Children at play at Julia Day Nursery in the 1930's

Alma has been out and about in the community looking for more "Faces of United Way", and a stop in Ansonia found an agency that has been producing smiling faces for more than 90 years! Here's what she found:

History

For two years, the nursery flourished and seemed to fulfill a long felt need in the community.  After the death of Mrs. Brooker, the house was sold in the process of settling her estate and the Day Nursery was without a home. The Board of Education offered the use of a few rooms in the old high school for the summer. The Honorable C.F. Brooker generously offered to give the property at 76 Central Street “if $1,500 can be raised for repairs.” (According to one source, the house was given as the grant of Mr. Brooker and Mr. Alton Farrel.) After a committee worked hard to raise this amount, Mr. Brooker paid for all of the repairs and authorized the committee to use the $1,500 for operating expenses. The new building opened on November 6, 1917. Contrary to popular belief “Julia Day” was not the founder of the school. In fact, the “Julia Day Nursery” is named in the memory of Mrs. Julia Clark Brooker whose generosity and interest made the Nursery possible.

According to the Articles of Association of the Julia Day Nursery of Ansonia, Inc., the corporation was formed in part for the following purposes:

 “The maintenance and care of children and the daily charge of infants whose parents labor away from home, or are ill or otherwise incapacitated, for their proper care, nutrition and education; the maintenance of a home for children without parents, and a lying-in asylum, and receiving and taking care of foundlings and other infant children who may be entrusted to its charge…”

After the Nursery became overcrowded in the small white house, Mr. Brooker offered to build a brick wing containing a playroom, bathroom, and locker rooms. This addition was completed in 1927. In May of 1929 with a bequest from Mr. Brooker’s will, a main building was added to complement the brick wing. This is as it stands today.

The school continues to serve as a non-profit, tax-exempt corporation, which in addition to tuition, donations, and grants, has some funding from the United Way. A volunteer Board of Managers operates Julia Day.

The nursery started its program with five children, currently its enrollment increased to 60, currently under the leadership of Mrs. Sharon Kelley. The day nursery offers programs such as Preschool, Kindergarten, and Private Schools (K-12) daily.
 

Julia Day Nursery has witnessed some major changes and overcome some major obstacles as on of the truly great institutions in Ansonia. Of particular significance, they had to overcome natural disasters, such as the terrible flooding following hurricanes Connie and Diane in August 1955.

At the same time, it has been an important key spectator of the improvement of its contempories: the transformation of the weekly Ansonia Sentinel newspaper (1871-1992), the building of The Holbrook Street School in 1905, it was latter renamed the Peck School, The Garden Street School was completed in 1906, it was renamed Lincoln-Hayes. The Ansonia Lodge of Elks founded in 1912, it had formerly housed the YMCA. It saw the birth and death of the temporary “Bailey Bridge” (1955 – 1960), several transformations of the Main Street area right across the street from Julia Day leading to the current shopping center. Julia Day has been there throughout, a symbol of success for others to learn.

The United Way is pleased to play a very small part with one of the central issues of our community - early childhood education. Funding Julia Day Nursery is an investment to our future. This is reinforced daily as the staff at Julia Day applies its knowledge and experience about child welfare, to encourage each child to become self-reliant in a fun and safe environment. They use their considerable qualifications and skills creating the best “Home away from Home” experience for all the children. They are fully licensed and accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). “When the children know what to do, they perform better”.

Children's Perspective

After getting the history of the Julia Day, Alma then got a first hand view of today's operations:

With the presence of one teacher, but without knowledge of the kids, I visited them. My experience was amazing, for different reasons. First of all, because the professionalism of the nursery staff, hospitality and security, made me feel comfortable. Second, because I had the pleasure to meet with Rachel, Emma, Nick, Lee Ann, Kayla, Brandon, Josephine, Madison and, Lilly - little ones between the ages of three and seven years old; who gave me time for interesting interviews.

In the beginning, everybody was receptive. Nevertheless, after a while, one by one they gathered around the little table, close to me; and happily shared their experiences. They were expressive and enthusiastic. Brandon said, “It is cool to be here”, along with a big smile. Thus, we initiated a rain of comments and expressions.

Rachel and Emma explained to me their favorites from the menu. “Here, in my second home, we enjoy: milk, Jell-o, chicken, pasta with broccoli, squash, and so on."

I was trying to figure how to write and spell their words, and Nick constantly raised his finger hoping to catch my attention, because he liked to tell me that he likes to play on the computer, read children’s books, and enjoys playing games with his friends. While Lilly and Madison like doing puzzles, building stuff, and painting. Earlier that day, Madison was awarded a ticket for good behavior from Mrs. Linda. By the way, she has a little pet mouse named Maggie.

They expressed themselves very confidently and were happy to be in the nursery while their moms and dads are working. A kid mentioned, “Everybody takes care of me”.

I am grateful for each girl and boy who made this unforgettable interview possible.
 

Parent's Perspective - By Christy, a parent.

We have known the staff at Julia Day for 8 years and are now entrusting them again with our second child. The Julia Day staff has always addressed our concerns and questions with the utmost care and respect.

My children have always excelled there both socially and academically. My youngest son entered there not speaking as well as he should, and nine months after enrolling him, he is almost completely caught-up and only being there two days a week.

Children are encouraged in every aspect of learning: math, reading, music, art, social skills, field trips, and with a great playground for physical development. As parents, they keep us in the loop with newsletters, calendars, daily reports, calls, teacher conferences, social events, and much more.

In short, Julia Day is a wonderful place, where the children learn while having a great time. We give them an A+.

An Alumni View

By Antoinette Shpak and Nancy Pusso.

One February morning, my father was faced with a big dilemma. What can I do with my six children? While grieving over my mother's death, my father had an obligation to keep his family together, and the only option to fulfill this was to send us to the “Julia Day Nursery”. Fortunately for us, we lived across the street.

The nursery started taking care of us on February 21, 1933. I was the oldest at nine years old and my little brother was the youngest at three years old. It was the best thing that happened to us after my mom passed away. I remember that day when Mrs. Candle talked to all of us. She was very warm and charming, a great person.

While our father was working at the Farrell Foundry & Machine Company, we stayed there, Mrs. Clark and her staff always paid attention to our diet. We had breakfast, lunch, and dinner, everyday.  We took showers, slept, and they gave us appropriate clothes according to the season, especially during the winters.  I remember that my father paid $1.00 dollar weekly for all of us. In the nursery, I felt secure, happy, and never alone.

Every Christmas we had a family party at the nursery. They always gave us candies, popcorn, fruit, and one memorable penny. I looked forward to that day. When Mrs. Clark left, Mrs. Martorano, Mrs. Ethel Rice, and Mrs. Jennie Johns kept the same attitude, the program’s essence never altered. The faculty transitions were smooth and transparent.

Looking back, I feel grateful and lucky for have been able to be with my sisters and brother in a healthy atmosphere, fun, and full of good people. I know that since 1933, this has not changed, because some of our sons and daughters have been cared for by “Julia Day Nursery”, also.

My father passed away in 1965. He told me all the time, no matter what happens to me, you are not alone, you have your family. This includes “Julia Day Nursery”. I’m 73 years old and my sister, Nancy, is 72 years old. We learned to share, to live in harmony, to appreciate the food we are given, and to be grateful of our community.

I want to thank Mrs. Clark for being there, helping our family when we needed it most. In addition, thanks to all the sponsors and people that believe in associations like “Julia Day Nursery”, because with its help, contributes to building a strong society.

After many years, we still keep in touch with each other.  I could never forget those days in “Julia Day Nursery”. Many thanks to all of you. 

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