Gelber, portraying Molly Brown, spreads word of heroine’s merits
Trish Gelber, aka Molly Brown, was on Main Street in September 2024, promoting the Titanic heroine’s links to Hannibal. Photo by Mary Lou Montgomery
MARY LOU MONTGOMERY
Trish Gelber is a familiar figure in Hannibal’s historic district during the spring, summer and fall, wearing Victorian-era costumes and accessories, portraying Hannibal’s own, Molly Brown.
This representation is no passing fancy for Gelber; but rather a life-long fascination with the woman who gained fame from her April 1912 heroic efforts aboard the ill-fated voyage of the Titanic.
Gelber’s initial draw to Hannibal native and Titanic survivor Molly Brown came when she was in her 20s, and associated with the National Hairdressers and Cosmetology Association, of Missouri.
“They had a big event in Jefferson City, the occasion was called the Parade of States,” she said. It was the organization’s annual meeting. Members were charged with the task of promoting subjects, history, industries and famous people.
“I dressed as Molly Brown, to get her name back into the history of Hannibal,” Gelber said.
“Hannibal was in the process of having the Molly Brown home renovated,” Gilber said. Choosing Brown as her subject, she made the presentation to the state organization.
Kate Ray Kuhn (1889-1977), a member of the Marion County Historical Society, “was very much involved in the story. She invited me to give my presentation to her MFWC Club. I have a picture with her.”
During Hannibal’s Sesquicentennial in 1969, “(Mrs. Kuhn) loaned me a great big beaver hat she had in her family, and I wore it in a boat on the Mississippi River.” Then, on the Hannibal High School athletic field, “I was asked to help out with a pageant” to mark Hannibal’s 150th anniversary. “Bob Clayton was Mark Twain, and I was Molly Brown. We had an article about this written in the book, ‘The Story of Hannibal,’ by J. Hurley and Roberta Hagood, on page 264.” At the time, Gelber was known as Pat Conrad. “But it was me.”
The Molly Brown house was first opened in June 1970, Gelber said, “and I was invited to tell her rags to riches story.”
Studying Molly Brown, and sharing that knowledge, has been a life-long endeavor.
“I do love the public relations aspect,” she said. “There are so many people who don’t understand that Molly Brown was born in Hannibal.” After leaving Hannibal for Colorado, “she visited here quite often, stayed with her half sister, Catherine Bridget Tobin. They stayed close throughout the years of her life.”
One trait that Gelber especially respects about Molly Brown is that “she would not take no for an answer, if she thought she was right. She had a lot of gumption.
“She went to France during WWI (at her own expense) and drove an ambulance. She helped bring wounded soldiers back to the nurse station. She lived at Newport, Rhode Island. She gave up her house to be used as a nursing station for the wounded.”
Women’s suffrage, making sure women’s voices were heard, was important to Molly Brown. “She was with that group her entire life. In Rhode Island, where all the mansions are, these women influenced her life completely; she was able to raise money for charities.
“On the Titanic, she was a hero; she knew how to row the lifeboats, because she once lived on the Mississippi River.”
Passengers aboard the Titanic were from all over the world. “By speaking five languages, she could communicate” with the stranded widows. When she got to New York, she helped these women, staying in New York harbor for at least a week. She worked from a hotel getting immigrants to get some satisfaction as to what was going to happen to their lives.
“They were going to deport these women and children. She took care of the sick ones, staying up all night, sitting at edge of their cots.
“Her older brother came and met her in New York. She raised money for these widows. Wealthy women were donating. One of her good friends, John Jacob Astor, was on his honeymoon. (His widow) survived, but he didn’t. The widow of Astor gave her $20,000 to help take care of the widows. It was because of Molly that they were able to go on with their own lives.”
Molly moved her parents from Hannibal to Colorado to live. When they died, “John and Johanna Tobin were brought back to Hannibal and buried in the Catholic Cemetery,” with services by the O’Donnell Funeral Home.”
Costumes
During her years portraying Molly Brown, Gelber has accumulated a collection of costumes and accessories.
She designs her gowns, and her seamstress is Janet Quinn, who lives at Lake St. Louis. “She has been making gowns for me at least four years, maybe longer.
“I wear Victorian accessories, gloves, shoes,” she said, which she purchased from an online company.
“I make all of my hats; I have about 15 hats, all big like she wore.”
During the last few years, Gelber has been the only tour guide for the Molly Brown home. People could get a guided tour by choice, or tour it on their own.
When not promoting Molly Brown, Gelber works part time in the office for the Hannibal Visitors and Convention Bureau.
Gelber is eagerly anticipating the reopening of the Molly Brown house in its new location on the northeast corner of Hill and Main.
“Hopefully, by late spring or mid summer,” she said, “the Hannibal Visitors and Convention Bureau will have the house ready to open. It will depend on the weather, contractors … now that it is on the new foundation.”
On Main Street, just like she has in the past at the former location on Denkler’s Alley, she will serve as a docent for those interested in a guided tours of the little house where Molly Brown (Margaret Tobin) was born.
