Auburn Day Care Centers, first named Auburn Day Nursery, began in 1964, through the work of a group of concerned local citizens. The group consisted of Clarence Morgan, Clark Hudson, Nancy Spears, Ralph Foster, Jim Haygood, and Marge Kelly. The purpose of the group was to provide affordable, full-time care in a safe environment for children of low-income working mothers. This special interest group later became the Board of Directors of Auburn Day Nursery.
The first class of Auburn Day Nursery met in the basement of White Street Baptist Church. Food was prepared by the Tasty Shop, owned and operated by Mrs. Ella B. White. Mrs. Gwendolyn Banks of Tuskegee was the Director and Mrs. Willye (Bill Henderson), who retired in 1993, was her teaching assistant. In the summer of 1964, the Nursery moved to Moton Center, a building provided by the Auburn Housing Authority, and Mrs. Henderson became Center Director. Mrs. Henderson’s responsibilities included teaching, collecting fees, depositing money, doing payroll, relating to parents, buying groceries and acting as janitor.
Those first years at White Street Baptist Church and Moton Center were hard times, financially, for Auburn Day Nursery. The teachers were paid less than minimum wage and salaries were not always paid on a regular basis. There were months when Board Members chose to pitch in money of their own to make ends meet. Auburn Day Nursery operated from one day to the next during those years; not knowing what the next month’s operating money would be. Some of the staff members who were employed during the early years and remained on the ADCC staff were Mary Gunn, Maggie Phillips, Ann Higgins, Betty Keith and Lela Morgan. Mattie Simms and Mary Brooks were added to the Board of Directors during this time frame. Mattie Simms now serves as Board Chairperson. The primary operating funds received during the years between 1964 and 1974 were from parent fees, Auburn United Way and the Child Care Food Program (United States Department of Agriculture). --read more....
