Montgomery Historical Society Thanks Volunteers' with Thanksgiving Lunch

MONTGOMERY, TX -- Each year, the Montgomery Historical Society holds a Thanksgiving Luncheon to thank volunteers and docents, and celebrate another year of history under Montgomery’s belt. It’s also a time to pray, fellowship, and break bread with fellow historical society members and guests. The Montgomery Mayor and City Council, Police and Fire officials, as well as other invited guests gathered at the Lutheran Church Fellowship Hall in Montgomery this past Saturday; to celebrate the organization's ability to keep Montgomery’s history alive. The guest speaker this year was Montgomery County legend and Radio Hall of Fame on-air personality Mary McCoy, who spoke on her storied career.

Master of Ceremonies Cheryl Fox, introduced the historical society Board Members and local dignitaries. Of course the Montgomery Historical Society couldn’t run without the help of volunteers, and the docents; the ones who are present at the N.H. Davis Museum daily to assist anyone interested in the history of the museum grounds or the town.

“We have a lot of volunteers who spend their time at the Davis Cottage welcoming guests,” said Cheryl Fox, MHS Board Member. “They are glad to inform visitors on the history of the cottage as well as of our history.”

Board of Directors member Ledia Miller, who heads the docent program, called each one of the volunteers presenting a special gift on behalf of the Board.

“We are always looking for volunteers just to help out or join our docent program,” said Miller. “There are plenty of things to do throughout the year in volunteering for the historical society, and we are so grateful for their participation.”

Lunch with the Thanksgiving fixins was provided by the Pizza Shack, plus others who brought potluck sides and desserts. There was so much food that everyone was asked to take what they could for leftovers.

This year, the historical society introduced their first Blues Festival in Honor of Local Blues Legend, Algernon ‘Texas’ Alexander, and is scheduled to be an annual event. A sign to encourage Porch Sitting was placed in front of the Davis Cottage for visitors to take a load off; the Voices of the Past event is held at the local cemeteries to give an insight to the people who once called Montgomery home, and now are buried in its sacred grounds. A Montgomery town plat from 1838 was found and is not being restored, and the historical society also teamed up with several artistic printmakers, coordinated by Texas and Beyond for an interesting exposition and lecture at the museum.

Cheryl Fox then introduced Ms. Mary McCoy as the guest speaker for the event. McCoy is a Montgomery County on-air personality for KVST, or more generally known as K-Star Country 99.7 FM, just off TX-105 near Lake Conroe. McCoy has a career spanning more than 73years on air, of which she holds the Guinness World Record as the female with the longest career in radio, which she achieved in 2023. Mary started in Conroe, with KMCO-AM in 1951, when she was only a slip of a thing at 12 years old, at first singing songs on a 15-minute show, but by popular demand was asked to stay on.

As McCoy made her way to the podium Fox remembered an old radio saying, “Conroe, where the oil flows and the tall pines grow.”

Mary regaled the audience with what she learned as a child with music and storytelling, and its amazing consequence of a lifetime behind the microphone.

“When I was three years old I was yodeling,” said McCoy. “And when we first moved to Conroe, we lived in a tent for four years.”

McCoy’s mother worked at the radio station in 1950, and Mary herself was noticed at a talent show at the Crighton Theatre in 1951. The station manager became aware, and she got her chance to sing. She went home and heard herself on the radio, saying “It was the worst thing she ever heard in her life.”

She thought herself a failure at the time, but the show got a sponsor, and the rest is history. Mary had held fast behind the microphone over the radio ownership and call sign changeovers over the years, and continues to work with her long-time co-anchor Larry Galla, on the ‘Larry & Mary Show,’ which runs each Monday-Friday, from 10am - 12pm on K-Star.

The Montgomery Historical Society’s next big event will be December 13th, with ‘Christmas in Historic Montgomery,’ an all-day event with a Christmas Parade, Holiday Marketplace, the 35th annual Cookie Walk, and the 48th annual Candlelight Home Tour.

Websites: mhs-tx.org and kstarcountry.com