1 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:07,440 Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Menk's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of 2 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:14,440 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grim and Mild. Our world is full of 3 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:18,479 Speaker 1: the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all 4 00:00:18,480 --> 00:00:22,120 Speaker 1: of these amazing tales are right there on display, just 5 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:28,880 Speaker 1: waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. 6 00:00:36,640 --> 00:00:38,800 Speaker 1: It's rare that we have a boss who stands behind 7 00:00:38,880 --> 00:00:42,320 Speaker 1: us and defends us from unfair criticism. When an angry 8 00:00:42,360 --> 00:00:45,760 Speaker 1: customer or a demanding executive tries to corner us into 9 00:00:45,880 --> 00:00:48,519 Speaker 1: caving into every one of their demands. It's nice to 10 00:00:48,560 --> 00:00:50,720 Speaker 1: know that there's a manager in our corner who will 11 00:00:50,800 --> 00:00:54,840 Speaker 1: keep the unreasonable at Bay. Mini Cox probably felt the 12 00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:58,400 Speaker 1: same way too. She was born many Gettings in Mississippi 13 00:00:58,440 --> 00:01:01,800 Speaker 1: back in eighteen sixty nine and grew up in Lexington. 14 00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:05,400 Speaker 1: Her upbringing wasn't common for other black children and families 15 00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:08,160 Speaker 1: at the time, though for one her family owned their 16 00:01:08,160 --> 00:01:11,120 Speaker 1: own restaurant in town. She also went on to earn 17 00:01:11,160 --> 00:01:14,760 Speaker 1: a degree at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. Fisk was 18 00:01:14,800 --> 00:01:17,880 Speaker 1: a historically black university, and Minnie was one of one 19 00:01:17,959 --> 00:01:21,080 Speaker 1: hundred other students who graduated with a teaching degree in 20 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:24,800 Speaker 1: eighteen eighty eight. Minnie got married the following year to 21 00:01:24,840 --> 00:01:27,680 Speaker 1: a man named Wellington Cox, also a teacher, who had 22 00:01:27,760 --> 00:01:31,040 Speaker 1: left his career for a job with United Railway postal Service. 23 00:01:31,440 --> 00:01:34,000 Speaker 1: This upward move allowed him to buy one hundred and 24 00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:37,960 Speaker 1: sixty acres of land and move within local political circles. 25 00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:40,679 Speaker 1: It also helped Many find a career of her own. 26 00:01:40,959 --> 00:01:44,000 Speaker 1: In eighteen ninety one, President Benjamin Harrison, in need of 27 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:48,400 Speaker 1: a postmaster for Indianola, Mississippi, appointed Mini Cox to the position. 28 00:01:48,680 --> 00:01:51,080 Speaker 1: She held on to a role until eighteen ninety two, 29 00:01:51,160 --> 00:01:55,400 Speaker 1: when Democratic President Grover Cleveland was elected, but she returned 30 00:01:55,440 --> 00:01:59,320 Speaker 1: five years later under Republican William McKinley and subsequently under 31 00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:02,760 Speaker 1: President the Or Roosevelt as well. Many was good at 32 00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:05,800 Speaker 1: her job, but some people didn't think so. Several white 33 00:02:05,840 --> 00:02:08,920 Speaker 1: citizens of Indianola circulated a petition in an effort to 34 00:02:08,960 --> 00:02:11,960 Speaker 1: force Many to resign and leave her eleven hundred dollars 35 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:16,000 Speaker 1: a year job, serving roughly three thousand patrons in the area. 36 00:02:16,080 --> 00:02:19,040 Speaker 1: But Many hadn't done anything to deserve their ire. She 37 00:02:19,200 --> 00:02:21,720 Speaker 1: was a dedicated employee. She worked far longer than she 38 00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:24,399 Speaker 1: was paid to each day, and she even covered late 39 00:02:24,400 --> 00:02:27,000 Speaker 1: rents for post office boxes out of her own pockets. 40 00:02:27,320 --> 00:02:29,600 Speaker 1: Many also made sure that her customers had as many 41 00:02:29,639 --> 00:02:32,720 Speaker 1: conveniences as they could, such as a direct telephone line 42 00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:35,360 Speaker 1: to the post office. She paid for it herself so 43 00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:37,720 Speaker 1: that her patrons could call ahead to see if any 44 00:02:37,720 --> 00:02:41,040 Speaker 1: new mail had arrived. Many cared about her position and 45 00:02:41,200 --> 00:02:44,640 Speaker 1: her community. She wasn't being forced to resign because she 46 00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:47,080 Speaker 1: was bad at her job. She was being forced to 47 00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:50,960 Speaker 1: resign because she was black. Much of Indianola's white population 48 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:54,360 Speaker 1: wanted all people of color removed from government leadership positions, 49 00:02:54,639 --> 00:02:59,079 Speaker 1: and that included many Cucks. Pretty Soon, a white supremacist 50 00:02:59,160 --> 00:03:02,600 Speaker 1: named James K. Vardaman began speaking out against missus Cox 51 00:03:02,680 --> 00:03:05,160 Speaker 1: as well. He didn't just want her out, he wanted 52 00:03:05,160 --> 00:03:09,280 Speaker 1: her job and salary for himself. Eventually, the anger and 53 00:03:09,400 --> 00:03:12,280 Speaker 1: prejudice within the town got to be too much. White 54 00:03:12,280 --> 00:03:16,120 Speaker 1: mobs began attacking black owned businesses and fearing for her safety, 55 00:03:16,480 --> 00:03:20,280 Speaker 1: Minnie soon tendered her resignation. It hit President Roosevelt's desk 56 00:03:20,360 --> 00:03:23,760 Speaker 1: on December fifth of nineteen o two, But it turns 57 00:03:23,760 --> 00:03:26,280 Speaker 1: out Teddy wasn't too pleased with what had gone down 58 00:03:26,320 --> 00:03:30,360 Speaker 1: in Indianola, and he refused to accept Minnie's resignation. Instead, 59 00:03:30,360 --> 00:03:33,400 Speaker 1: he gave Attorney General Philander Chase Knox the order to 60 00:03:33,480 --> 00:03:36,960 Speaker 1: prosecute any individual who had threatened her life. Oh and 61 00:03:37,200 --> 00:03:39,640 Speaker 1: he shut down the post office until she was allowed 62 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:43,440 Speaker 1: to return to her position safely. All Indianola mail was 63 00:03:43,480 --> 00:03:47,160 Speaker 1: rerouted thirty miles away, and Roosevelt continued to pay her 64 00:03:47,160 --> 00:03:51,200 Speaker 1: salary while the office was closed. Sadly, Minnie and her 65 00:03:51,200 --> 00:03:54,080 Speaker 1: family left town for some time. She had been threatened 66 00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:56,640 Speaker 1: with a broken neck if she ever stepped foot there again, 67 00:03:57,000 --> 00:03:59,240 Speaker 1: but they did eventually return to the town they loved 68 00:03:59,440 --> 00:04:02,160 Speaker 1: and opened the Delta Penny Savings Bank. It was one 69 00:04:02,200 --> 00:04:04,920 Speaker 1: of the first African American owned banks to open in 70 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:08,800 Speaker 1: all of Mississippi. As for the post office, it reopened 71 00:04:08,840 --> 00:04:11,320 Speaker 1: one year after Many moved away, this time under a 72 00:04:11,360 --> 00:04:14,240 Speaker 1: white postmaster. But in two thousand and eight Many got 73 00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:17,720 Speaker 1: the recognition she so rightly deserved when the Indianola Post 74 00:04:17,760 --> 00:04:21,120 Speaker 1: Office was renamed to the Mini Cox Post Office Building. 75 00:04:21,560 --> 00:04:23,440 Speaker 1: And as for the bully that forced her to leave, 76 00:04:23,640 --> 00:04:26,719 Speaker 1: James Vardeman, Well, there was a building at the University 77 00:04:26,720 --> 00:04:29,440 Speaker 1: of Mississippi that once bore his name, but it also 78 00:04:29,520 --> 00:04:33,799 Speaker 1: underwent a change. In twenty seventeen, the university stripped Vardeman's 79 00:04:33,880 --> 00:04:38,279 Speaker 1: name off the facility, calling the white supremacist distinctly unworthy 80 00:04:38,360 --> 00:04:40,800 Speaker 1: of honor. And all I have to say for that 81 00:04:41,600 --> 00:04:58,640 Speaker 1: is good riddance. Everyone has a different idea of how 82 00:04:58,680 --> 00:05:01,320 Speaker 1: they want to be dealt with after they die. Many 83 00:05:01,400 --> 00:05:03,640 Speaker 1: by plots in a cemetery so they can be buried 84 00:05:03,640 --> 00:05:07,279 Speaker 1: alongside lost loved ones. Others may opt to be cremated 85 00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:10,160 Speaker 1: and have their ashes spread over somewhere that was meaningful 86 00:05:10,160 --> 00:05:13,599 Speaker 1: to them while they were still alive. Joseph Margonatt, though, 87 00:05:13,880 --> 00:05:18,360 Speaker 1: went another route entirely. Born in Missouri in eighteen sixty, 88 00:05:18,520 --> 00:05:22,320 Speaker 1: Joseph lived in Corondelet, a neighborhood in southeastern Saint Louis. 89 00:05:22,320 --> 00:05:25,000 Speaker 1: His parents were landowners and eventually sold some of their 90 00:05:25,040 --> 00:05:28,440 Speaker 1: property to the city, which then became part of Carondelette Park. 91 00:05:29,040 --> 00:05:33,039 Speaker 1: Joseph was a devout Catholic, though not so much in practice. Sure, 92 00:05:33,120 --> 00:05:35,880 Speaker 1: he attended Mass at the local church, but according to 93 00:05:35,920 --> 00:05:39,120 Speaker 1: his descendants, he wasn't the nicest guy in town. When 94 00:05:39,200 --> 00:05:42,440 Speaker 1: kids would accidentally hit their baseballs into his yard, for example, 95 00:05:42,720 --> 00:05:45,400 Speaker 1: he would take them inside his home leaving the children 96 00:05:45,440 --> 00:05:48,240 Speaker 1: scrambling for a new ball to play with and hopefully 97 00:05:48,400 --> 00:05:50,760 Speaker 1: sending them with a warning to not play near his 98 00:05:50,800 --> 00:05:55,520 Speaker 1: house again. But Joseph was a complex man. He was religious, 99 00:05:55,560 --> 00:05:57,560 Speaker 1: he just didn't care much for the children who lived 100 00:05:57,560 --> 00:06:01,520 Speaker 1: in the neighborhood, and he was fascinated by Egyptian archaeology. 101 00:06:02,360 --> 00:06:05,640 Speaker 1: In nineteen twenty two, egyptologist Howard Carter led a team 102 00:06:05,680 --> 00:06:08,120 Speaker 1: of explorers into the Valley of the Kings. This was 103 00:06:08,160 --> 00:06:11,120 Speaker 1: an area that was surrounded by sedimentary rock and had 104 00:06:11,160 --> 00:06:13,680 Speaker 1: been carved out thousands of years ago as a burial 105 00:06:13,720 --> 00:06:16,360 Speaker 1: site for the pharaohs. Then one of those pharaohs happened 106 00:06:16,360 --> 00:06:19,400 Speaker 1: to be Tutan common also known as King Tut, who 107 00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:23,240 Speaker 1: died around three thousand, three hundred years ago. Joseph Margonott 108 00:06:23,480 --> 00:06:26,400 Speaker 1: had cut out and kept several newspaper clippings about the 109 00:06:26,440 --> 00:06:29,480 Speaker 1: discovery of King Tut's tomb, and he must have studied 110 00:06:29,520 --> 00:06:32,640 Speaker 1: the articles extensively. Perhaps he even did some research on 111 00:06:32,720 --> 00:06:35,119 Speaker 1: his own on how the pharaoh had been preserved. Because 112 00:06:35,200 --> 00:06:38,960 Speaker 1: his surviving family members were given explicit instructions on how 113 00:06:38,960 --> 00:06:42,840 Speaker 1: to handle his body after his death. Joseph passed away 114 00:06:42,839 --> 00:06:45,680 Speaker 1: from cancer in nineteen twenty four, and his will was 115 00:06:45,760 --> 00:06:48,880 Speaker 1: quite clear. According to the December thirtieth issue of the 116 00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:52,320 Speaker 1: Saint Louis Post dispatched that year. The will, it said, 117 00:06:52,680 --> 00:06:55,560 Speaker 1: after directing that the internal organs be removed from the 118 00:06:55,600 --> 00:06:59,440 Speaker 1: body to facilitate the mummifying process, ordered that the body 119 00:06:59,480 --> 00:07:02,600 Speaker 1: be placed in a vault in Mount Olive Cemetery, there 120 00:07:02,640 --> 00:07:05,839 Speaker 1: to be on view indefinitely through glass of the hermetically 121 00:07:05,880 --> 00:07:10,520 Speaker 1: sealed casket. Joseph had thought of everything. He didn't just 122 00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:13,280 Speaker 1: want to be mummified like too it's uncommon. He wanted 123 00:07:13,320 --> 00:07:15,960 Speaker 1: everyone to see the fruits of his labor and the 124 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:19,560 Speaker 1: evidence of his obsession. Once his organs had been removed, 125 00:07:19,880 --> 00:07:23,200 Speaker 1: Joseph's body was then injected daily with a preservative liquid, 126 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:25,920 Speaker 1: while his skin was specially treated to prevent it from 127 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:30,240 Speaker 1: drying out. His mummified corpse was then toured around Corondelets 128 00:07:30,240 --> 00:07:33,080 Speaker 1: in the weeks following his death. His body was exhibited 129 00:07:33,120 --> 00:07:35,480 Speaker 1: at the funeral home for three days before it was 130 00:07:35,560 --> 00:07:39,400 Speaker 1: transported to his own house for additional services. Joseph was 131 00:07:39,480 --> 00:07:42,560 Speaker 1: then carted off to Mass at his regular church, followed 132 00:07:42,600 --> 00:07:45,600 Speaker 1: by a trip to his final resting place, the mausoleum 133 00:07:45,720 --> 00:07:50,440 Speaker 1: at Mount Olive Cemetery. Now, the mausoleum is small. According 134 00:07:50,440 --> 00:07:53,200 Speaker 1: to an article in the Telegraph, it's no bigger than 135 00:07:53,240 --> 00:07:56,960 Speaker 1: a standard backyard shed. As you step inside, you'll notice 136 00:07:57,000 --> 00:08:00,240 Speaker 1: two large shapes, one on each side. To the right 137 00:08:00,520 --> 00:08:03,360 Speaker 1: is a sarcophagus, which holds the remains of Joseph's mother 138 00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:06,239 Speaker 1: and father, and to the left is a brown coffin, 139 00:08:06,520 --> 00:08:10,600 Speaker 1: elevated on some kind of platform and coated in dust. 140 00:08:10,640 --> 00:08:12,920 Speaker 1: Once the latches on the outside of that coffin are 141 00:08:12,920 --> 00:08:15,600 Speaker 1: popped and the lid is lifted, you're able to see 142 00:08:15,640 --> 00:08:19,480 Speaker 1: what Joseph Marginatt had planned all along. His body shows 143 00:08:19,560 --> 00:08:22,360 Speaker 1: somewhere in tear, but beneath the long pane of glass 144 00:08:22,360 --> 00:08:26,600 Speaker 1: that's on top, he's still there, mostly intact. In one 145 00:08:26,640 --> 00:08:29,280 Speaker 1: hand is a rosary. He looks as though he fell 146 00:08:29,280 --> 00:08:32,240 Speaker 1: asleep mid prayer. Despite being dead for the last one 147 00:08:32,360 --> 00:08:36,240 Speaker 1: hundred years, Joseph looks quite good for his age. There 148 00:08:36,240 --> 00:08:39,200 Speaker 1: were also other stipulations in his will, such as to 149 00:08:39,200 --> 00:08:41,760 Speaker 1: have his clothes swapped out every once in a while, 150 00:08:41,880 --> 00:08:44,200 Speaker 1: and with his bank accounts still active today, his wishes 151 00:08:44,280 --> 00:08:47,880 Speaker 1: should remain honored for some time to come. Joseph wasn't 152 00:08:47,880 --> 00:08:51,000 Speaker 1: too well liked by his community. He was a recluse 153 00:08:51,080 --> 00:08:54,120 Speaker 1: and a tad eccentric. I mean, just look at him now. 154 00:08:54,480 --> 00:08:57,160 Speaker 1: But one thing nobody realized about him. He was also 155 00:08:57,280 --> 00:09:01,000 Speaker 1: something of a hoarder. His home was searched following his death, 156 00:09:01,440 --> 00:09:04,040 Speaker 1: and all those baseballs that he'd stolen from neighborhood kids, 157 00:09:04,760 --> 00:09:08,560 Speaker 1: they were all still there in one big collection. And 158 00:09:08,679 --> 00:09:16,600 Speaker 1: I'd call that curious. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided 159 00:09:16,640 --> 00:09:20,080 Speaker 1: tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on 160 00:09:20,120 --> 00:09:23,120 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show by visiting 161 00:09:23,240 --> 00:09:27,840 Speaker 1: Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created by me 162 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:31,680 Speaker 1: Aaron Mank in partnership with how Stuff Works. I make 163 00:09:31,720 --> 00:09:35,239 Speaker 1: another award winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, 164 00:09:35,360 --> 00:09:38,320 Speaker 1: book series, and television show, and you can learn all 165 00:09:38,360 --> 00:09:41,880 Speaker 1: about it over at the World of Loore dot com. 166 00:09:41,880 --> 00:09:44,400 Speaker 1: And until next time, stay curious.