Our Hometown
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 Rotary honors Mabel Knight Mabel A. Knight, widow of T. Spencer Knight, was presented a Paul Harris Fellow Award by Newark Rotary in honor of her 75 years of community service.
Mabel was born in Moberly, MO in 1901, grew up in Seattle, attended University of Washington, where she met Spence Knight. They were married in 1924 and moved to Newark when Spencer went to work for C.H. Stuart and Co. Mabel was kept busy raising their daughter Nancy (Bloomer) and son, Tom. She organized the first Parent-Teacher Association in Newark. Tom Knight and his wife Kathy flew in from Greenwich, CT to join sister Nancy Bloomer in honoring their mother. (They are all pictured here.) At St. Mark's Episcopal Church she served as a Sunday School teacher, member of the Altar Guild and became the president of the Episcopal Churchwomen of the Diocese of Rochester. She served as a Cub Scout Den Mother and volunteered as a "Gray Lady" at the Canandaigua Veterans Hospital. During World War II, she sold War Bonds from the stage of the Schine's Capitol Theater in downtown Newark. When the Newark Hospital was built, she worked in the Central Supply area. Mrs. Knight has six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren and marvels at communicating with them on the Internet. The last few years of her life have been filled with challenges, including the loss of her eyesight, and the illness and death of her beloved husband. But her spirited determination to remain independent and "do" for others has not changed. She visits shut-in friends several times a week. The Paul Harris presentation was made by Rotary President Beth Palmer, assisted by Bob Goodman (District Polio Plus Chairman) and Gerry Palmer (District Ambassadorial Scholarship Chairman). Paul Harris was the founding president of Rotary International. Copyright © 1998 |
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Mrs. Knight received a lapel pin and certificate
naming her a Paul Harris Fellow and a contribution of $1,000 was made to the Rotary
Foundation in her name. The donation is to be used for the Polio Plus Program - enough
funding to provide enough vaccine to immunize 10,000 children. Rotary's goal is to
eliminate polio from around the world by the year 2005.