1876-1962 — Mother M. Borgia Egan
One DuBois native was the founder and dean of a college, Mother M. Borgia Egan.
Born Catherine Egan on March 22, 1876, she entered the Order of the Sisters of Mercy on July 1, 1891. She was educated in the DuBois Schools and went on to graduate from Catholic University of America and Duquesne University.
From 1906-1918 she served as principal of St. Catherine’s School in DuBois. Under her leadership it became the first parochial school in Pennsylvania to be accredited by the State Department of Education. In 1924, Mother Borgia was Mother Superior of the Sisters of Mercy, Titusville, and took on the job of constructing Mercyhurst College in Erie.
She successfully guided the college to full accreditation until illness forced her to retire as an active dean in 1956. She died on Feb. 11, 1962. Egan Hall, a residence hall at Mercyhurst, is named in her honor.
1880-1940 — Tom Mix, Silent Movie Star
Tom Mix (1880-1940), the famous silent movie cowboy actor has links in DuBois history.
Contrary to many popular accounts, Tom (right) was born at Mix Run in Bennetts Valley. After the family moved to DuBois, his father served as a coachman for John DuBois. Heading west as a young adult,Tom became a movie star and an idol to children. He became even more popular through cherished give-aways from the Ralston Purina Company.
Mix returned to DuBois on several occasions after achieving star status. Once was to visit relatives and another was when he brought the Tom Mix Wild West Show to his hometown. Mix died in a car accident near Florence, Arizona, on Oct. 12, 1940.
For several years in the 1980’s DuBois hosted the National Tom Mix Festival which attracted fans from as far away as Europe into DuBois to recall the stories of their hero.
1895 — Frank Hahne, Sr. Starts a Brewery
Frank Hahne Sr. (left) knew good taste long before many others in the DuBois area.
This founder of the DuBois Brewery immigrated from Germany and first worked at the E & O Brewery in Pittsburgh. He later came to DuBois and started the DuBois Brewery in 1895. The company would continue in business through 1972.
Hahne constructed the brewery, and imported most of the machinery used to make beer from Germany where the most flavorful beer was made. Part of the money for the business was made by selling stock to the people of the area, with Hahne retaining 51% of the stock.
Much of the grain used in production was raised in the Luthersburg area, out at the brewery farm. A wide variety of beers were produced under various labels. It took 12 days for it to ferment and usually a month before it was bottled.
The cleanliness of the brewery was known throughout the state, and inspectors marvelled at how clean they kept it. One man said there was no mold, no chipped paint, and it was clean enough that you could even eat of