Mary Phillips McLhinney
b: 2/14/1931
interviewed: 8/29/2016
(Mary with granddaughter Caite and daughter Annie)
The earliest memory I have, we were living in Edgewood. My brothers were outside playing baseball. My father told them to come in because they were going to break a window or something. Well, they didn’t … and they did …. And they got punished. He had spanked them and sent them to bed. They were crying and I was standing in the doorway laughing. Well, he picked me up, turned me over …. spanked me …. I was probably 3 or 4. But I never laughed at any punishment after that!
from Mary McLhinney interview
But my father, he wasn’t a mean person. If you went out and ran, foolin’ around, you knew to be in either by dark or nine, whichever came first. He didn’t have to tell you. If you weren’t there… you could come in early… but if you were late, you were automatically housebound for two weeks. No questions asked. No debate. No smackin’! No nothin’! Never laid a hand on us after that.
This interview is a bit hard to hear. So I’ve included the transcript. Just use the icons at the bottom of the pdf to go to the next page or to zoom in.
EPS-109-Mary-McLhinney-transcript-1Charles and Mary McLhinney have a long and storied history in Havre de Grace. Most remember them as the owners of the McLhinney Newsroom/Depot. I’m sure we still have residents that can recall earning a bit of money from their first job as ‘paperboys’ back in the day. (I might add that in later years they had ‘papergirls’ too!)
You may enjoy this information about the ‘SpeakEasy’ building that later became part of the McLhinney News Depot. CLICK HERE
It’s thanks to Mary and Annie that our ‘casual historian’ has been able to add so much to his Havre de Grace History MuZeum. From papers and photos to slides and films, you’ll see their gifts mentioned throughout our blog posts.
Plan to check in for another story on our Interview Wednesdays!
