Sunday, March 8 was International Women’s Day, a day for the observance of women, being a little over half of the population, and their struggle for rights, equity, and acknowledgement.
For a non-female to say they do not know a woman who is an unstoppable force for change and betterment is an impossibility. Whether it be our mothers, family, friends, or neighbors, women still often serve from a position left underappreciated.
They not only build us, but have also built our communities, while often forced into the shadows or lost pages of history. Though we all know of Cleopatra VII, what of the millions of women who assisted in the building of her empire?
In our own communities, such as Marion, we often speak on Elizabeth Taber and her paramount role in shaping the town’s modern footprint. No Taber means no Town House, no Taber Library or Museum, no Marion Art Center, and no Tabor Academy. Among other things, without her and so many other dedicated women, there would be no Marion, at least not in any recognizable form.
That is not to say Taber’s contribution saved Marion from being a dilapidated ruin,
but it would truly not be Marion as it is today.
Following decades of charity and public service still blinding visible today, the widow would eventually be buried alongside her husband and children in Acushnet. Born Elizabeth Pitcher, her parents, Theophilus and Sarah Pitcher are both buried in Marion’s Evergreen Cemetery, along with some of her siblings.
Back to the world stage, the international day of observance has an interesting, albeit surprising history and origin (it’s sort of like Labor Day). The first observation of a day for women being by the Socialist Party of America (now defunct) right after the turn of the century in 1909 where women’s rights and suffragette demonstrations were held in New York City on February 28. There were more widespread demonstrations in 1911, though the fighting of the Great War would silence many voices.
Women in America would attain their right to vote with the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920, able to vote in their first federal election later that year with Warren G. Harding elected the 29th President.
How we get to March 8 being an International Women’s Day came 13 years later, when Vladamir Lenin, first Premier of the Soviet Union, declared March 8, 1922, to be the first international day for celebrating women. The United Nations would accept and promote the day in 1977, making next year’s day the 50th widely observed.
By Sam Bishop
To the Editor:
Marion would indeed be a very different town without Elizabeth Taber’s generous hand. However, the Marion Art Center was not directly influenced by her. Possibly, Sam Bishop, the reporter, intended to say that the Marion Music Hall, rather than the MAC, was more directly impacted by the beloved Elizabeth Taber. To clarify, the history of the MAC is as follows:
“The Marion Art Center, Inc. was officially incorporated in August 1957 as a non-profit community cultural organization dedicated to promoting the visual and performing arts. Prior to that time, two endeavors were undertaken by Marion townspeople that later joined to form the Marion Art Center. One group was the Hornblowers, which consisted of young members of St. Gabriel’s Episcopal church in Marion. The Reverend John J. Albert was very interested in the theater and formed a group of actors to put on plays in the summer as a fundraiser for the church. They were held at the Music Hall, a building donated to the Town of Marion by Elizabeth Tabor, an early town benefactor. Katy and Ted Babbit Jr. and Hilliard “Hilly” Lubin were early actors with the Hornblowers.”
From the website: marionartcenter.org/history
Many thanks, Lisa Long