While Elizabeth Pitcher Taber rests in peace in an Acushnet cemetery, her beloved town of Marion is alive and thriving with culture and prosperity 127 years after her death, thanks to the generosity she bestowed upon a town that to this day remains a beneficiary of a legacy left by a remarkable woman.

There is a resurgence of appreciation and celebration of Taber in Marion these days with the 125^th birthday of the Marion Music Hall approaching. Members of the Music Hall Advisory Committee and Gala Committee have been busy preparing to celebrate Taber in a multitude of ways, with the committee’s eyes set on the weekend of October 2 through 4 planned as the “Elizabeth Taber Gala Weekend.”

On September 9, several members of the Marion community gathered at the Acushnet Cemetery beneath a breezy bright blue sky to pay tribute to the lady and lay a wreath of yellow flowers upon her grave. Taber, then known as Betsy Pitcher, born on August 22, 1791 and died October 5, 1888, grew up in Marion and taught at a school in town until she married Stephen Taber in 1822 and moved to Acushnet.

When she was widowed in 1862, also after having lost all three of her children before the age of five, Taber returned to Marion to help bring the town back into the light after the darker days after the Civil War. With a fortune she amassed through shrewd investments in the railroad and in mill stocks, she built the Taber Library and established the Natural History Museum that still resides on the second floor of the building. Included were an endowment of $15,000, a $4,000 life insurance policy, and $6,000 for the museum.

She then built Tabor Academy at the current Town House building, named after Mount Tabor in Palestine, and then Union Hall on South Street where the Fellowship Hall of Saint Gabriel’s now stands. Tabor Hall, Taber’s fourth building she gifted to the town, was where the current Sippican School is now located. She later built the Congregational Chapel before her final building was built, the one that is the focus of celebration next month, the soon-to-be 125 year old Marion Music Hall. As Marion Selectman Jonathan Henry put it, “Taber is to Marion as Henry Huttleston Rogers is to Fairhaven.”

Henry read aloud a proclamation at the gravesite of Taber, reminding attendees that since an early age, Taber believed “education must be the root of all endeavors.” Henry said he and his brothers were beneficiaries of Taber’s endowment to fund the education of Marion students at Tabor Academy.

“We still remember her … and we give thanks today because after many, many years we are enjoying the fruits of her labors,” said Reverend Sheila Rubdi of the Marion First Congregational Church during her opening prayer, reminding those present that we should all follow Taber’s example of her “spirit of giving.”

Before departing, guests sang together the Tabor Academy Alma Mater, singing,

“Hail, Dear Old Tabor, noble and strong/ To thee with loyal hearts we raise our song/ Swelling to heaven, loud our praises ring/ Hail, Dear Old Tabor, to thee we sing.”

In celebration of the Music Hall’s 125^th birthday, the Marion Music Hall Advisory Committee and Gala Committee will present a musical show titled “Our Fair Lady” on October 2-3 at 7:30 pm and October 4 at 2:00 pm at the Music Hall. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at the Marion Town House.

By Jean Perry

Tabor Academy students started classes on September 14 with 150 new students and 10 new faculty in their midst. The school welcomed approximately 300 students last week for pre-season athletics, as well as a training time for dormitory proctors and student orientation leaders called global partners. The global partners are returning American and international students who help to make Tabor home to the 30 new international students joining the community this year from 20 countries around the world.

With the opening of the new dormitory, Matsumura House, and a new Dean of Students at the helm, Tabor seeks to optimize the school’s 24/7 inclusive learning/living community this year. Mel Bride, Dean of Students, said, “Maintaining a focus on health and wellness and an emphasis on individual advising while enhancing community engagement will help students take the fullest advantage of the offerings at Tabor. Student leaders in the arts, athletics, community life, and student activities have planned a great year full of social, artistic, and intellectual activities for student engagement outside of the classroom and on the weekends.”

On the academic front, a modified schedule will take effect this fall, including more teaching hours and more routine opportunities for faculty to meet and collaborate. Dean of Studies Eileen Neville Marceau said, “Increased departmental time will help facilitate ongoing curricular development and review, creating new opportunities to collaborate on interdisciplinary work and creative assessment strategies across the curriculum.” Additionally, Tabor will be implementing the College & Work Readiness Assessment (CWRA) this fall, starting with the incoming class of 2019, in order to objectively track students’ development of critical thinking skills over their Tabor careers. Data from the CWRA results will help the school in its efforts to develop and refine a more skills-centered curriculum.

Sustainability initiatives on campus continue to be a priority. Mike Sirianni, Director of Dining Services, has completed the process to be certified as a Green Kitchen by adopting and maintaining sustainability practices. Additionally, an effort to drastically reduce plastic water bottle trash on campus is underway with the installation of water bottle filling stations across campus, as well as providing Nalgene water bottles to all students. Three dormitories opened this fall with the expectation that residents will make use of these stations, with the rest of the dormitories coming on line by January. Public places around the school were outfitted with these water stations last year.

Perhaps the most impactful change for the Marion community is the installation of bleacher seating along the football field. Director of Communications Kerry Saltonstall shared, “I am hoping our new, more comfortable seating will encourage even more participation from townspeople to come out and cheer on our local teams. The project should be complete in time for Tabor’s first home game!”