Cousin Mary Owl, played by Mary Rawson, lives in Shadyville (a make-believe place), but she frequently comes to visit her cousin X the Owl in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe. She’s an instructor for the Owl Correspondence School (OCS), where X has been enrolled for years. X is inquisitive, and fascinated with learning and can hardly wait for her visits when she assists him with his lessons ranging from poetry to learning about trees and “people-watching.”
Cousin Mary Owl enjoys new discoveries, too, especially when she has the opportunity to lead the investigation into a secret underground tunnel in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe.
Family is important to her, especially her cousins. She sometimes brings along Cousin Steven Owl, and once she organized a Cousins Reunion in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe.
A cousin is a splendid thing.
To think of all the joys they bring.
My heart beats high with sounds that sing.
And songs that ring.
A splendid thing.
A cousin.
Mary also appears in the “real” neighborhood sharing her interest in theater and mime at Betty’s Little Theater. Her real family is also a part of the neighborhood. Her two young children come with her for a drum lesson at Negri’s Music Shop. And in one of the landmark episodes that has been most useful to young viewers, they go to the pediatrician’s office where Meghan gets a checkup, giving children a sense of what to expect.
