The Doll Room

Last Monday, my "An Extraordinary Life" story was about Andrea Magosky, who recently died from complications of COVID-19.

Andrea and her husband Pat Moagosky owned and operated the P. Seth Magosky Museum of Victorian Life an Joliet History in memory of their son Seth, who owned the house and was slowly transforming into a museum at the time of their death.

The Magoskys were very supported of the BryonySeries. We filed the Bryony book trailer and music video there; they (along with the Joliet Junior College theater department) lent us costumes for VampFest (our launch event, which raised $1,400 for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Will and Grundy Counties), hosted a book signing, and had stacks of my original business cards near the front door.

Andrea especially loved dolls and devoted one room in the museum to them. I love dolls (as a child I played with dolls as much as I read), so I loved to wander this room and revel in her collection.

When the Magoskys lost the museum, they also lost the dolls. Here are photos of some of those dolls:

BryonySeries Throwback Thursday: We Have a Mansion!

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

We Have a Mansion!

Pat and Andrea Magosky, owners of the P. Seth Magosky Museum of Victorian Life in Joliet, Illinois, are "loaning" us the mansion for filming purposes. Stephen Tuplin has already shot some initial footage and plans to use the location for the Bryony trailer, interviews with theBryony team, and the Bryony music video. The museum even has a grand piano! Bryony web administrator Sarah Stegall will be in town this weekend for the Big Brothers Big Sisters Bowl for Kids Sake, so she will be the first person interviewed and photographed on location. Lucky! I'll share more about the P. Seth Magosky Museum of Victorian Life in future posts. For now, a brief history and some photographs can be seen here:http://www.cityofjoliet.com/business/museum.htm

Story Round-Up: Features in The Herald-News, Week of May 31, 2015

Whew! What a week! Again!

But it was productive. And satisfying, from community news to features to assigning stories to new freelancers to last night's meeting of WriteOn Joliet.

And I can't wait to get back to Before the Blood.

I also put together four event calendars each week: health, faith, and arts and entertainment. Three of them can be found at the link below. http://www.theherald-news.com/lifestyle/ The fourth, Gotta Do It, runs each Sunday.

Check back with www.theherald-news.com each day for new event listings. And now, without further ado....


Plainfield teen hosts dinner to raise awareness and money for domestic violence

Read what this recent eight grade graduate did...and then read about her surprising career goal.

http://textalerts.theherald-news.com/2015/05/26/plainfield-teen-hosts-dinner-to-raise-awareness-and-money-for-domestic-violence/avnvovu/


An Extraordinary Life: Joliet man works hard to make son's dream of a Victorian museum come true

After his son died suddenly, Pat Magosky became a one-man force to convert an old mansion into a nineteenth century resource for the community.

http://m.theherald-news.com/2015/05/28/an-extraordinary-life-joliet-man-works-hard-to-make-sons-dream-of-a-victorian-museum-come-true/aoo2edp/


Pets of the Week

Seeking a four-footed addition to your home? Seek no more!

http://www.theherald-news.com/2015/05/29/pets-of-the-week/a7g3u2m/


Frankfort boy with rare syndrome is beating the odds

CHARGE Syndrome is an orphan disease with multiple presentations and an iffy prognosis, but for this little seven-year-old boy, it's simply part of life.

http://www.theherald-news.com/2015/05/29/frankfort-boy-with-rare-syndrome-is-beating-the-odds/a32efk0/


Retiring priest sees the humanity in everyone he has served

At the beginning of his ministry, the Rev. John Doyle set out to change the world. Instead, he people he served touched his life.

http://www.theherald-news.com/2015/03/20/retiring-crest-hill-priest-sees-the-humanity-in-everyone-he-has-served/apxmfj9/


Author to discuss super powers of vegetables in Plainfield

Instead of super-yucky, Vicki Marquez wants kids to know vegetables are really super heroes.

http://httpwww.theherald-news.com/2015/06/02/author-to-discuss-super-powers-of-vegetables-in-plainfield/avya3p8/

BryonySeries Throwback Thursday: Every House Tells a Story (by Sarah Stegall)

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Every House Tells a Story.

I stepped back into history last Saturday morning when I stepped forward into the P. Seth Magosky Museum of Victorian Life. With the exceptions of brownies in the parlor and the filmming equipment in the sitting room, nothing appeared to have been changed in over 100 years! Pat Magosky even offered me tea!

A few members of the Bryony team, author included, were there for the filming. I felt like such a celebrity being fitted with a microphone and sharing news about the first book in the Bryony Series. And lets face it, I did fly almost 2,000 miles in two days to bowl in the fundraiser for Big Brothers, Big Sisters and for this book interview. After wrapping up the final take, I got to explore this beautiful house. Ever hear every house tells a story? Well this one can fill its own library.

In the basement you had the servant's quarters and what was once the kitchen, now boasting a bar with tables around the fireplace. On the main floor, when you enter, is the gorgeous staircase, the parlor, sitting room, the porch, a modernish bathroom, and the dining room which features a grand piano (I played it). On the second floor there are three bedrooms a sitting alcove, the library and a bathroom. I spent more time than I should have ooohing and aaahing.

On the third floor, I was enthralled in the "doll room." It might have once been a toy room from the look of it, but now it features dolls from all over, most of them very old. In the ballroom, I played Bethoven's "Ode to Joy" on the pipe organ (coincidentally the only song I've ever been taught) and imagined what life would have been like over 100 years ago.

There was one thing I would not partake in. On the third floor, there is a spiral stepping, (no banister) which has lots of movement. Pat Magosky offers all guests the opportunity to climb up and see the view of Joliet, IL. It's about twenty feet up... I climbed a third of the way up, but I was overwhelmed with more than nagging thoughts about my little boy who I was already missing. I didn't want to put myself in any conflicting situations so I climbed down. (This does say quite a bit about my changed character, because a decade ago I would of raced up those stairs, high heels and all).

As I made my descent down from the third floor I felt a bonding with Bryony's main character, Melissa Marchellis. I could easily see myself living between two time periods. As I felt the polished banister beneath my hand, an overwhelming sense of sadness enveloped me. This house boasts a beautiful history and I wonder how many people will never see the inside, where the rooms come alive, their stories lingering on every object.

Sarah Stegall