She is 105 years of history

Throughout March, which is Women’s History Month, the Times-Register is again publishing a series of articles highlighting local women. Whether it’s through their careers, hobbies, volunteer efforts or unique personalities, these women have inspired others.

By Audrey Posten | Times-Register

Marjorie “Marge” Witt Costigan was born in Elkader on Dec. 8, 1919, at the height of the Spanish influenza epidemic. Her father was the undertaker, and even on cold winter days, would take a sleigh to homes to care for the dead.

“These people would be buried on the farm because they didn’t have any ceremonies. They were afraid,” Marge said. “Sometimes, my dad would have to conduct the funeral. He couldn’t sing and us kids—there were four of us—we thought that was hilarious. We’d say, ‘Dad, what did you sing?’ He’d say, ‘We’re going down the valley one by one.’” 

Of course, Marge was too young then to have remembered these events herself, but oral history kept the stories alive. Before the advent of television, Marge recalls gathering with the adults in the parlor. 

“Us kids sat on the floor or on a stool and listened to them. I would listen to them regale what it was like in that period,” she said.

Now, others gather around the 105 year old to learn about history—of Elkader, of the United States, of the world.

“In my long age,” Marge reflected, “I have lived through a great many periods.”

There were the Roaring Twenties and the Dust Bowl. Marge recalled having no air conditioning, the family enduring heat and dust blowing from the west. 

“The air was full of it,” she said. “And it was so hot. We’d look outside and think maybe there would be a cloud or something and we’d get some relief.”

It was also the Great Depression.

“Everyone was poor,” Marge said. “My dad had lots of business, but nobody paid bills.”

Marge graduated from high school in 1937, then attended junior college in Elkader before heading to the University of Iowa. She was proud to attend the college at the same time as Nile Kinnick, Heisman Trophy winner and a Navy aviator who later died in World War II.

As the nation entered the war, Marge recalled the rationing. There were coupons for gas, meat, clothing, everything.

“People didn’t seem to mind as much because everybody was busy doing something,” she said. “Of course, in history, that’s when we know the women went to work.”

She and sister Elizabeth, or “Sis,” were among them. The two traveled to Tacoma, Wash., planning to work in a defense plant. Instead, they taught school and volunteered at the train station, connecting women—and their children, if they had any—with housing while they waited for their service member husbands coming to port.

Marge and Sis eventually served with the U.S. Navy WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service). Brothers Don and Williams were in the Army.

“My mother and dad had a little banner in the window with four stars in it, for four of us in the service. A gold star meant someone had been killed,” Marge said. “It wasn’t really the deprivation that was so bad, but the not knowing what was happening. The awful part of World War II was waiting for someone to die.”

WAVES filled administrative posts, allowing sailors to head to sea. Marge was in procurement and purchasing, ordering excess materials from Army that the Navy might use.

“I was in a year and a couple months when the war ended,” she said. 

Service members then, including future husband Clark Costigan, an Army major and engineer who built air bases, had anticipated fighting in Japan. Then the atomic bombs were dropped on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

“Being in Pasco, Wash., we were only 10 or 15 miles where they built part of the atomic bomb,” Marge said, “but we didn’t know it. It was a secret.” 

Although she struggles with conflicting emotions now, Marge and many others saw the atomic bombs as an end to a dark period.

“Maybe, looking back, it’s not a great thing,” she reflected. “But believe me, the day it was the end of the war and we didn’t have to fight Japan, it was a great thing. They won’t take that away from us.”

After the war, Clark considered an overseas post rebuilding Europe. Marge supported the plan and would have gone with him, but the couple returned to Elkader instead. Clark began a construction business building bridges and culverts, and the couple started a family.

“I never regretted it,” said Marge, who still lives in the home they built in 1951 along the Turkey River.

And Marge still got to see the world. The Costigans traveled all over the U.S. as their children grew. She and Clark also traveled extensively outside the country. Their goal was to re-trace Clark’s steps during the war, from Casablanca to China. They visited Germany when it was divided, crossing over to East Germany through the wall.

“We got on this bus and it had a dolly run underneath it to see that no one was hiding underneath,” Marge said. “We were there when they were flying food in.”

Another stop was in Russia, which Marge described as “so drab and communist.”

“We went to, I think, every country in Europe and then Australia and New Zealand,” she noted.

After Clark stopped traveling in his 80s, Marge continued to jet set with her daughters.

Venice, Italy was one of her favorite destinations.

“But everywhere was different, and every one of [the countries] was interesting,” she shared.

One of Marge’s favorite things to do when she traveled was visit museums, from the Louvre in Paris and Hermitage in Moscow to sites related to Hitler and World War II. It stoked an appreciation for history, something Marge believes the U.S. should have “a heckuva lot more of in schools.”

Traveling also made Marge more independent. 

“I think a lot of people are scared to do things by themselves. The more you travel, the more you do things by yourself,” she said. “Just go and do it. Don’t be afraid.”

Marge said it wasn’t the COVID-19 pandemic, but rather age, that ended her travels. She still finds plenty to keep her busy, though, including a love of the museums in her own backyard: the George Maier Rural Heritage Museum, Elkader Depot, Earthmoving Legacy Center and the Carter House, where she’s been an integral supporter and volunteer.

“I will say that I think keeping busy is important—and having fun,” she stressed. “It’s important to have a good time with people and with children. Don’t wait to get old to do things, because sometimes it’s too late. Help your town, and give money if you can. Other than that, I don’t really have anything profound.”

Marge acknowledged she thinks of old times, but they don’t get her down.

“As you get older, some things disappear, but something takes its place,” she said. “The period from when I graduated to now is so different. But I have to remember life doesn’t stay static. There are new inventions. Some things are better and some things worse.” 

As for her age, Marge doesn’t have any concrete tips on how to reach—and surpass—the century mark. 

“My family doesn’t have a history of longevity at all,” she said. “People ask, ‘How did you get that old?’ Who knows. Why I’m here at 105, I don’t know.”