Happy Hour: The Life and Times of Margaret (Molly) Brown

Sponsored by the ESU Denver Branch

An overview of the life and legacy of Margaret Tobin Brown, activist, WWI volunteer in France, philanthropist, and suffragist whose 1889 home, shown above, is an historic museum in downtown Denver, CO. Though known to many as “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” due to surviving the sinking of R.M.S. Titanic in 1912, Margaret’s legacy is presented at her home with emphasis on her enduring legacy of social justice and public service. Guest speaker, Pamela Mahonchak, will trace Margaret’s life from her early childhood in Hannibal, Missouri, to Leadville, Colorado, where she met and married mining engineer James Joseph Brown, to her days of glory in Denver and New York. The presentation will cover her accomplishments and her status as an icon in the fight for universal suffrage. There is a lot more to Molly Brown than the Titanic! This ESU Happy Hour is sponsored by the ESU Denver Branch.

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About Pamela Mahonchak

Pamela Mahonchak draws from her wealth of knowledge as a docent at the Molly Brown House Museum in Denver where she began volunteering in 1971. She still gives weekly tours when she is not traveling since retiring as an airline pilot.

Cocktail: Bee’s Knees

Bee’s Knees- According a newspaper article from April 22, 1929 in The Standard Union, Margaret Brown invented the “Bee’s Knees” cocktail: “The ‘Bee’s Knees’ is an invention of Mrs. J.J. Brown of Denver and Paris, widow of the famous miner, and is a rather sweet combination including lemon and honey.” Did she really invent it? We do not know but it is a fun story!

Bee’s Knees Recipe (makes one cocktail)

1/2 oz honey syrup

1 oz fresh lemon juice

2 oz gin

Lemon twist

1. Make Honey Syrup: combine two tablespoons honey and two tablespoons water in a small bowl or saucepan. Warm in the microwave or on the stove until you can completely stir the honey into the water. 
2. Combine honey syrup, lemon juice and gin in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until very cold, about 30 seconds.
3. Strain into a martini glass or coup.
4. Garnish with a lemon twist.