How Day Nurseries Help Toiling Mothers
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HIS AFTERNOON NAP--Photo by a Staff Artist.
ASSISTANT N URSES ATTEND TO A "BOARDER'S"
ABLUTIONS I'hoto by a Staff Artist.
"MUCH LIKE OTHER LITTLE HOYS AND OIRLS"
Photo by a Staff Artist.
t V TI,B GUEAT mass ,n whos b-
I 11 I half much lihllanttiroplc effort Is
IgnnipJ expended thero arc, generally
Iffii" speaking, two great classes, thoso
mMUUU 1 1, neej 0f charity and thoso In
need of assistance. Tlio one, slack and Im
provident, Is ever a drag upon socloty,
whllo tlio others aro but transient charges,
needing chlelly a helping hand and tho en
couragement guaranteed In uuch assistance.
Of this latter unfortunato class a largo
proportion Is women, the majority of
whom have been reduced by the demands
of families to a dependence) that their sin
glo effort Is Inadequate to relieve. Wid
owed by death or desertion, there Is a vast
army of women over tho land compelled
to spend loug days from home, tolling for
tho mero physical malnteuauco of a vaster
army of children who, duilng their en
forced absence aro exposed through unre
strained, Indiscriminate association to the
awful moral starvation responsible for the
wrecks that mako up tho other class.
As tho great aim of tho modern scheme
Is being directed in tho interest of tho
children, an Intelligent, systematic effort
has evolved tho day nursery or Crecho, a
boon to parent nnd children, at onco help
ing tho former to help themselves and res
cuing tho latter from tho streets.
Incomplete In tho beginning, for tho flrst
Crecho wns opened less than thirty years
ago, experience, nnd confldenco have con
tributed to Its Improvement until today
tho system Is so perfected that Its very name
Is synonymous with self-respecting effort.
There are nov few of tho larger cities that
do not support from ono to a dozen of these
day nurseries, until they havo becomo so
Important a factor In tho philanthropic
schemo that n federation of day nursery
associations has come Into existence, their
lepresentntlvcu coming from all parts of
tho country to meet In council for mutual
helpfulness.
1.1 cm Up to Itn n me.
Notwithstanding the well established
character of the work, thero aro still many
in ignorance regarding the real usefulness
of tho Crecho, and for these let It bo un
derstood that tho Institution is literally
what its nnmo Implies. It Is an, ideal nur
sery where those compelled to bo from
homo all day may bring their children and
nt a trivial cost havo them well cared for,
clean, warm, well fed and surrounded by
homo Inllucnces, while they go back to tho
sowing, washing, scrubbing or work In fac
tory or shop by which they earn their live
lihood. It Is not a pauperizing Institution,
for each patron pays for tho caro of her,
children, a uniform scale having been
adopted which, whllo it far from covers
tho actual expense of tho children, still pro
serves tho self-respect of tho mother, who
knows sho has dono all that sho Is ablo to
do.
For ono child 10 centB a day Is charged,
and for each additional child from tho samo
family G cents Is required. Where mothers
aro too poor to pay oven this sum they are
usunlly allowed to do something about the
establishment equivalent to that amount,
and It Is tho rulo that theso patrons of the
Crecho count nothing a hardship that will
secure to their children tho caro and ad
vantages of tho homo.
Tho hours of tho nursery aro limited
only by tho necessity of tho mothers, and
ns early ns 5 and C o'clock In tho morning
tho little ones begin coming In. Some tiny
babies In arms, for Infants of any ago are
admitted, aro brought to the door boforo day
light on winter mornings and received Into
tho caro of tho warm nursery, whllo their
mothers hurry on to their work. Prom
theso tiny tots children up to 6 and 8 years
of ago arc received and so complcto Is tho
equipment that each ono receives Just tho
right care, .tho right amount and kind of
food, cxerctso nnd rest. Thero Is tho de
partment whero tho "woo birds" aro taken
nnd after a bath aro permitted to sleep all
day long, or Ho awako as thoy chooso In
tho cleanest of whlto Iron beds under tho
caro of a nurso who knows nil about babies
and just what they need to keep them well
nnd happy. And thero Is nnothcr plnco
where the toddlers, after being put In or
der, make each other's acquaintance, talk
ing In that language lntelllglblo only to
themselves and those who lovo them, be
tween tho numerous naps and lunches of
tho day. For tho children of 3, 4 and more
the kindergarten affords a never-falling
sourco of delight with Its beautiful games
and work so suited to stlmulato and direct
tho purity and beauty of tho child mind,
and of all tho Influences of tho nursery this
kindergarten training IB generally recog
nized among the most valuable. In this
manner tho .mornings aro spent with occa
sional recesses, during which a scamper or
somo moro hilarious diversion Is enjoyed.
Of all tho long day thero Is perhaps no
foaturo liko tho dinner nnd supper hours.
First of nil, the dining room Is scrupu
lously clean with Its bare, stained or
painted floor. Tho tables nre low and cov
ered with clenn, whlto cloth or oilcloth, In
tho center of which somo flowering plant
Is usually placed. Tho chairs are arranged
according to tho slzo of their occupants and
tho tnblo scrvlco Is of substantial whlto
ware, whllo at each place a clean napkin
or bib is neatly folded. Whllo tho rules
vary with each establishment, ns a genernl
thing tho children assemble by bell signals
and, forming In lino according to slzo,
march to tho tables. At another signal all
heads are bowed and bnnds elapsed whllo
blessing Is asked In unison, after which all
aro seated, tho napkins and bibs carefully
adjusted, and nftcr ono moro signal this
usually n nod of tho matron's head theso
juvcnllo prodigies becomo children again
and conduct themselves very much after
tho manner of other hungry children, no
better, perhaps, but certainly no worso.
Tho afternoon Is tho trying part of tho
day, for tho llttlo ones aro tired from their
busy morning nnd only an hour of gnmcs
Is allowed n'. lr tho neon mcnl nnd all are
put to bed, n quiet settling upon tho whole
house that Is broken only by tho busy
nurses, who hurry about picking up nnd
putting things to rights In tho play rooms.
In Institutions whero children over C
years of ago aro admitted they aro usually
sent to somo nearby school during tho day,
returning nt noon nnd aftor school, re
maining until they aro called for by their
parents.
Cri'iittMl !) NtTCHdlty.
The necessity for which such Ins Ituttoni
exist determines their locations nnd
accordingly they aro usually estab
lished In tho poorer quarters of tho
city. Thoso Institutions fortunnto enough
to havo play grounds aro tho' ex
ception rather than tho rule, for In
the crowded cities tho nvntlablo ground Is
usunlly entirely occupied by tlio building
nnd n large, nlry, cemented bnsoincnt af
fords a substitute. It Is here tho children
play for an hour or two nftcr their nno
until tho bell calls them upstnlrs to bo
cleaned up for supper, lly 6 o'clock tho
pnrents begin coming for them, but It Is
usunlly after 7 beforo alt havo been taken
home, and then tho busy nurses commenca
their preparations for tho next morning,
when they must do nit over again that
round of bathing, feeding nnd caring for
their llttlo charges.
It sometimes happens that contagion
comes Into tho nursery. This Is tho con
stant dread of matron and nurses, for It
means a slcgo of redoubled vlgllanco and.
moro dreaded than all, quarantine, which
sometimes prevents the rcraovnl' of tho
children from tho home, necessitating long
weeks and often months of seclusion and
aftor that weeks and weeks of fumlgnttcn
and disinfecting. Coming from all sorts of
homes ns tho children do, It Is little wonder
that thero Is not more sickness than thoro
BvENSc? sKssiw3
HQ
TEN TIIIED DABIES ALL IN A ROW Photo by a Staff Artist.
EK2
MEAL TIME AT THE CRECHE Photo by a Staff Artist.
"IN A CLEAN LITTLE BED"
Photo by a Staff Artist.
Is, but by exerting ovory hygienic precau
tion, maintaining regular hnbltB and proper
food, tho llttlo folks nro kept well, nnd It
when returned to tho Crecho In tho morn
ing n child shows any Indication of HlnoHS
ho Is promptly banished to tho Infirmary,
to await developments.
Ilolim StriiKUllntr Mutlivrit.
With such nsslstanco as this It Is llttlo
wonder that mothers aro onablcd to con
tinue tho strugglo that othorwlso might
discourage them. Rollovod of anxiety for
their children during tho working hours,
tho llttlo ones nro returned to them when
tho dny's work Is finished with ovldenco cf
good caro and happiness on tho bright faces
of tholr children thnt stimulates tho wenrv
worker to still toll, offering promlso that
mnkes It nil worth whllo, and whllo hun
dreds of applications aro mado to tho dav
nursorlcs for children to adopt, It rarely
happens that a patron will consent to give
up her child.
It was In rcsponso to tho cnll of Mrs. O.
C. Dlnsmoro that seventeen womon, mem
bers of Unity club of tho Unitarian church,
assembled In tho parlors of tho Paxton
hotel, Septomber 23, 1887, and organized
tho Omaha Charity association, for tho
purposit of providing somo Buch homo for
tho children of tho city whoso pnronts
woro unablo to caro for thorn during tho
day. With Mrs. T. L. Klmbnll as presi
dent, Mrs. T. M. Orr secretary, Mrs. 0, A,
Joslyn treasurer and n dozen or moro other
earnest workers, tho organization Bet about
tho establishment of a Crecho. Of courto
tho first need was for a building nnd ac
cordingly, In November of thnt year, tho
lot at Nlnotocnth and Harney streets was
leased (rent freo for twenty-five yoars) to
tho association by tho city. Then enmo ap
peals for a building, which by dint of hnrd
work and liberal support was finally se
cured, furnished and opened by February
22, 18S9.
Tho two dormitories nnd nursery upstairs
woro equipped with beds furnished nnd en
dowed by various women of tho city. On
February 25 tho work was opened In tlm
now building, though during tho yenr nf
1888 children had hoen enred for In a Binnll
framo building at tho rear of tho lot.
Work In O in ii tin H&ti'iiiU.
As tho work progressed tho women found
that thoro was need not only of a day nur
sory, but of n boarding homo for tho chil
dren as woll, and accordingly provision
wb rcado for tho resident enro. Tho ca
pacity of tho homo Is nbout forty charges, a
good proportion of which aro boarders, for
tho caro of which $1.60 Is charged a week.
(Continued on Seventh Pago,)