As we finalize preparations for starting school, it is always nice to celebrate the birthday of our founder, Elizabeth Taber. Our school’s namesake and the greatest benefactor of the Town of Marion and Tabor Academy was born August 22, 1791, and began to transform the Town during the second half of the 1800s by funding countless public buildings and works – the Library, the Music Hall, the original Tabor buildings to name a few.
Who knows, in moments of great philanthropy or in demonstrations – great or small – of kindness and service to others, what the fruits of those acts will prove to be. There must be some “beginner’s faith” and incredible and expansive optimism in
believing that the work is just the right work, that the larger fulfillment that could come later begins only with the personal satisfaction of making a good, caring, and honest start.
Elizabeth Taber’s gifts to the Town and to Tabor Academy have multiplied a thousand-fold, in ways she may have hoped for but couldn’t possibly have imagined! For those of us at Tabor, we can see her gifts manifest even in the mission we pursue today. For Mrs. Taber: Care and Committed Citizenship, check; Passion for High Achievement, check; Pursuit of a Lifelong Love of Learning, check; Commitment to Personal Responsibility, check. She was quite a figure and so very consequential for Tabor Academy and for the Town of Marion.
Today, as we enjoy the foresight of Mrs. Taber’s very well-lived life and example, we think of her gratefully, and pledge to do the kind of work that she did. And we wish her a quiet Happy Birthday!!
