Daily Commercial by Roxanne Brown
December 4, 2018
TAVARES — Mabel Norris Reese, an ardent civil rights activist and journalist who took on infamous Groveland Four Sheriff Willis McCall in the 1950s, was inducted posthumously Tuesday into the Lake County Women’s Hall of Fame.
“The quote that reminds me most of my grandmother is that, ‘Well-behaved women rarely make history,’ and she lived that every day of her life,” said Reese’s granddaughter Cindy Erickson, in accepting a plaque in Reese’s honor.
Erickson said that as a high school math teacher, she tries to pass along some of the things Reese taught her and her mother.
“I really try to tell my students, ‘Don’t limit yourselves. You can do anything.’ And my grandmother was that role model, because for a woman to do what she did in the 1950s and 60s, to me that was a normal part of family history,” Erickson said. “I thought everybody had crosses burned in their yard and lived like that, so it never occurred to me that I couldn’t do anything that I wanted to do. So, for that I am so proud to be her granddaughter and I thank you very much for this honor.”
Reese, who was nominated for the award by residents Constance Albright and Nancy Hurlbert, was an ardent civil rights activist, journalist, editor and owner of the Mount Dora Topic newspaper from 1947-1960.Previous4/4HIDE CAPTIONFamily members of the late Mabel Norris Reese listen to her acclimations at her induction ceremony into the Women’s Hall Of Fame on Tuesday. [Cindy Sharp/Correspondent]1/4HIDE CAPTIONMabel Norris Reese’s granddaughter, Cindy Erickson, says a few words about her grandmother while Lake County Commissioner Leslie Campione listen at Reese’s induction ceremony into the Women’s Hall Of Fame on Tuesday. [Cindy Sharp/Correspondent]2/4HIDE CAPTIONA photo of the late Mabel Norris Reese hangs on the Women’s Hall Of Fame. [Cindy Sharp/Correspondent]3/4HIDE CAPTIONNancy Hurlbert, one of the women who nominated Mabel Norris Reese for the honor, applauds at her induction ceremony into the Women’s Hall Of Fame on Tuesday. [Cindy Sharp/Correspondent]4/4HIDE CAPTIONFamily members of the late Mabel Norris Reese listen to her acclimations at her induction ceremony into the Women’s Hall Of Fame on Tuesday. [Cindy Sharp/Correspondent]1/4HIDE CAPTIONMabel Norris Reese’s granddaughter, Cindy Erickson, says a few words about her grandmother while Lake County Commissioner Leslie Campione listen at Reese’s induction ceremony into the Women’s Hall Of Fame on Tuesday. [Cindy Sharp/Correspondent]2/4HIDE CAPTIONA photo of the late Mabel Norris Reese hangs on the Women’s Hall Of Fame. [Cindy Sharp/Correspondent]3/4HIDE CAPTIONNancy Hurlbert, one of the women who nominated Mabel Norris Reese for the honor, applauds at her induction ceremony into the Women’s Hall Of Fame on Tuesday. [Cindy Sharp/Correspondent]4/4HIDE CAPTIONFamily members of the late Mabel Norris Reese listen to her acclimations at her induction ceremony into the Women’s Hall Of Fame on Tuesday. [Cindy Sharp/Correspondent]Next