More than a home: Where we live impacts childcare and our independence as we age
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- Created: Monday, 17 December 2018 09:39
- Written by Laura Proescholdt
A place to raise the neighborhood
When Shirley owned a home in Baxter with Harlen, her husband of 61 years, it was more than a place for the couple to share a life together. For 17 years, Shirley provided daycare out of her home. Gramma’s Daycare — named by one of Shirley’s charges — was a key asset to the neighborhood and the community. She was a talented daycare provider with fair prices — and her services were in high demand.
“Women who had used my daycare used to plan their pregnancies around my openings so they could bring their children there,” Shirley said. “I had a lower rate because these were all young kids who were just starting out, and I just felt that I should help them a little bit. I made friends for life with all of them.”
The home Shirley and Harlen made together created a safe, safe, happy place for neighborhood kids to grow up and find success as adults. “All the practice we did printing — they called it playing school — I got four teachers, a pharmacist, and an engineer out of my daycare!” she said.
Photo: Shirley and Harlan in 1998 on their 47th anniversary trip to Hawaii. They were married 61 years.
Read more: More than a home: Where we live impacts childcare and our independence as we age
Chief of Police Jim Exsted has served with the Baxter Police Department for over two decades. He’s spent below-zero nights at 24-hour restaurants or gas stations, waiting with community members experiencing homelessness who simply need a warm place to sit until Community Services opens in the morning.
