SPECIAL POST! Pegie by the Sea Handbags

1960s Pegie by the Sea handbag from the collection of The Vintage Purse Museum.

In December 2017, we had a lovely conversation with Ms. Cheri Roock, the current owner of Pegie by the Sea. While our bubbly blue beverage handbag likely dates to the mid-1960s when Joseph and Margaret Magargel owned the company, Ms. Roock, a former medical technologist, purchased Pegie by the Sea in 1995, becoming its fourth owner.

Label inside bag above.

Pegie by the Sea was established in 1962 by Joseph (1919-1979) and Margaret Bell Magargel (1920-2006). Pegie is a nickname for Margaret, so it is likely the company was named for her. After that, it was owned by their son, Forrest (b. 1943). We believe that the Magargels were originally from Pennsylvania and that Joseph's original family name was McGargel.

According to Ms. Roock, the company was sold by Forrest Magargel to a Canadian woman who was a Florida resident. The Canadian woman sold it to Ms. Roock after she left Florida to return to Canada to help run her family's lodge.

The company, located in Key Largo, a resort town with many golf aficionados, eventually became known for its golf themed purses, golf wear and jewelry, as well as traditional resort-wear clothing lines for women and children. Ms. Roock tells us the purses in those later years were made of a durable, long-lasting marine vinyl that was all but indestructible. Customers have told her they wanted a new Pegie by the Sea bag, but their old one still had a lot of life left in it!

Special thanks to Ms. Roock for taking the time to talk to us. Newspaper ads, advertorials and articles clipped via a paid subscription to Newspapers.com.