The arc of Margaret Smith's life took her from Coney Island to the bright lights of Hollywood to the quiet farm life of Grubville.
Mrs. Smith, who died Feb. 27 at age 89, spent about a decade of her young adulthood in show business, and her last years in quiet serenity in the country.
"She was born in Pennsylvania (in 1924), and her father was a coal miner who died at like 36, 37 years old," said Bob Shawcross, Mrs. Smith's son-in-law. "There were four kids - three girls and a boy - and they were living in New Jersey, near Coney Island. They roller-skated quite a bit; I guess that was their only entertainment in the neighborhood."
When Mrs. Smith was a teenager, a friend heard about auditions for a traveling skating group, and the two went to investigate.
"They went and tried out, and she ended up getting hired," Bob said. "They went all over the world."
The group was "Harold Steinman's Skating Vanities," and Margaret Pchola left home to travel with the troupe.
"She toured with the show until 1949," said Mrs. Smith's granddaughter, Danielle Shawcross. "They traveled throughout the U.S. and Canada, and to England, where they performed at Wembley Stadium. She also performed in France, Switzerland and Cuba. There may have been other countries, but these are the ones I positively know of."
The skating group, headlined by a skater named Gloria Nord, was featured in the 1944 movie "Pin-Up Girl," featuring Betty Grable.
"I found this typed statement on the back of one of my grandma's skating photos," Danielle said. "It said, 'Miss Nord, Number 1 Ballerina on Skates, heads an all-star company of 100 in the production, which is featured in a $500,000 sequence.'
"I remember my grandma telling me she was in the movie."
The Skating Vanities started in 1942 with a company of 60 and grew to a company of 140 by 1949.
It was around that time, though, that Mrs. Smith left the troupe for a different spot in show business. At age 25, she went to work as a magician's assistant for Harry Blackstone Sr.
"One of the tricks she performed was 'The Living Miracle,' where she was sawed in half with a circular power saw," Danielle said. "As a child, I would always ask her how the trick was performed, but she would never reveal the secret!"
According to her family, Mrs. Smith toured the U.S. with Blackstone.
"She was with the show for a couple of years," Bob Shawcross said. "That's where she met her husband. He worked as a stage manager with the Blackstone show."
Blackstone's family and the Smith family stayed in touch over the years.
"When Harry Jr. was in St. Louis in 1978, he sent tickets for the whole family," Bob said. "We went down there and saw the show, and my mother-in-law met with him. They had a good time, reminiscing about the old days."
Bob said his mother-in-law appreciated how her experiences changed her life, and kept many mementoes of her time in show business.
"She didn't talk a lot about her younger years - after her father died - but I know the family had a pretty hard time," he said. "Her mother cleaned offices at night, and the girls all had different jobs to keep their heads above water.
"When she was with the skating group, I don't think they made a tremendous amount of money, but all their expenses were paid. We have all kinds of programs from the shows, lots of pictures of her skating."
It was in 1950 that Margaret married her stage manager boyfriend, St. Louis native Bob Smith (now deceased). Not long after, they retired from show business to operate a small bar and restaurant in St. Louis.
"They lived in an apartment just down the street (from the bar)," Bob said. "Then they moved to Byrnes Mill, then bought the place in Grubville."
The 25-acre farm in Grubville was where the Smiths spent most of their married life, and where their seven children were raised. In 1991, she moved to a smaller home in nearby Dittmer, where she lived until December 2012. At that time, she went to live with her son, Darryl, in Robertsville, where she lived until her death.
Many people didn't realize Mrs. Smith was once a globe-trotting performer, but her family said she recalled those days with pride.
"The times I remember her telling me about her years in show business, she was always smiling. Maybe the best way to describe it would be a reserved sense of pride," Danielle said. "I think she definitely enjoyed reminiscing about those years of her life, even though she didn't do it often.
"I studied abroad for a semester when I was in college, and this made my grandma very happy. I remember her telling me to make sure I live my life and see everything I want to see before I settle down and get married."
But she doesn't think her grandmother would have done anything differently.
"My grandma was definitely a very kind and giving person. Unfortunately, she experienced a lot of hardship in her life," Danielle said. "She lost her husband, four children, and three grandchildren before she passed away. However, she was very strong and always tried to make the best of things.
"I think she really appreciated the opportunities she had. She really did love traveling, and had no regrets about deciding to settle down and raise seven children. She had already lived such an exciting life."
PHOTOS: Front page, Margaret Pchola in skating years; below, 2007 photo of Margaret (Pchola) Smith.
