Margaret H. grew up in Leeds, England, in the county of Yorkshire. She had one sister and three brothers. She had to leave school in 1938 at the age of 14, to go and work in a factory where she learned to sew uniforms for the soldiers. When she was a little girl she wanted to be a hairdresser, but she never got the chance to go to beauty school because of the war. Her hobby as a teenager was playing with her friends’ hair and learning how to style it in different ways. She also liked to sew her own clothes. She didn’t have many clothes, but she did have a black dress, which she wore to dances, and she liked to make it look different each time by adding a necklace, a cardigan or scarf.
She met her husband at the age of 18 at a pub where she was not drinking. They became acquainted and learned that they had lots in common. They were married when she was 21 years old. She had two boys in England when she was in her 20s, and then they moved to Canada to join her husband who had been there for a couple of months looking for a job. Maggie and her family then moved to Maryland where she had her youngest child. She raised her children in Maryland and sent her daughter and one of her sons to the University of Maryland. Her eldest son became an airline pilot and worked for United for 30 years. Her daughter became a very successful architect, and her second son entered the construction field where he continues to work. After sending her last child to college, Maggie moved to Sarasota, Florida, where she lived for 32 years. She moved back to Maryland a couple of years ago to stay with her daughter in Olney.
Since the first day she arrived at Kensington Park, she has been a joy to be around. Thank you, Maggie, for sharing your life with us and always being the life of the party!