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Richards, Nelle Loder (audio interview #1 of 1)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - This interview was conducted in Richard's home. 4/4/1984
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- 2020-11-24
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- SUBJECT BIO - Nell Loder Richards was director of the Long Beach Day Nursery and the first president of the Junior League of Long Beach. Richards came to Long Beach when she married Carroll Loder a building contractor who sometimes worked for the Bixby companies. When he died, she was appointed director of the Long Beach Day Nursery. She worked with the board of directors to manage the nursery's 3 branches and cooperated with other day care providers both locally and in other parts of southern California to learn about new ideas and developments in the field. She also worked with local educators who trained nursery school workers. In this one interview, Richards talks about her work with the Day Nursery and as a volunteer. She also talks about her second marriage to Edmund Richards. TOPICS - family background; husband; Children's Dental Center; Volunteer Bureau; career with Junior League and Long Beach Day Nursery; salary disparities between men's and women's community groups; Florence Bixby; FlorenceLong Beach Day Nursery; public relations and community involvement with nursery; review process and qualifications for accepting new parents into the nursery program; extended day program at the nursery; developmen
- *** File: cbnrichards1.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-3:30)... Brief introduction. Richards was born in Republic, Washington, where her father worked as a mining engineer. She studied bacteriology at Purdue University for 3 years but left college during the Depression and never returned. In 1931, she was introduced to her third cousin, Carroll Loder, and they became engaged within the week. They married in 1935, at which time she moved to Long Beach to live with her husband who had been settled in Long Beach since he was a young man. He worked for the Bixby company as a builder and contractor. During WWII, he worked with the Corps of Engineers surveying land acquisitions in the Los Angeles area. (3:30-8:50)... When Richards' husband died in 1946, she was left to support 2 children. At the time, she was working as a volunteer with the Junior Charity League. Much to Richards' surprise, she was offered the directorship of the Long Beach Day Nursery. She worked in this capacity for 17 years. During this time, she was elected president of the Junior League (formerly Junior Charity League) and worked on several projects, including the Children's Dental Clinic and the Volunteer Bureau. Even though she had no managerial experience, she acquired these skills through her work with the Junior League. Her background in and knowledge of the community also impacted her success in raising community funds to manage Junior League projects. (8:50-15:41)... As the director of the Long Beach Day Nursery, Richards supervised 3 nurseries and a staff of 30. The nursery operated for approximately 10 hours a day and included meals and an activity program for children. The nursery also offered an extended nursery program that provided care for children enrolled in public school. Applicants for nursery positions were required to have completed at least 2years of college work, preferably in child development. Nursery employees were paid low salaries. Even as a director, her pay was less than male directors earned in other community organizations. The reasons for this disparity may be that the all of the members of the board of directors were women. She believes that men "have a way of patting each other on the back" and exercisedd more influence on budget committees than women. Several prominent women served on the nursery board, including Florence Bixby who stayed on the board even when she became ill. (15:41-18:18)... Florence Bixby was the president of the nursery's board of directors for 35 years and naturally influenced its policies and programs. In the early years of the nursery's development, the board of directors did a lot of the work themselves while today they mainly set and implement policies for the nursery. While Florence Fisher was the director of the program, each child paid a dime for daily care. By the time Richards assumed the directorship of the nursery, it had already established a well organized program that included child development and educational training courses for the staff. Richards attended these courses for 6 weeks when she first went to work there. Over the years, Richards also completed child development courses at UCLA and Occidental College. (18:18-23:00)... On a typical day, Richards attended staff meetings, interviewed applicants, and conducted evaluations. Under her leadership, the nursery became much more professionalized. This is a result of the training she received at UCLA and her association with other daycare professionals. She was a member of curriculum committees for the child development degrees at LBCC, CSULB, and UCLA. She also served on a Nursery School Committee for the Social Welfare Department for 2 years in an effort to foster nursery school education in schools. She worked with Molly Morgenroth of CSULB and Josephine Burgess, the head of childcare centers for the Board of Education. Richards was also the president of the Harbor Nursery School Association and collaborated with Burgess on projects within that organization. (23:00-24:36)... Every year, the Day Nursery had to be licensed by the State Department of Social Welfare. State representatives visited the Nursery and check things out. When the Day Nursery first started, some of the staff lived at the Nursery and had their evening meals there. While she was director, they changed all of that. (24:36-25:56)... Richards and the Day Nursery worked well with the Community Chest. She believes that men's organizations had "much more pull" than organizations run by women, such as the Day Nursery, but the budget committee was fair when addressing their needs. The United Way was more professional and required a complex system of administrative record keeping. (25:56-29:55)... The Men's Advisory Committee maintained the recreational equipment and lawns at the nursery branches The Boy Scouts and other organizations cleaned cots during scheduled maintenance periods. Board members during Richards' term with the nursery never physically cleaned the facility. They did make decorative decisions like choosing paint colors for the facility and coordinating development with contractors. The board member's husbands also helped at the nursery with maintenance tasks. The Men's Advisory Committee also was helpful in encouraging people to donate money or equipment to the nursery. (29:55-30:44)... Richards was involved in committee meetings for the National Nursery School Association during conferences in Los Angeles. End of tape. *** File: cbnrichards2.mp3 (0:00-1:17)... Richards sat on the board of the Day Nursery with Betty Bixby, whom she admired greatly. It was not until after Ethel Case retired that the board enacted term limits for its members. They felt they could not set term limits while Case was still on the board because she had been on the board for so long. (1:17-4:52)... While she was the director of the Day Nursery 3 laundry services handled their laundry needs. One was the Soft Water Laundry and she doesn't remember the other 2. When the east branch was opened, purchased a washer and dryer so that the staff could do their own laundry. The nursery had a good relationship with service clubs in the community, especially the Rotary Club. She remembers going to speak at their meetings and being the only woman in the room. She also remembers speaking to virtually every PEO group in Long Beach, even some of the older members sometime dozed while she spoke. The success of the nursery relied on its connection with and support from the community. (4:52-7:52)... Initially, the Day Nursery mainly accepted children from single-parent households. They had a lot of children in the nursery whose fathers were attending school on the G.I. Bill. The board also accepted children whose mothers were too ill to care for them or who were overburdened by carrying for a disabled child in the home. They eventually began accepting children from households where both parents worked. Many of these cases involved Black families because their children were not accepted in other nursery schools. When both parents were working, they paid more than single parents so that money was not being taken away from the community. The number of minority children at the nursery was very low. The reason for this may be that the nurseries were not located in areas with a high minority populations. (7:52-8:55)... When new children were accepted into the nursery, the parents were provided with a pamphlet but there were no formal training classes offered to the parents at that time. Occasionally, parent meetings were held with a counselor. Caseworkers interviewed parents who wanted their children to attend the nursery. If caseworkers were not available to do this, Richards or her assistant handled new applicants. (8:55-9:59)... Early on in the nursery's development, staff members purchased groceries for the nursery. When this became cumbersome, the nursery began purchasing food in bulk. They also bought surplus products from the government. (9:59-12:46)... All 3 nurseries were staffed with a cook and a housekeeper. Eight teachers worked at the east and west nurseries, respectively and 6 teachers at the north location. She recalls her experiences during the construction of the new Day Nursery on the east side of Long Beach. The old nursery was actually a home that was moved onto the property by the Bixbys. The building was old and not properly equipped to serve the residents in the area. (12:46-15:57)... The extended day program at the Day Nursery included children in first grade. For many years, a bus transported students to the nurseries located on the west and east sides of Long Beach. The nursery located on the north side was close enough to the schools that nursery staff could pick up students from school. The nursery never interfered with the extended day programs at the public schools. Although their programs were similar, the public school program was far more expensive to operate than the Day Nursery's extended day care. The Day Nursery prided itself on the fact that it offered low cost care and a good preschool program. Richards' staff was excellent in managing and operating the 3 nurseries. (15:57-18:10)... Richards reflects on her 17 years at the Day Nursery. She never once dreaded going to work. Her hours were flexible enough so that she could still spend time with her children. However, she frequently attended conferences and was involved in work-related projects during the weekends. Her base of operation was at the nursery located in west Long Beach. For the majority of her career she lived in California Heights. (18:10-20:10)... Quite a few board members were the daughters and granddaughters of previous members. At least 3 women who served on the board actually attended the Nursery when they were children. When she began working as the director of the Day Nursery, her daughter was 8 years old. While in college at UCLA, her daughter spent the summers working at the nursery and she eventually became the president of the board. (20:10-23:04)... During the Depression, the WPA assumed control of the nursery in north Long Beach. Richards served on a committee in Sacramento representing all of the Community Chest funded Day Nurseries. Long Beach Day Nursery was always held in high regard. She didn't take this personally; she believed it was a reflection of the institution's reputation. She believes that Pasadena was the first city to open nursery schools and now that it has been dissolved, the Day Nursery is the oldest nursery school in California. (23:04-25:26)... Richards' second husband, Edmund Richards grew up in and around Long Beach. He worked as an oil developer in Signal Hill, operating his own company Richards and Rowen with his partner Tom Rowen. Prior to meeting her husband, he was hired by the Filipino government to drill for oil in the Philippines. He did this work for 17 years but oil was never discovered there. When they married, they traveled quite extensively, which was something Richards never thought she would do. Her husband was a good man and treated her and her family very well. (25:26-27:34)... At the time of the interview, retired from the Day Nursery, Richards occupies a position on the foundation board for the Children's Dental Clinic. The board considers her their resident historian because of her long history with the clinic, which began when she was with the Junior League. She remembers when the clinic was operated out of a bungalow on American Avenue. Now it is a thriving institution, of which she is very proud. While with the Day Nursery, she did not have a contract with any doctors in the city. However, all 3 nurseries had a resident nurse for many years until she contracted with the Visiting Nurses Association to providing care for children at each nursery. (27:34-29:58)... Richards is fond of Mary Soth and Evelyn Keeley, both of whom worked under Richards during her career at the nursery before they became directors. End of tape.
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