A local nursery that opened to care for children after money shortages during World War I will celebrate its 100th anniversary this month.
Money got so scarce during the war that women left their young children unattended to work in factories.
Halfway into his term, 1915-1919, Chattanooga Mayor Jesse M. Littleton asked Minnie Chamberlain Ewing, wife of Henry Overton Ewing, to start a child day center to help. Mrs. Ewing spoke with other prominent Chattanoogans and that was the beginnings of Little Miss Mag Early Learning Center.
If you go
› What: Magstravaganza, a fundraiser for Little Miss Mag Early Learning Center› When: 6 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday.› Where: Stratton Hall, 3146Broad St.› Admission: $60 in advance, $75 at the door.› Phone: 423-266-5286.› Website: www.littlemissmag.org.
It opened in April 1917 in the Ewings' Highland Park home.
"We're celebrating 100 years of caring," says Little Miss Mag Executive Director Tracy Bryant.
Little Miss Mag Early Learning Center will host its centennial celebration and annual fundraiser at Stratton Hall from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday. Tickets are $60 in advance and $75 at the door.
Organizers want to raise $100,000 for 100 years of caring, says Bryant.
The majority of funds will be used to continue providing scholarships for low- to moderate-income families who pay a weekly fee for child care based on a sliding scale.
Other funds may be used for center upkeep and possible future expansion, says Bryant.
The center had three classrooms and about 40 students when it was located on Walnut Avenue. It stayed there for 56 years before moving in 2013 to its current facility on Lookout Street. There it has more than doubled in size with nine classrooms and 102 students enrolled.
Little Miss Mag has been catering to working families with children since it opened. Every child at Little Miss Mag has parents who work or attend school. Sixty percent of the families represented are low to moderate income and pay for child care on a sliding scale.
Other parents pay full price based on their child's age, from about $227 a week for infants to $190 a week for children closer to school age. No family on a sliding scale pays more than $165 a week. Some pay just under $100.
The fee includes breakfast, lunch and a snack prepared at the school.
The center is licensed to accept children ages 6 weeks to 5 years.
The center's goal is to prepare students academically, socially and emotionally for kindergarten. Even infant classrooms use the center's Creative Curriculum, based on the teachings of Diane Trister Dodges, to work on routines, number recognition, letters and shapes to lay a foundation for learning in school. Teachers also work on self-help skills, problem-solving and teaching children how to work and play together in a group.
Little Miss Mag stands among only a handful of affordable downtown area day-care centers, and many of them have waiting lists, says Bryant.
She has more than 60 families on the wait list for her infant classroom alone. The total waiting list includes about 120 children, and families call daily, she says.
Some Chattanooga Public Library clippings list Little Miss Mag as the oldest child-care center in the city. But other clippings show Pro Re Bona Day Nursery was raising funds at the same time as Little Miss Mag. Chambliss Center for Children traces its beginnings to 1872, when it opened as an orphanage. Its groundbreaking, 24-hour child-care program began in 1969, according to the agency's website.
"What we know is that celebrating 100 years does not happen very often for many businesses, for profit or nonprofit," says Bryant.
Ewing operated the day care at her home for a few years before enrollment increased so much that it relocated to a room in a city-owned building at 2212 Broad St. It operated there for nearly 40 years before moving to Walnut Avenue in 1958 and to Lookout Street in 2013.
Little Miss Mag is named after Margaret Andrews, "endearingly known as Miss Mag, the youngest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Garnett Andrews," according to a history of the Little Miss Mag Day Nursery written in 1957 by Elizabeth B. Patten on file at the Chattanooga Public Library. Margaret Andrews died at age 11 in April 1917 after an accident involving a gas stove fire at a tea party at St. Paul's Episcopal Church.
The United Way and several Chattanooga businesses and philanthropists have supported the day care throughout the years, says Bryant.
Ryan and Sarah Russell say they could not have chosen a better day care for their 2-year-old toddler and 6-month-old infant.
"We love the fact that every teacher here loves what they do," says Sarah Russell. "They're genuinely excited to see our kids in the morning and our kids are excited to see them."
Adds Ryan Russell, "I like how invested they are in our kids' lives. It's more than just child care. They ask how are the children on the weekends."
Contact Yolanda Putman at yputman@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6431.