At 101 years old, Costigan has been a witness to history
Elkader native Marge Costigan celebrated her 101st birthday last month. During a 2019 campaign stop, President Joe Biden asked her secret to longevity. Her joking reply: “Peanut butter in the morning and beer at night.”
By Willis Patenaude, Times-Register
After 101 years, local treasure Marge Costigan has been a witness to history.
Born in Elkader in the aftermath of the Spanish Flu pandemic, she grew up hearing stories from her father, who was an undertaker. He’d tell how he needed a sled in the winter, buried people on the farm and, sometimes, was even needed to sing. With no television or radios, and certainly no internet, this is how one learned of history—through your elders.
In the words of Marge, it “connects the past with the present and gives you a better background of what is and what will be. It lets you know where you are going.”
How apropos as, 101 years later, America is currently battling another deadly virus. But armed with a “this too shall pass” optimism, Marge knows that, someday, things will return to normal.
They did after the Great Depression, which Marge endured as a young adult. They did after World War II, which Marge is quite familiar with, vividly remembering Pearl Harbor and listening to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s speech on the infamy of the occasion. The United States declared war on Dec. 8, which happens to be Marge’s birthday.
The Costigan family saw two boys fight in the Battle of the Bulge, while Marge and her sister joined the Navy. She is forever connected to that piece of history, and she weaves it into conversation with steadfast ease.
After the war, Marge and her husband came home to Elkader to settle down, though the family would often spend winters in Florida. This year, though, for the first time in 60 years, Marge remained in Elkader. COVID-19 ended a bit of history.
They came home because, as Marge put it, “home is home.” Elkader offered the pull of the familiar, along with family and friends. They had traveled so far already, and they could always travel, and did, across America and Europe, to China and Casablanca, but always returned home to the nature, wildlife and the small-town existence.
“I like Elkader,” she said bluntly.
But Marge is quick to point out that history has taken things from Elkader: the train, businesses and families. It’s removed the old ways of entertainment and safety and replaced them with gadgets and supervision.
“I really don’t know what young people do for fun,” she commented. It’s further proof that nothing stays the same. “Times are just different,” she added.
Marge’s love of history started at junior college, where she was originally going for home economics, but a “very serious teacher who taught history” provided the spark needed for change. So, Marge entered a heavily male-dominated field, graduated from the University of Iowa, and searched for a job. It’s a job that would have never come, in her words, had it not been for the draft, which made hiring women more necessary. “It would’ve been out of reach if not for the draft,” she quipped.
With that love of history came an innate passion for politics, which she said is “so dang different” today than it used to be. On the subject, Marge is not shy about where she stands. She is an ardent Democrat who had a shining moment in 2019, when then presidential candidate Joe Biden came to town. Talked into going, she eventually found herself the center of attention in the big hall, as Biden, with microphone in hand, personally asked her a question.
“What is your secret to longevity?” he asked.
“Peanut butter in the morning and beer at night,” Marge jokingly replied.
“I was cheek to cheek with Biden! That was a fun day!” she gushed.
In the days that followed the meeting with the future president, Marge received a package from Biden: two six-packs of peanut butter and a “happy birthday” note. When Biden won the election, the carefree Marge stated unequivocally that it was a “great day of relief.” In fact, one of the positive things Marge mentioned about living to 101 is she “lived long enough to see Trump lose.”
As for the history we’re making now in regard to COVID-19, Marge is “absolutely concerned” and has been disappointed in the public response. She had far harsher, though unprintable, criticisms of those in charge, but she just wants people to “listen to the doctors.”
“Just goes to show you that, with all we have now, sometimes Mother Nature is not that different,” she added.
With Elkader’s 175th anniversary this summer, it’s been a time to reflect and look back over her 101 years, and Marge is insistent that Pearl Harbor and World War II left the biggest and longest impacts.
“So many good friends were killed in the war,” she lamented.
Concerning Elkader itself, Marge said, “I’ve enjoyed the history of Elkader, but I’m amazed by how little people know about it.” Specifically, where people come from and why they stayed, and she challenged students and people to “learn something new every day.”
When asked about what events in the history of Elkader made the biggest impact on her life, she simply said, “my kids.” She also recounted how she used to know everyone in town—knew their names and their faces. Now, most of them have been lost to history.
“People come and go more now,” she said with a sadness, but Elkader, she hopes, will live on.
When it comes to her own legacy and history, Marge really doesn’t have much to say. When asked what she hopes people will remember about her, she stated flatly, “I really don’t care.” This was followed by a sad truth. “Friends that I remember…how great they were, but they’re soon forgotten. That’s just the way it is. That’s my practical nature,” she said somberly.
