The Country’s Best Newspaper Correspondent

In 1935, Country Home Magazine, published by Crowell Publishing of New York, held a writing submission contest to determine who would be crowned “The Best Country Newspaper Correspondent in the U.S.” Among the over 1,500 submissions were writing samples created by Mary Elizabeth Mahnkey of Taney County, Missouri.

Few had dedicated as much of their lives to rural journalism as Mahnkey. Mahnkey learned to write at 11 years old and quickly made writing her profession. She was a columnist and contributor to numerous newspapers and magazines throughout the Ozarks and the Midwest. In 1934, she published a book of poetry titled Ozarks Lyrics, celebrating the traditions and beauty of the region. Mahnkey’s newspaper columns offered authentic perspectives on life and culture within the region, often helping to counteract the narratives and stereotypes about rural life commonly depicted in broader media.

Mary Elizabeth Mahnkey, pictured here ca. 1930, was a journalist and regional poet whose oeuvre spanned 40 years and documented daily life in the rural towns of Taney County. Image Courtesy of the Springfield–Greene County Library District.

Mahnkey was timid about entering the contest. She sometimes questioned her prowess as a writer when she compared herself to the other authors she read and admired. Even though she had been writing for local newspapers and magazines since she was 15 years old, she lacked confidence due to her lack of formal education. But she had an audience. Her columns frequented local newspapers of the region such as the Springfield Leader and Taney County Republican, chronicling the daily happenings from Oasis, Mincy, and other Taney County hamlets and towns. Taney County Republican editor and publisher W.E. Freeland was one of her readers and supporters. He encouraged the reluctant Mahnkey to enter the contest, helping her select samples of her columns and assisting in submitting them. She won and was awarded a trip to New York City, a silver serving platter and dish, and a $500 cash prize. It quickly became evident she was never afraid of losing the contest, but rather feared what it might mean to win.

After receiving the telegram that she had won, her first thought was to not go. She had not traveled much outside of the Ozarks, and certainly not as far as New York. With encouragement from her friends and family, she decided to go. Just then, the next wave of fear set in as she pondered how she would be received in New York City. Her friends and neighbors came to her aid, making two dresses, undergarments, and nightgowns for her. She was given a black velvet dress that was so fine she decided not to take it for fear she would ruin it. Others loaned her luggage, as she had never traveled far enough to need any.

A photograph of Mary Elizabeth Mahnkey with Lucille Morris Upton taken by Mary E. Mueller during a Hillcrofters convention in Branson, Missouri ca. October 1940. Upton herself was a prominent newspaper reporter and columnist for the Springfield Leader and the Springfield Daily News. Image Courtesy of the Springfield–Greene County Library District

In New York, Mahnkey was given a tour of the city by Farm and Fireside magazine writer and editor Andrew S. Wing. She also met mayor Fiorella H. LaGuardia who presented her with a ship in a bottle. She was taken to dinners and nightclubs, tourist attractions, and historic neighborhoods. Her entire trip east prompted a dozen or more prominent New York reporters to interview Mahnkey. They prodded her about politics, writing, religion, rural life, her home, and her work. Although nervous and mildly shaking, she stood firm in herself and her philosophies, enlightening the newspapermen to the life of a country news correspondent reporting from a town of 27 residents. As Ellen Grey Massey wrote in her biography of Mahnkey, A Candle Within Her Soul, Mahnkey maintained her composure and politeness, only becoming terse with the reporters once when the subject of “hillbillies” arose. “We in the Ozarks get mad when outsiders call us hillbillies,” she said. “I can call myself that, or we can call each other hillbillies, but others can’t. Ridge Runner is alright.”

May Kennedy McCord (left) stands with Mary Elizabeth Mahnkey and an unknown woman and child. McCord, a fellow newspaper columnist, was known as the “Queen of the Hillbillies” because of her radio programs and writings focused on Ozarks life. Image Courtesy of the White River Valley Historical Society

When Mahnkey returned home, her exhaustion from the long and busy trip washed away as she drew her strength and spirit from being home in the hills of Taney County. Here, inspiration appeared to her as she did her daily work, walked her daily paths, and spoke with her friends and neighbors. A place where she could celebrate the beauty of small things and revel in the sweetness of a country life that she was raised in and cherished.

Ca. 1928 photograph of the C.P. Mahnkey General Store in Oasis, Missouri. Image Courtesy of the White River Valley Historical Society

Mahnkey would continue to write until her death in 1948. In 1940, she traveled with her family to Colorado Springs, Colorado to interview the wife of Presidential Candidate Wendell Willkie. Mahnkey was also postmaster of Oasis, Missouri, where she ran a general store with her husband, Pres, until the town was flooded when the White River was dammed during the creation of Table Rock Lake.

Many of her writings, personal photographs, correspondences, and poetry documenting her life are preserved in personal scrapbooks that Mahnkey compiled during her life. Ten of these scrapbooks are available to view digitally as part of the Springfield–Greene County Library’s Mahnkey Family Collection, compiled in partnership with the White River Valley Historical Society. Five of the physical scrapbooks are at the White River Valley Historical Society, and five reside in the Library’s archives. Mary Elizabeth Mahnkey is buried in Ozarks Memorial Park in Branson, Missouri.

Get to Know Mary Elizabeth Mahnkey

Massey, Ellen Gray. A Candle within Her Soul: Mary Elizabeth Mahnkey and Her Ozarks, 1877-1948. Bittersweet, 1996.

Mahnkey, Mary Elizabeth. Ozark Lyrics: The Song Poems of the Ozarks. School of the Ozarks, Book Division, 1972.

Massey, Ellen Gray. “Commonplace Things: The World of Mary Elizabeth Mahnkey.” OzarksWatch, Series 01, Vol. 04, No. 02, Fall 1990, p. 15–19.

Mahnkey, Mary Elizabeth, and Jeff Zander. “Raise Some Guineas, Raise Some Gourds: The Poetry of Mary Elizabeth Mahnkey.” Bittersweet, Vol. X, No. 4, Summer 1983, p. 4–13.