PSU Magazine Summer 1987

and the need for men and women to return to school, we won't ever hold steady," predicted Browning. So, she and the ten teachers on staff concen– trate on maintaining and improving. a program that is already "the envy of the state system (of higher educa– tion)," according to Vice President for Student Affairs Orcilia Forbes. The stately brick building that houses the Helen Gordon Center would be the envy of almost any day care program director. Built in 1928 as a child care facility, the home-like structure features a staircase and bathroom facilities scaled to small children. T h e previous occupants have a colorful history, which was documented by PSU graduate student Danielle Larson ('81 MA) in her book Fruit and Flower: The History of Oregon's First Day Care Center. In 1885, eight young Portland girls founded the Children's Flower Mission to deliver flowers and food to shut-ins. Twenty years later, the Flower Mission Day Nursery opened for the children of poor working parents. That program, renamed Fruit and Flower in 1911 , grew through the years in three different downtown locations. In 1924 the Mission directors decided to purchase property at S.W. Twelfth and Market streets and build their own facility. (Previous page): Lindsay Johnson swings with abandon during free time outside her room at the Helen Gordon Center. (This page) Left: Head teacher Deb Parkinson fits Manika Phillips with walking shoes before taking a hike at the Portland Audubon Society. Right: Steven Mitts creates a masterpiece from found objects, glue and a felt-tip pen. Oregon architect Frederick A Fritsch designed the handsome Georgian Colonial building that housed Fruit and Flower until the program moved to its present location in northwest Portland in 1972. Portland State University purchased the building and the Helen Gordon Center moved in that same year. The change in hands symbolized the change that had taken place in the neighborhood. Once a low-income area, it was now populated by students - "the temporarily poor," as PSU history professor Gordon Dodds referred to them in the nomination form he prepared for the National Register of Historic Places. Many of these students were young parents, who had begun clamoring for day care services around 1969. "The need for day care was being recog– nized and centers were coming into existence all over the country," said Orcilia Forbes. "The urgency was even greater here because of the type of students Portland State has always attracted." The Fruit and Flower building gave the fledgling PSU program a flying start. "Sixty years later, this building is still perfect," said Browning of the his– toric structure. "It is an excellent facility that meets our needs today." Comprised of several separate suites on two levels, each with its own door to an outside playground, the building PSU MAGAZINE PAGE 8 is "ideal for programming purposes" and for the peace of mind of children and teachers alike, noted Browning. "People come into our building and it's quiet. They ask 'Where are all the kids?' They're everywhere, but in their separate spaces with noise barriers." Children tend to be happier in small groups, said Browning, and teachers are more able to monitor their cognitive and social-emotional development, which is the backbone of the Helen Gordon program. Far from just a babysitting service, the Helen Gordon Child Development Center provides a stimulating environ– ment for children, something the PSU student-parent tends to expect, said Browning. "We're a developmentally-based program," explained the director. "We want to challenge the children and give them the opportunity to develop their cognitive skills and feel good about themselves. We're not interested in teaching children their ABCs, but by learning to problem-solve and hypothesize they do end up learning their ABCs, as well as some science and math. Many children leave here reading." This may seem rather rigorous for 2-5 year olds, but it all happens spon– taneously as the result of teachers' carefully designed lesson plans that look to the untrained eye like days full of fun and games. Learning centers in • •