On this date in 1917 a call was put out to the women of Fargo to donate jars of jelly to the Fargo Day Nursery. Sadie Barrett, the superintendent of the nursery, proclaimed that the little children who spent their days at the nursery were sad to be without jelly and bread. Only the good women of Fargo could rectify this situation by donating a jar of homemade jelly. In fact, it was only through charitable donations from the people of Fargo that the day nursery even existed.
A day nursery is what we now call daycare. Now-a-days daycares are so common that nearly every child has attended one. But in 1917, Fargo had exactly one, and it proved to be a very much-needed innovation for the working mother.
As the world modernized during the industrial revolution, many women needed to leave the home to work. Most women relied on family or friends to watch their children, but those who did not have anyone were sometimes forced to either leave their children home alone or give up work and rely on charity.
The first day nursery in the United States opened in 1854 in New York. However, the growth of day nurseries was slow and there were only 500 in the United States by 1912.
In January 1917, the Associated Charities of Fargo realized that many working women could benefit from a day nursery. A home near Island Park was rented and Sadie Barrett was hired to run the nursery. It opened on February 19th, accepting children aged 3-weeks to 6-years from 7am to 5pm. The rented home provided a room for Sadie Barret to live in, a playroom, dining room, kitchen, a room for ill children, a sleeping room, and a back yard where the children could play.
The Day Nursery proved so popular that Associated Charities spent $4,000 to purchase and renovate an old schoolhouse. The City of Fargo offered $2,000 towards the schoolhouse and city property to move the schoolhouse onto. The new location opened in February 1918. By August, about 125 children were cared for monthly. By the end of 1918, men who lost their wives to the Spanish Flu were encouraged to take their children to the nursery. Now, more than 100 years later, daycare continues to be a pressing need.
Dakota Datebook by Trista Raezer-Stursa
Sources:
- Author Unknown, “Advantages of Day Nursery Especially Valuable Just Now,” The Fargo Forum and Daily Republican, November 11, 1918, pg. 7.
- Author Unknown, “Welfare will seek Funds to Cary on Work,” The Fargo Forum and Daily Republican, February 1, 1918, pg. 10.
- Author Unknown. “Day Nursery Kiddies Need Jelly, Too,” The Fargo Forum and Daily Republican, July 14, 1917, pg. 2.
- Author Unknown. “Day Nursery to be Opened in Fargo,” The Fargo Forum and Daily Republican, January 26, 1917, pg. 12.
- Author Unknown. “Nursery Schools: History (1844-1919),” VCU Libraries Social Welfare History Project, https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/programs/child-welfarechild-labor/nursery-schools-history/, retrieved June 13, 2023.
- Author Unknown. “Shower of Much Needed Articles to Mark Formal Opening of Day Nursery,” The Fargo Forum and Daily Republican, February 10, 1917, pg. 7.
- Toner, Alberta B. “Making Better Babies Possible: Some Plants that Would Help Farm Women and Children,” The Nonpartisan Leader, May 17, 1917, pg. 11.
