July 2, 1955: Marriage of Duluthians creates “power couple”

On this day in Duluth in 1955, Margaret Ann Hubbard and Joseph Priley married, forming one of Duluth’s great “power couples” long before anyone used the term “power couple.” Priley was a local bandleader, performing under the name “Joseph Priley and His Orchestra” and a tireless civic booster. He encouraged others to take pride in their community and became a St. Louis County commissioner in 1959. With help from Margaret Ann, Priley was responsible for the construction of the fountain and the flower gardens in the Civic Center and for starting the annual City-Wide, City-Pride clean-up campaigns. The fountain was later renamed the Priley Fountain, and the road that surrounds it Priley Drive. According to Duluth historian David Ouse, Margaret Ann Hubbard had moved to Duluth with her family in 1924, graduating from Duluth Central High School the following year at just 15 years old. Two years later the 17 year old, called “Dolly” by friends, graduated Minnesota State Teachers College in Duluth before moving on to the University of Minnesota. Finding few job opportunities during the depression, she began writing at her mother’s encouragement. She began with plays and quickly turned to novels, both young adult fiction and mysteries for more mature readers. In all she wrote about twenty novels, many to critical acclaim. Read a much more complete biography of Hubbard here.

Margaret Ann Hubbard and husband Joseph Priley. (Image: Duluth Public Library)