Ballston Spa’s Queen of Hearts
The following tribute to Margaret “Maggie” Zepko Peterson, who reigned as
Ballston Spa’s Sesquicentennial Queen in 1957 and as its Bicentennial Queen in 2007, will be published in Mornings with Morley by Ann Hauprich in June 2018.It was early in 2007 that my eyes first beheld the lady I’d been told had reigned with dignity and grace as Ballston Spa’s Sesquicentennial Queen in 1957.
Having seen only a faded photo of a dark-haired 24-year-old “Queen Margaret” being crowned by then village Mayor Charles Heniger, I was doubtful I’d be able to recognize the same woman half a century later.
But as I scanned the faces of those seated inside of Brookside Museum on a cold March evening to help set the stage for the community’s 2007 Bicentennial celebrations, there was no mistaking which one belonged to the former Sesquicentennial Queen.
Impeccably attired in a classy black dress topped with a smartly tailored yellow lamb leather jacket with elegantly scalloped edging, there was but one key difference between the woman with the radiant smile who had been crowned in 1957 and the one who had been invited back to her hometown to preside as Bicentennial Queen 50 years later. The bountiful brunette tresses that had stood in contrast to the sparkling tiara placed atop them in 1957 no longer needed a crown for they were now sleekly coiffed and of a silver-tone befitting a queen.
Gleaming gold earrings and a matching necklace completed the regal look – and at
first I thought I had spotted a Victorian cameo around the neckline. Only upon
subsequent closer examination did I discover that it was a commemorative button
that had been crafted in a bygone era for reasons to be explained later in this
chapter.“Ah, yes,” I thought to myself. “That has GOT to be Queen Margaret.”
Yet it was not until the girl who grew up in the village as the eldest of seven children raised by parents Joseph and Margaret Zepko rose to speak that I began to more fully appreciate the qualities that had won the hearts of judges and villagers of a bygone era. More importantly, I began to comprehend why those planning the community’s Bicentennial celebrations – most of whom were still wet behind their ears in 1957 -- were adamant that nobody but “Queen Margaret” would do to represent Ballston Spa at its history-in-the-making 2007 events.
Invited to join Mayor John Romano, NYS Assemblyman (now Senator) James Tedisco and other dignitaries who were about to open a Time Capsule that had been sealed for half a century, it quickly became clear that “Queen Margaret” was still very much a class act. Not only was the charming woman who was front and center at Brookside Museum that evening articulate, she impressed those present as being genuinely sincere.
Because “Queen Margaret” had moved to Virginia many years before I met her in 2007, I did not initially expect we’d stay in touch after our first brief encounter.
But the urge to learn more about her life proved irresistible as I was compiling a pair of local history books in which her extraordinary life was to be celebrated. Many conversations, emails and Snail Mails later, Margaret “Maggie” Zepko Peterson proved to be as much a study in faith and fortitude, hope and healing, perseverance and patriotism, resiliency and renewal as she was a “Queen of Hearts.”
To more fully appreciate her legacy, we need to rewind to the part of this chapter where I promised to explain the commemorative button Maggie was wearing on the night I first caught a glimpse of her inside of the museum that serves as the home of the Saratoga County Historical Society. Fittingly, the official full-color portrait of young Sesquicentennial Queen Margaret draped in a “Queen for a Day” style crimson cape now hangs as part of a gallery display in the hallway on Brookside’s second floor where it may be admired by visitors from far and wide.
According to Maggie, the button was a “cosmetic permit” that was required wearing of all the ladies who dared to don make-up in public during the Village of Ballston Spa’s Sesquicentennial celebrations of 1957.
“There was a fine for non-compliance such as being put in the stocks in the Village Square,” recollected Maggie, whose married name was then Crane. (Husband James Crane was also active in Sesquicentennial festivities.) “Nobody was uptight in those days. We all had soooo much fun and pulled together to raise a net of $10,000 – an unheard of sum back in those days. It became the model for other locals to aspire to.”
Motivating others to rally for worthy causes was to become a cornerstone of Maggie’s life as she raised children Patty, Peggy, Mary and Jimmy while launching a successful career as a dressmaker, serving as a civic volunteer and assisting with the establishment of a ball field on land she had donated to the village.
Twice widowed during her lifetime, Maggie was still mourning the loss of husband Eugene Peterson when her reign as Ballston Spa’s Bicentennial Queen was beginning. Even though I never got to meet Mr. Peterson, who passed away in 2000, it was clear impact on Maggie’s life had been profound. “Gene was from Aberdeen, South Dakota and had been studying to become a doctor when J. Edgar Hoover recruited him for the FBI,” shared Maggie.
At the time of his retirement from an illustrious career of almost 30 years with the Bureau, Mr. Peterson was serving as Chief of Soviet Counter Intelligence in the FBI’s Washington D.C. headquarters. He would surely be proud of the fact that Maggie, who celebrated her 85th birthday in September 2017, had remained active in the Quantico Chapter of the Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI. She could also be found attending events such as the Republican Women’s Federal Forum in Washington, DC.
In addition to being a proud mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, Maggie also enjoyed being part of a parish family and maintained a “Bucket List” that as of her 75th birthday in 2007 had included dreams of traveling to The Holy Land. It was but one of many exciting dreams that came true for Maggie prior to her February 2018 passing.
Among Maggie’s greatest strengths was to ability to motivate others to find creative ways to solve their problems. Most times this was done with the aid of some humorous anecdote – often followed by a promise to keep a particular person in her prayers.
When then 89-year-old Maurice “Christopher” Morley lay near death in the Saratoga Hospital in 2011, Maggie sent him flowers that brought a broad grin to his lips and a twinkle to his eyes.
Chris had been a member of the “Brotherhood of the Brush” and the “Blue Mill Bandits” during the Sesquicentennial of 1957 and as such had long held Maggie in high esteem. In fact, Chris had elevated her status to that of “The Queen of Ballston Spa.” When he saw the card that accompanied the flowers had been inscribed accordingly, he seemed to be momentarily transformed back into a bearded 35-year-old “bandit” – full of vim and vinegar.
When Maggie learned of our mutual friend’s passing, she was quick to email the following words that brought much comfort to my grieving heart: “Chris, I thank God for your very presence here on earth, and for the immeasurable joy you brought to me and to everyone who had the pleasure to know you. Your impish smile and quick wit, your talented hands that brought forth such beautiful carved toys, your eagerness to listen, teach and record all for us can never be surpassed. I will always treasure our reunion in 2007 and the fun we had reminiscing. You were one of my strongest supporters, you Blue Mill Bandit, you. May you rest in peace. You will truly be missed.”
Neither the passage of time nor the many miles that separated the bandit and the Queen had broken the special bond that had been forged between them half a century earlier. I thank God that I was blessed to witness that friendship and for the royal lessons in love, life and laughter I was privy to learn from Maggie in the decade that followed our initial encounter along the banks of the Gordon Creek.
Long live memories of The Queen of Ballston Spa who also became the village’s Queen of Hearts!