The Marie Key Day Care Center began January 26, 1975, an outgrowth
of the Meriwether Home. The center was formed in response
to a nation-wide shortage of day care facilities to meet the needs
of parents of pre-school children who had to work full time. There
were approximately 1000 children of pre-school age in the surrounding
public housing buildings of the center alone; not to mention the
many other low and middle income families in the community. Over
90% of the children at the center came from one-parent families
where the freedom to enter job training programs or get a job was
dependent on the availability of day care.
Key Day Care was named after Marie B. Schanks
Key, born May 16, 1900 in Richmond Virginia. According to
the “Who’s Who in Colored America” published
in 1950, Mrs. Key was a teacher in the Richmond public schools
1918-1924, family welfare caseworker 1928-1930, policewoman with
the Washington DC police department 1930-1944, director of minority
services for Planned Parenthood Federation of America 1944-1948,
and director of the Meriwether Home in 1950. [1]
In 1973 Dr. Joseph C McKinney, Board Chairman of the Meriwether
Home along with Mrs. Mildred Carter, Mr. Peter Ridley and Mr. Reginald
Washington founded Key Day Care to provide for the physical, intellectual
and cultural development of at least 50 pre-school children.
They provided a year round program,
with a pre-school/Kindergarten program September – May and
a review/recreation program June – August. They
had extended hours from 7am – 6pm. Their educational
programming included Language, Art, Social Studies, Numbers, Science
and Crafts. For almost 25 years, Key Day Care provided services
to the community.
They abandoned 733 Euclid St. around 1998, most likely
due to lack of funds. A stroke suffered by Dr. Joseph McKinney,
a primary supporter of the center may have also contributed to
its demise. Some paperwork and many photos of children and
staff were pulled from the rubble of the abandoned building. A
continuing effort of ECAC will be to identify the photos and accurately
document this chapter of 733 Euclid St.
Fleming,
James and Christian Burckel. Who’s Who In Colored
America. Christian & Burckel & Associates, 7th
Edition. 1950, (p. 325)
