Memories from the Homestead: Mary Elizabeth Mahnkey, Poet Laureate of the Ozarks

     Taney County has had its share of outstanding writers. One of the long-time Taney County Republican newspaper correspondents who had an excellent following was Mary Elizabeth Mahnkey. If you have followed along with me over the past couple of weeks, her father, Alonzo Prather, was also a writer who gained much support. 

     I mentioned previously about Alonzo's time in Harrison as the Receiver for the Land Office. This is where Mary Elizabeth was born, on August 16, 1877. She was the fourth of seven children born to Alonzo and Maria Prather.

Pres and Mary Elizabeth Mahnkey at their store at Oasis. They purchased the mill and store there in 1922. (Photo courtesy of the Mahnkey Family Collection)

Getting an education was difficult. Mary Elizabeth did her formal schooling at Kirbyville for only a short time. She received most of her education from her parents and older brothers. She loved to write.

     While a teenager, she took on a weekly newspaper column in the Taney County Republican as the Kirbyville correspondent. She was fourteen. She later attended the Bradleyville Normal School receiving her teaching certification. One of the first schools she taught at was near Garber, the Roark School on the north side of the Cox place. She also taught at Union Flat. 

     On January 18, 1899, Mary Elizabeth married Kirbyville resident Charles Preston "Pres" Mahnkey. Early in their marriage Pres worked on the railroad construction as the line was coming into Arkansas. He worked on the building of the tunnel near Omaha at the state line.

     For the remainder of their lives Pres and Mary Elizabeth lived in the communities of Kirbyville, Melva, Mincy and Oasis. Pres was involved in a number of things, owning general stores, grist mill and cotton gins. Pres served as U.S. Postmaster at Mincy for three years beginning in October 1914. Mary Elizabeth was postmistress there from March 26, 1917, through January 1919. She was commissioned as postmistress at Oasis in May 1922. They ran the store and mill there. Pres helped in restoring cotton operations in this area. From February 1, 1937, to January 31, 1944, Mary Elizabeth served as the Mincy Postmistress once again.  

     The Mahnkeys had five children between 1902 and 1912. Their youngest son Bill was killed at the young age of seven in the Melva tornado on March 11, 1920.

     Mary Elizabeth was a major supporter in the development of the Taneyhills Library in Branson in the middle 1930s.

     In 1935 she was named "the best rural newspaper correspondent in the United States."

She received an all expense paid trip to Washington, D.C. and New York City. A book of her poems, "Ozarks Lyrics" was released and in 1937 she was named "Poet Laureate of the Ozarks." Her weekly and monthly writings gained major attention all across Southwest Missouri as she wrote about the trials, hardships and the everyday joy of life in the rural Ozarks.

     Mary Elizabeth passed away at the age of 70 on August 13, 1948, and is laid to rest at the Ozarks Memorial Park Cemetery. Pres lived a long life, passing at the age of 90 on October 7, 1965. Many of you reading this remember him. A super nice fella, always content, a true rural country storekeeper.

     In recent years, ten of Mary Elizabeth's personal scrapbooks have been archived and can be seen online in the Mahnkey Family Collection; go to archive.thelibrary.org and see these amazing items.

     There are a number of other online sources that go into greater detail on Mary Elizabeth Mahnkey. Do some searching and you'll have great success. Her books are easy to find on eBay and Amazon.

    Next week I'll share with y'all the life and career of Pres and Mary Elizabeth's son Doug—another well loved Taney County native.