The West Bedroom: Mabel Margaret Mooney (1891 – 1974)

Mabel Mooney lived in the Fillebrown House from 1955 to 1974.

Born in St. Paul in 1891, she grew up on a farm in Murray County, Minnesota, and later worked as a dental hygienist in St. Paul. At 64, she moved to White Bear Lake and remained at the Fillebrown House until she died in 1974.

Despite being bedridden with Rheumatoid Arthritis, Mabel was known for her cheerful nature, love of conversation, and always having a joke to tell the kids coming in for piano lessons.

This room features the oldest item in the WBLAHS collection, a maple rope bed from 1830. It also displays images from Godey’s Ladies Magazine (1892), toy furniture made by Marianne Brosious’ father, and a piece of wood from the historic Washington Elm, a tribute to Helen Fillebrown’s great-great-grandfather, Edward Fillebrown, who fought in both the French and Indian War and the American Revolution.