MABEL KING
In our continuing effort to acquaint you with our First Christian Church members, we would like to introduce you to Mabel King. Mabel is a current resident of Meadowlark Hills, Ptacek Place.
Mabel was born and raised in Riley County, and taught school for 43 years before retiring. She started her teaching career at the age of 17 (remember the Normal Training Program?) in a one room school house. She taught there for three years before teaching in Riley, Kansas. Then her last 30 years of teaching were at Theodore Roosevelt Elementary in Manhattan.
Mabel married Francis King in 1957. This took a lot of courage on Mabel’s part at the time, as Francis was a single Dad with four teenagers! (What was she thinking?) Those of you who knew Mabel and Francis have an idea of how they did it as both of them were full of spunk and wisdom. Francis died in 2006 just five months before what would have been their 50th wedding anniversary.
Many of you know Mabel because of her piano playing. What you may not know is that she played for years entertaining the returning WWII veterans at the USO in the Community Building on 4th street. If you have heard her play, you know what a treat it is, and she can play any tune you want to hear. When the GI’s would come into the USO, she would eye them from the keyboard and start playing their favorite song! You see why she was a favorite there! As a member of the Bethany Sunday School Class, she also played hymns on Sunday mornings for several years, and now plays for the church services at Ptacek.
If you are feeling a little “blue” someday, we recommend that you stop by and visit with Mabel. She will pick up your spirits within the first minute of your visit. This regal lady is as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. We consider Mabel a real “start” in our congregation and we happily highlight her in this month’s newsletter.