Cookin' Up History
Mary Sincell McEwen makes some discoveries in the former press room at the Republican News.
It’s no small task sorting through 150 years of dusty lead type, engraved printing blocks, wooden headline fonts, printing plates, archived newspapers, and print job overruns that were part of the weekly grind at The Republican News and Sincell Publishing. It has been a daunting task for Mary Sincell McEwen who is in the thick of clearing and repurposing the abandoned space. The upside is recalling the family-owned business's history as she organizes printing artifacts and assigns new homes for the endless stockpile of Garrett County’s written and pictorial history.
The expansive two-story building that featured an imposing staircase has fallen silent, yet the aroma of printer’s inks and musty paper is a reminder for Mary of the glory days as a staff writer and part-owner of the beloved local newspaper. The aerobic climb up those stairs used to lead to the busy editor’s office, ad room, and print shop but now this youngest family member who took on the enormous task of purging the space of its contents makes the only footsteps to be heard.
The Republican Newspaper and Sincell Publishing printed countless documents and booklets for organizations over the years. Facing costly updates to aging equipment and adapting to demands for online subscriptions, the Sincell family decided to sell their paper that had been passed down through four generations. The new owner is a West Virginia publisher that has several other papers with centralized printing and online subscription systems in place. The sale was not without heartache but to ensure the renamed, Garrett County Republican remained on-trend, the changing of hands was inevitable.
Without the need for in-house printing, the once-bustling presses on Second Street in Downtown Oakland have been deserted. The new office has been downsized and moved around the corner to East Liberty Street, leaving the remnants of the past behind.
Among the vast remains was a stack of overruns loosely bound with a cord that featured Mountain Lake Park photos and recipes from the Chautauqua resort’s heyday. The commemorative booklet assembled by Mary’s brother Don Sincell, and published by the Friends of Mountain Lake Park in the 1980s is titled, Times to Remember, “First Edition”. It originally sold for one dollar and it’s uncertain if additional volumes were ever published.
The persisting perfume of printing inks stir Mary’s thoughts of her former workplace, workmates, and previous generations who built and grew the family business. Whether with melancholy or glee, memories are indiscriminate when they creep in.
"Tay", Mary’s great-grandmother was the second woman registered to vote in Oakland.
Tay’s mother-in-law, Leah Sincell was the first!
Tay seated with her children (and one niece) in Mountain Lake Park, cira 1904. From left are Francis Richardson (niece and mountain lake park resident), Mary Sincell, Lillian Sincell on Tay’s lap, Tay, Donald “Mose” Sincell seated (mary’s grandfather), and Morris Sincell.
The family legacy began with her great-grandfather, Benjamin H. Sincell's purchase of the paper at the mere age of 21 in 1890. He operated the business for the rest of his life, joined by his son, Donald “Mose” Sincell as well as Mose’s brother-in-law, George Hanst. The publication eventually went to Mary's father, Robert "Bob" Sincell, and then to Mary and her brother Don who carried the torch until modern technology eclipsed their outdated presses.
As she dug deeper, the recipe books were not all Mary discovered. She found fascinating letters from and to her great-grandmother, Lillian Byrne Morris Sincell, and at a time when most women's lives rarely strayed beyond the kitchen walls and favorite recipes. Mary learned her great-grandmother fondly referred to as "Tay" did step out by taking advantage of her new right to vote and became the second woman to register in Oakland, Garrett County’s seat. Her mother-in-law, Leah Sincell was the first. This was a foretelling of the Sincell family women who would follow as active community leaders.
"I do know that she was very into it," Mary says about Tay's interest in the suffrage movement. "My great-grandfather wrote about it – I'm certain of her urging."
Mary's knowledge of Tay was that she was an artist first who honed her noted talent while attending art school in Morgantown, West Virginia.
“She was an artist first,”
– Mary says of her great-grandmother, Tay.
Tay and BH on their 50th anniversary
"She got pretty good at painting Jesus, I guess," Mary assumes, based on the seven area churches where her work is hanging. "I don't know how she got him to model for her, but I'm intent on finding out," Mary jokes as she prepares to learn more about Tay.
Paintings by Lillian “Tay” Sincell passed down to Mary.
After her revelation, Mary agreed to assemble and present a series of women's monologues at the 2020 Victorian Chautauqua in Mountain Lake Park to commemorate her great-grandmother and open people's eyes to how recently women's rights and perspectives have molded a different culture for young women today. The honesty and candor found in her great-grandmother's letters speak to a time of turmoil for both genders as the gap in equality was narrowing.
"I'm setting up a research space in the newsroom this week," Mary explains. "I'm taking all the letters, a gazillion photographs, and my computer there."
She plans to work on-site so everything is readily available to her as she prepares the monologues. With this new focus, Mary will be keeping a close eye out for ties to her great-grandmother as she continues to wade through the historical documents and photos.
Her lecture, titled Women's Monologues will be a touching and personal glimpse into how women viewed the world during Tay's life, what was important to them, and how women navigated a male-dominant society. Mary will be presenting at Mountain Lake Park's Town Hall on Sunday, July 12 at 3:30 PM.
As far as the recipe booklets goes, Mary and Don graciously gifted the "photographic and culinary tour" of historic Mountain Lake Park to the 2020 Victorian Chautauqua. Returning them to the town from which the recipes came just seemed the decent thing to do.
