At a fall kickoff party, Haddonfield residents and Mayor Colleen Bianco Bezich held a ribbon cutting for a bench dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the senior center’s move to Walnut Street.
Mabel Kay Senior Center recently celebrated its 30 years on Haddonfield’s Walnut Street with a bench dedication and banner to preserve its history.
“Mabel Kay was a longtime Haddonfield resident who very generously donated her Lake Street residence to the borough upon her passing for use by its senior citizens,” said Sheri Siegel, coordinator for the center. “Her residence was used for several years for this purpose and then, for several reasons, the borough eventually moved the senior center to its current location on Walnut Street …”
Bill Brown – borough resident, former president of the borough Lions Club, director of the Haddonfield Japan Exchange and active community member – gave an oral history of the senior center’s building last year and explained how in the 1980s, while working at Better Homes and Garden Real Estate, he received a call from Kay, who was looking for a home she could live in for her remaining years. She wanted it to be donated to Haddonfield upon her passing to house a senior center.
A transcript of Brown’s history lesson was given to attendees at the anniversary celebration, and old newspaper clippings helped tell the tale.
“So I found it difficult to find something exactly like what she was looking for,” Brown recalled of Kay. “I came up with two or three, and I would look at them and just try to anticipate the needs that were there. I would invite the (borough) commissioners and the mayor (then Jack Tarditi) to come look at the houses. And I explained what we were looking for, or what Mabel Kay was looking for, and they were on board.”
After seeing several homes, Brown and the commissioners took interest in two properties: 255 Lake St. and the Haddonfield Grange behind Acme on Walnut Street. The latter was not willing to sell at that time, so Lake Street got the nod, in part because of its quiet location.
Kay lived in the Walnut Street home until her death in 1989, according to Brown. Shortly after, he reached out to Tarditi for help, and the latter asked Brown to be the new senior center’s director. Brown quickly put together a committee and slowly started Tea and Talk sessions on Tuesdays, when speakers were invited to talk to seniors on topics such as health and travel.
(After COVID, Siegel revamped the center’s Lunch and Learn series and dubbed it Something to Chew On, held every second and fourth Wednesday of the month.)
When Brown eventually saw the need for a kitchen space in the center’s basement, he reached out to Public Service Electric & Gas and asked for a donation, which he got. Several years later, the Haddonfield Grange went on the market, and Brown and borough commissioners bought it. The Lake Street property was auctioned off, and the Walnut Street grange became the center’s home.
The new location was officially acknowledged in 1994, and it continues to be an active hub for seniors. To commemorate the 30th anniversary, a permanent bench with an inscription dedicated to Kay was installed in front of the center. Officials collaborated with Haddonfield Memorial High School graphic design student Reese Crisanti to create a celebratory banner.
“Mabel Kay’s generosity has left our borough with a lasting legacy – a safe haven for seniors where older adults can meet, socialize, exercise, play games, and of course, be made aware of local resources that might benefit them,” Siegel noted.
At one point when Kay was still alive, David DiMatties created two benches for her flower beds as part of his Eagle Scout project. The benches were restored earlier this year in a project by another Eagle Scout, Nicholas Enkeev and was funded in part by the Haddonfield Foundation. Read more about that at https://thesunpapers.com/2024/05/24/from-one-eagle-to-another/)
This article was updated on Oct. 15, 2024.
