvin McManigle at Presbyterian Manse in Brookville, Pennsylvania. [A manse is the house of a minister.] Mary Ellen’s mother, Sara, was very upset by this. When Wayne and Mary Ellen got to Shawnee she was very homesick. When Sara (who was called Nanny) telephoned her, Mary Ellen wept bitterly because she was so homesick. But, she said she got over it.
    In 1952 Wayne was transferred to the Sylvania plant in Burlington, Iowa. They weren’t there very long, but while they were there Pat was born at Mercy Hospital, in Burlington, Iowa.
    Pat’s remembers when they were living in Brentwood in Southwest Pennsylvania. She, her father and mother lived together in an apartment building. There were two guys sharing an apartment in the same building and they had a very large dog (like a Great Dane). They would see the dog occasionally in the hallway when the guys were on their way to the laundry room or somewhere outside. She said she doesn’t really remember being afraid of the dog, but it was big.
    In 1956, Wayne and Mary Ellen decided to move to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, area. The family lived in Pleasant Valley. Wayne had an ice cream store in a township or community called Large. The ice cream store did not provide sufficient return on investment to justify its continued operation. But, while in Pittsburg, Kathy was born in Mercy Hospital. She was a late baby and Grandma Sarah (Nanny) (nee Painter) Baughman came for a while. For some reason, Pat and she didn’t hit it off too well after a while. Pat told Nanny that she was ready for her to go home. It was while living in Pleasant Valley that Pat had two childhood health issues. She had a horrid case of the measles that left the family pretty wrung out. Another time she fell and hit her head requiring a visit to the hospital.
    Wayne and Mary Ellen had two children: Patti Jo McManigle and Kathy Ann McManigle. Pat and Kathy each had two children and so Mary Ellen had four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
    There were two intervening moves and then they moved to Altoona, Pennsylvania. In 1966, when Pat was about twelve, the family moved to Shawnee, Oklahoma. Wayne was transferred to the Sylvania plant and promoted to the position of production supervisor. In 1971,Wayne was recruited by a friend to work for J.A. Runge Company of Seminole, a company that did electroplate work. But, the McManigle’s had a robust life that included participation in the Elks Club, Masonic Lodge, square dancing, camping with friends, the girls participated in Rainbow Girls, and Pat was in a Medical Explorer Scout Post. Pat wanted to be a physical therapist her entire life and the Medical Explorer Scout Post was a chance to get some exposure to the medical field.
    Wayne and Mary Ellen were living in Shawnee, Oklahoma, when he died. Wayne died, suddenly on 6 Aug 1973 in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Both Wayne and Mary Ellen were working, Pat was attending the University of Oklahoma, and Kathy was at home. Mary Ellen quickly decided to move back to Brookville. She rented a home on Pickering Street down by the river (Redbank Creek) and got a job at the bank. Later, she bought a home up on the hill on Barnett Street. Mary Ellen was active in ministry at the Presbyterian Church in Brookville. She attended church regularly and served the church faithfully occupying most ever leadership role open to her. Family and friends were always important to her and for most of her life she was the principal planner of family and school reunions in her circles. She worked for the bank about twenty years before retiring. After retirement, she became active in the Brookville Senior Center as the travel group coordinator and traveled all over the country in addition to traveling to see Pat wherever she was living at the time.
    Mary Ellen moved into an apartment above the funeral home where she worked as a greeter. Here again her compassion and organizational skills found an outlet. She lived happily there many years. But, after her total knee replacements it became increasingly difficult to manage the fifty odd steps leading up to the second story apartment. So, when they opened some senior housing called Laurelbrooke Landing in Brookville she was one of the first to sign up. This is a great retirement community where all the facilities maintenance and repair are managed on behalf of the tenants and owners and it has a complete continuum of care as a residents needs change. The homes and apartments are all on one level and are designed to accommodate the needs of an older demographic. Mary Ellen continues to live here until she discovered she had an untreatable cancer in her throat. This made it impossible for her to even take sustenance normally. Mary Ellen (Baughman) McManigle, age 89, of Brookville, passed away on Monday, August 21, 2017, at the McKinley Health Center in Brookville.
    Mary Ellen was aware of the following members of her family who had served in the military: her uncle [James Painter; was in the Battle of the Bulge], her brother [Leo Baughman], her husband [Wayne McManigle; World War II, 24 April 1943 to the end of the war, Technical Sergeant, Motor Transportation], a cousin’s husband [Larry Foulkrod served at Fort Knox and in Germany between 1957 and 1959, and brothers-in-law. In addition, one family history indicates that (1) Peter Baughman (5th great-grandfather) is the oldest ancestor we know of and we believe he fought in the Revolutionary War. (2) It also says that on September 24, 1814 Lawerance Baughman (4th great-grandfather) was drafted for the War of 1812. He served as a private in the infantry from Union County under Captain Valentine Haas and Lt. Col. George Weirick. He was honorably discharged at Marcus Hook on Dec 25, 1814. His term of service was for two months and 21 days and the total pay $21.535. $8.00 per month.