February 11 is Mary Grannan Day in Fredericton! Born  in 1900, Mary was the middle daughter of William Peter Grannan and Catherine Haney. She lived with her parents and two sisters in a house that still stands on Brunswick Street. Mary became one of the most successful Canadian children’s authors of the 20th century, and was best known for her Maggie Muggins stories that evolved into a CBC television production.

Mary Grannan was also a very talented artist. Both of her parents were humorous and artistic people, who passed their talents on to Mary. Her father was a carriage builder, who was very fond of reading and drawing; while her mother was an avid storyteller. Examples of this creativity can be found in Mary’s artwork and personal items that are now preserved in the Fredericton Region Museum.

From an early age, Mary’s spirit was overflowing with energy. Her creative ideas, together with her boundless energy, laid the foundation for the development of her writing career. She eagerly explored the various performing arts (productions of amateur theatre, motion pictures and the circus), to experience everything they offered a creative person like herself. Along with her sisters, Helen and Ann, the Grannan girls wrote and performed their own theatrical shows at home, and Mary was also particularly fond of telling stories with her own imagination.

Mary Grannan was a talented artist, who studied commercial art at the Vesper George School of Arts in Boston, Massachusetts. Created in 1929 as an advertising campaign to promote Downtown Fredericton, Mary Grannan’s twelve art deco posters are now preserved in the Fredericton Region Museum, along with her oil portraits and handmade toys – thanks to the gracious donation of Owen Fowler. These advertisements are all the more remarkable since they bear witness to commercial establishments, many of which have since disappeared from Fredericton’s downtown streetscape.

In 2018, Mary Grannan was honoured as a national historic person in Canada, for “helping [to] establish a tradition of gentle, fantastical, elegantly slow-paced, wholesome storytelling.” Her work left an indelible memory in the minds of those who grew up with CBC radio and television in the 1940s and 1950s. Her stories helped to shape several generations of caring and compassionate children. In honour of her birthday, in 2023 City Council declared February 11 to be Mary Grannan Day in Fredericton.

 

For more information, please contact:
Alyona Krasnikova, Executive Director
Fredericton Region Museum www.frederictonregionmuseum.com
Email: frederictonregionmuseum@gmail.com or phone 506-455-6041