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Mary Hattan Bogart was the daughter of the late Sarah
Stein Hattan and William Cary Hattan, Chief Engineer of the Clinchfield
Railroad from 1920 to 1929. She
was born July 27, 1916 in Morristown, NJ. She married Captain Frank Lavon
Bogart, USN, on May 21, 1939 in Yuma, Arizona. Frank died May 8, 1993.
Mary graduated from high school in Erwin, Tennessee and
the University of Southern California in 1939 with a degree in
Merchandising. Naval
assignments took the family to Pearl Harbor, London, Naples, Newport, RI
and Charleston, SC. They
retired to Erwin in 1966.
In addition to the publications noted below, she was
also an accomplished artist and musician. She was an active member and elder
of Erwin Presbyterian Church where she often played piano and organ.
Historical Publications:
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Written in alternating chapters, Mary and (then) Navy
Lieutenant Frank Bogart describe their experiences during the Pearl
Harbor attack and their subsequent separation during World War II. Frank
describes his experiences in the Pacific as Mary learns to cope with a
newborn.
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Rummaging through an old trunk in the attic of her
mother's home, Mary found journals and photographs of her father's life
and work as a civil engineer on the Western Maryland and Clinchfield
Railroads. Many of the structures and construction techniques were unique
at the time and have withstood the increased size and weight of railroad
engines and rolling stock since then. The hardships and entertainments of
the camps are fascinating tales we can relate to today only in our
imaginations.
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Periodical Articles:
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A description of the construction of the Sandy Ridge
Tunnel in the Breaks in Southwest Virginia and Eastern Kentucky.
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Relation of a couple of experiences with strangers who
helped out during difficult travel situations.
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The story of a revisitation to the Black Dome, whose
first altitude measurement was made in 1857 by Dr. Elisha Mitchell who
died doing so, and the renaming of Black Dome to Mt. Mitchell.
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A description of the efforts to restore and rejuvinate
historical structures in Erwin, Tennessee.
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Honors and Awards:
- In 1985, Mrs
Bogart won second place for outstanding creative writing at the
Black Mountain Christian Writers' Conference.
- In 1989, Mrs
Bogart was presented the Mildred Boydston Special Honor Award for
distinguished accomplishment in the National League of American
Penwomen State Letters Contest in Memphis, TN.
- Also in 1989, Mrs
Bogart won first place in the writers' division, selected from over
40 entries from the state of Tennessee with her inspirational
article, A Light in the Darkness.
- In 2001, Mrs Bogart
was honored as Tennessee Pen Woman of the Year by the National
League of American Pen Women. (Click on the image to the right for
the newspaper write-up.)
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