Pearl K. McGown (1892 – 1983) was instrumental in the evolution of the craft of rug hooking to a tapestry art form.
Her life was spent creating connections, instruction, education, designing, and furthering rug hooking for the benefit of the teachers and students. Her dedication to all aspects of rug hooking ensured that her legacy would continue through her writings, the McGown National Guild, the McGown Chapters, the McGown National Teacher Workshops, her patterns, and her zest for recognizing and acknowledging that we all have something to learn from one another.
Beyond these accomplishments, she used rug hooking for good. She quietly offered scholarships to the McGown Teachers who struggled to afford them. She organized volunteers and donated supplies to bring rug hooking to injured service members in hospitals. She even sponsored local Girl Scout Troops with a pattern, materials and a special rug hooking badge when they completed their first piece.
Her motivation for success was to take care of her family which includes both her blood relatives, and those in her rug hooking family. If you did not know her personally, you might not know how invested she was in her teachers’ successes. As part of the Teacher Training, the teachers had to stand at a podium and present a lesson. Not all people, who would be wonderful teachers, initially had the confidence to present in this way. In one instance, with a teacher named Rose (Bunny) McKay, the thought of such a presentation made her nervous. To help her get through it, Pearl sat her chair next to the podium and held Bunny’s hand throughout her whole presentation. She gave of herself for other’s success as teachers and rug hookers.
It is all these things that create Pearl’s legacy. The President Gwen G. Fairfield’s message in the Newsletter that announced her death ends with “Pearl was a most remarkable lady and person. She was beautiful in person and spirit, loving, compassionate, sharing, strong, deeply religious and a person of unlimited talent. The many memories of the time spent with her will forever be a source of enduring strength and joy for me.”
