[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 69 (Thursday, May 16, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S5206]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  TRIBUTE TO ``THE GRAND OL' LADY'' OF NEW HAMPSHIRE, MABEL RICHARDSON

 Mr. SMITH. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to Mabel 
Richardson, a truly dedicated and respected New Hampshire public 
servant who passed away this week. Mabel, who was known to many as the 
Mountain Lady and the Grand Ol' Lady, served as a Republican lawmaker 
in the New Hampshire House of Representatives for 34 years. She was a 
role model for me and many other New Hampshire elected officials.
  While Mabel may no longer be with us, she has left behind remarkable 
political legacy. From 1946 to 1980, she served as a State 
representative, was a strong advocate of public education and helped 
establish the New Hampshire Vocational-Technical College in Berlin. She 
was also a delegate to the National Republican Convention in the 1970's 
and was Chairman of the Order of Women Legislators and the State 
Republican Party. On her 90th birthday in 1986, then-Governor, John 
Sununu, read a proclamation of appreciation for her 34 years as a 
representative, and 4 years later then-Governor, Judd Gregg, named her 
Republican of the Year. She retired from politics when she was 83 years 
old.
  Mabel lived a long, happy life of 99 years. She was born in Randolph, 
NH, raised on a farm and educated in a one-room schoolhouse. In 1960, 
she and her husband Herbert Randall Richardson became directors of the 
Odd Fellows' Old Folks Home in Concord, and before that they managed 
the Androscoggin Valley Country Club.
  Many people in New Hampshire called Mabel the Mountain Lady because 
of her love of the White Mountains, where she had led many mountain 
climbs while working with the youth extension program.
  I am amazed at the stamina and energy this lady had even in the later 
years of her life. As a representative in the New Hampshire 
Legislature, she was devoted to improving the lives of New Hampshire 
citizens. Undoubtedly, she will be missed by the many people who were 
touched by her devotion and hard work. I have always admired this 
woman, who gave so much to her State. She was truly a New Hampshire 
landmark, and her memory will live on--as solid as the White Mountains 
that she loved for her century-long life.

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