HomeMy WebLinkAboutenfield community councilENFIELD COMMUNITY COUNCIL 1
The Enfield Community Council (ECC) has been providing programming for youth and
adults for over 20 years. The history of this organization is rich with stories, trials, joys, and hard
work. Through the programs, almost every family in Enfield has been touched.
I. Finances
When the Enfield Community Council was founded in 1975, one of the first tasks was to
investigate sources of funding for its programs. By the time the council was incorporated in
1977, the nursery school contributions, United Way allocation, and local fund-raising from
council activities along with the previous DFY (Division for Youth) moneys, provided funds for
the programs.
In 1980 the first issue of the Enfield News hit the mail boxes. The purpose was to get
people involved with the council. This meeting had seven attendants (Carol Barriere, Kyle
Sumerskill, Pam Whittaker, Marnie Kirchgessner, Rhoda Linton, Nancy Wurster, and Helen
Jackson). Because of the growing need for youth programs, the topic of the meeting was funds
and financing. At this time Marnie Kirchgessner agreed to attend a United Way meeting and
has been our representative ever since.
Enfield Cooperative Nursery School
There was no nursery school in Enfield in the spring of 1974, although it was a time when
the importance of a preschool experience for young children was already widely acknowledged.
So when the local EOC (Economic Opportunity Corporation) worker organized a meeting at
Enfield school to talk about forming a nursery school, many of us somehow heard about it and
arrived at the school little ones in tow! That summer, the first nursery school was held at the
Enfield Elementary School with Melody Johnson as the teacher. It quickly became apparent
that if our nursery school was to continue, we would need a permanent location (space would
not be available during the school year), our own equipment (we were using the Pre-K
equipment) and perhaps even a teacher (Melody's talents were acknowledged by the Ithaca
City School District and she was hired as the new Pre-K teacher).
The summer of 1974 was challenging and exciting. We had lots of enthusiasm and
energy but not very much money. So for $.25 a box, we purchased close to 100 ammunition
boxes from the Seneca Army Depot. One of the fathers with carpentry skills (Alfred Wurster)
tore the boxes apart and constructed some pretty respectable furniture. While the children were
in nursery school parents could be seen on the Wurster front lawn scraping, sanding and
painting everything in sight a bright yellow. Garage sale acquisitions and discarded chairs from
the Ithaca schools gave us a pretty respectable inventory. Our first home was in the Enfield
Methodist Church and Joanna Sturgeon was hired as the teacher for the fall of 1974.
Another important part of our philosophy is reflected in the name "Enfield Cooperative
Nursery School". Parent involvement was considered a key component of the organization and
every parent shared responsibilities of assisting the teacher (two parents assisted at each
session), and served on one of the three committees. It was our view that the nursery school
exists not only for the children but also to meet the needs of adults. Thus parents and others
often gathered for workshops, informal discussions, and even for social occasions for all the
families. We also accepted a total of up to six children under the age of three which meant that
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“The Town of Enfield New York Christian Hill to Enfield Falls” a history of the town of Enfield .
2002.
we often had children in diapers. That fact, together with the frequent need to move furniture
and equipment to accommodate the shared space, first with the church and then with the
Enfield Valley Grange, kept the assisting parents very busy indeed.
Children in the first two years (1974-1976) included Christina Albrecht, Jeffrey Aramini,
Greg Bock, Lenora and Audrey Brown, Brandon Carlisle, Cody Cook, Josh and Troy Dixon,
Jacob Evans, Renee Head, Brian and Ann-Laree Jackson, Erik and Kristen Johnson, Neil
McConell, Duane Miller, Christy Mobbs, Gabe Newhart, Connie Pakkala, Shanon Pfaff, Robbie
Rickerson, Erika Sturgeon, Craig Tinker, Jason Westcott, and Jenny and Erica Wurster. Later
they were joined by Lauri Jo and Teddy Davenport, Megan Armstrong, Jennifer Hubbell, Laura
Levy, Meredith DeRidder, and Raymond Michael Hubbell, Mary-Ellen Jackson, among many
others.
As the children grew, the need for a nursery school seemed to dwindle. However, in
1982, a few parents met to see about starting up a new group. Alice Linton, Mary Cole, Janice
Wright, Carol Barriere, and Sharon Houseworth, together with their preschoolers, got together
and started a new cooperative nursery school. They obtained space at the old Enfield
Firehouse (now the Community Building), advertised for a teacher and signed up the children.
The first teacher for the nursery school was Dan Ruderman. He was only able to be with the
group a few months but the children really enjoyed him. Nina Redman was the next teacher.
Unfortunately, Nina moved to Pennsylvania the next year. However, luck was on our
side. Living right down the road from the firehouse was a very quiet women named Elizabeth
Saggese, who was hired for the position. Elizabeth was a dream come true for the preschool.
She continued on as the nursery school teacher until 1988. When the new firehouse was built
we lost the space for a year. Unfortunately for us Elizabeth took on another job. However when
the preschool started back up in the "new" community building, two of the founding parents, now
that their children were in school, took over. Janice Wright became the preschool teacher and
Mary Cole, her aid. When Janice was offered a job at Cornell, Pat Meeker, another local parent
took over.
The Nursery School was very similar to the nursery school that began in 1974. Parents
were involved in all aspects of running and maintaining the school. Raising money, assisting
the teacher, field trips, and being part of committees were all part of belonging to the nursery
school.
As the children grew and the parents took jobs the numbers dwindled and nursery school
stopped for a few years. When it started backup, Jody Clark became the new teacher, however
because of parents working the nursery school lost its "parent cooperative." Cathy Delsignore;
another former parent from the "cooperative" nursery school is now the preschool teacher.
Members continue to rise and fall, but there always seems to be a need for some type of
preschool program. Preschool was discontinued in 1996.
Summer Programs
Building on past experiences, the summer programs from 1975 to 1980 attempted to
combine recreation with skill development and educational activities. Programs were held at
Enfield Elementary School, they usually lasted for about six weeks and ran for about six hours
per day with between 75 and 100 campers. Most staff were usually hired from the local
colleges, with Enfield teens gaining work experience and earning money working as junior
counselors. Community Council volunteers took responsibility for the overall design and
management of the programs.
“The Town of Enfield New York Christian Hill to Enfield Falls” a history of the town of Enfield .
2002.
Swimming lessons were always a basic; water safety instructors were always first on the
list of camp staff to be hired. Bush's pond was always the swim site during this time, which was
a wonderful contribution to the community. Other community residents also made a difference
by their generosity -- Bob Battsford even built and installed a floating dock for beginning divers!
Other activities included sports, nature hikes, overnight camping, arts and crafts,
organized games, field trips to farms and other places of interest in the town, etc. One summer
there was a special time set aside for an animal project which included setting up a small animal
collection in Helen Jackson's barn for whose care campers took responsibility.
From 1980 to 1995 the Community Council summer program continued to grow.
Children continued to benefit from a variety of activities. When the swim program could no
longer be held at Bush's pond they were and still held at the Enfield Volunteer Fire Company's
pond. Hundreds of children have become very good swimmers by the instructors that taught
the Red Cross swim program.
The music/drama programs have been the most popular of the summer camp. There
have been many beautiful productions with costumes and props made by the children. The art
classes were also involved. This was a wonderful opportunity for the children to perform and
sing. In the past eight years most of the productions were under the directorship of Jessica
Connors, Ann-Laree Jackson, and Elaine Howard who were in some of the earlier programs.
Some of the productions were: Grease, Your a Good Man Charlie Brown, Wizard of Oz (twice),
Talent shows, Alice in Wonderland, Enfield Hall of Fame, Back to the Fifties, Enfield Summer
Cabaret and Sneeches.
We had an Enfield Drill team for three years that involved about 50 children. The Enfield
Drill Team was a marching percision team of youth 5 to 15 years old. They wore beautiful
outfits all alike. We marched in several parades. The routines were taught and instructed by
Sandy Trutt with the help of all the parents.
For two years (1989-1990) Enfield Elementary School was under renovation. Through
much work and searching for a place for the children to have a summer program, they were
able to use the West Hill Alternative School in the City of Ithaca. This required much
organization and busing of the children. The Community Council took care of all the expenses
-- which really put a crunch on the budget. However, the programs always seemed to continue
no matter what obstacles were in the way.
After School Program
In the Spring of 1975, the Enfield Cooperative Nursery School was well established in the
quarters in the Enfield Methodist Church. They had two morning session per week with a
qualified teacher and 18 enthusiastic preschoolers. By now, the busy activity of constructing
furniture for the school was mostly completed. Since many of the Nursery School families had
older children, it was a natural progression that their interests expand to include recreational and
instructional activities for older children, and eventually, for adults as well.
Therefore, the nursery school families (for example Tom and Wilma Brown, Marilyn and
bob Westcott, Ellen Ricketson, Dottie Miller, Joan Head, Alfred and Nancy Wurster, Helen and
John Jackson, Rosemary Dixon, Rosemary Tinker, and others) joined with other community
members (for example Caroline Bingham, Charlie Sheffield, John and Helen Smith, Myrt and
Bob Battsford, Rhoda Linton, and others), some of whom had long been involved with the
Enfield Summer Day Camp program. Proposals were submitted for state and local funds, and a
certificate of incorporation was drawn up, forming the Enfield Community Council.
“The Town of Enfield New York Christian Hill to Enfield Falls” a history of the town of Enfield .
2002.
Surveys were conducted that Spring and it became quite clear that there was a great
interest in instructional and recreational opportunities for youth which could be conducted right
here in Enfield. Interest especially was expressed for classes in dance, language, instrumental
music and carpentry.
In the Fall of 1975, the first After School Program classes began. Instructors were
recruited from our own community when possible. Otherwise, we would turn to the college
communities to find young people with specific skills to teach for us. Enfield Elementary School
was conveniently located and provided ample space for our new program.
In conjunction with the evening classes, the Enfield Community Library was formed. The
Finger Lake Library System provided a deposit station of seventh grade through adult reading
materials, fiction and non-fiction. These books were stored in the Enfield Elementary School
Library which was open and staffed on Thursday evenings as the Enfield Community Library.
Additionally, the community library developed a schedule of special programs - guest speakers
and films - for some of those evenings.
In the Spring of 1976, all the After School classes of the Fall continued with strong
attendance, with some new ones added. Immediately, tap dance proved so popular with the
Enfield young people that the Community Council launched our own Tap-Shoe-Exchange. With
Linda Stillwell as the coordinator, parents were urged to search for tap shoes everywhere -
rummage sales and second hand stores - and purchase all they could locate for $2.00 or less.
The "exchange" would reimburse for the purchased shoes, make repairs, and then loan them to
students for a refundable deposit of 50 cents or a contribution of an outgrown pair. In May, a
bake sale was held to help cover the cost of tap shoes. No child in Enfield who wanted to tap
was turned away for lack of proper shoes! Dance class enthusiasm continued to increase and
in response to poplar request, a boys-only dance class began April 5th, 1976, with nine
participants.
The dance instructor behind all of this enthusiastic revival of tap dancing was Cindy
Hassold, an Ithaca college physical education major. In June of 1976, Cindy planned a gala
recital for her students. After she went home one weekend to New Jersey, she returned with a
car load of wonderful glittery costumes -- all from her own childhood performances. She outfitter
her students and they performed with glee for delighted parents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles
and grandparents! From that moment, Enfield children and parents were hooked. Cindy's
classes were more poplar than ever in the Fall of 1976, and Gymnastic's and jazz dance were
added.
Although principals and politics changed at the Enfield Elementary school, the After
School Program continued through good times and bad. There were years of large enrollments
and others years of smaller enrollments. Programs changed depending on interest, needs and
staff hired.
The programs began to grow to a point where with the help of Nancy Zahler from the
Tompkins County Youth Bureau and the Enfield Town Board, a program coordinator was hired
to arrange the various programs. As the years past and the programs changed as well today at
the Enfield Elementary School there is now an after school day care five days a week with
enrichment programs added a couple of days a week. It's staff includes a director and a variety
of other workers for the programs. Enrichments programs are programs which provide
opportunities for experiences for children who because of transportation and or economic
reasons would not have these experiences.
“The Town of Enfield New York Christian Hill to Enfield Falls” a history of the town of Enfield .
2002.
Enfield Rural Teen Women's Project
As many children grew out of after school and summer activities sponsored by the
council, some young women, parents and other interested residents decided to try to develop a
project addressing the special needs of pre-teens and teen women in the community. The Teen
Women Project was an attempt to provide a mechanism in which older teens (including Linda
VanNederynen, Nikki White, Julie Smith, Cindy Linton, Judy Rumsey, Becky Gunning, and
Debbie Royce, among others) could assume responsibility to support the development of
younger teens (including Katheleen Eaton, Denise and Lisa Saulsgiver, and Carol Newhart,
among others) through spending time with them in cultural, social, education, and recreational
activities. Family outings, such as the uncomfortable "Father, Daughter Softball Game," were
also considered an important part of the program. The purpose of the program was to enhance
the lives of all participants as well as to create a supportive network for teen woman and their
families in the community.
The project was overseen by an Advisory Committee (including Shirley Egan, Betty
Howard, Rhoda Linton and Tracy Saulsgiver) and received funding from the division for youth.
The project was in existence from June, 1980 (with its famous "Peas and Potatoes" growing and
marketing project!) until June, 1981.
Special Events and Fund Raisers
By October 1975, it seemed time to have a special event to celebrate the
accomplishments of the young people in the Summer Day Camp and the After School
Programs. Thus the tradition of the annual Enfield Harvest Festival began on October 18, 1975.
It was a cold and drizzy morning when the Enfield Volunteer Fire Company members
began pitching tents on the Enfield school grounds. Fire Chief Mickey Carlisle set up the hot
dog grill. The dreary day, however, was soon transformed into warmth and enthusiasm as
masses of Enfield's residents began arriving to participate in the festivities.
There were rides on the fire trucks, sirens screaming. The most newly purchased fire
truck was on display for the community to admire. A display on fire prevention was presented
by the Enfield Volunteer Fire Company.
In the gym, crafts people demonstrated their arts: weaving (Ruth Place); spinning (Louise
Hubbard; quilting (Nina Linton, Warena Ramsey, and others); butter making (Edith Stoughton
and Nellie Ruth McEver); ceramics and doll making (Billie Spencer). The Tompkins County 4-H
recreation Club demonstrated square dancing with Robert Stalley calling. Everyone was invited
to join in. There were booths with games; the Buck Hill Buccaneers 4-H Club had a sponge
toss booth, and the Enfield Town and Country 4-H Club had an apple bobbing booth.
There were booths with good things to eat and drink: Alfred Wurster pressed fresh apple
cider; the Enfield Baptist Church sold homemade cakes, pies, and cookies;The Enfield Nursery
School sold baked goods, crafts and produce. Betty Bullock's sixth grade class sold popcorn
and donuts - a fund raiser for their spring trip to Washington, D.C.
Jigsaw puzzle enthusiasts had a booth for puzzle exchanging. The Boy Scout Troop
gave a presentation on outdoor lore. The Enfield Valley Grange offered antiques and other old
treasures at their booth. To benefit the Enfield Community Council, there was a raffle of
donated items, including a quilted pillow by Nina Linton and a live lamb from Jim Linton -- both
won by a surprised and smiling Helen Jackson!
“The Town of Enfield New York Christian Hill to Enfield Falls” a history of the town of Enfield .
2002.
When the day of the wonderful festivities had ended and the tents and booths were all
packed away, no one would remember how cold and damp that day had begun. Instead,
everyone knew that this warm and spirited community event would become an annual tradition.
The Community Councils first auction was organized and coordinated by Pam Whitaker
in June 1980. The money raised was to be used to match division for youth funds. It was held in
conjunction with the Enfield Carnival. Over five hundred dollars was raised. The auction has
continued to be one of the ECC's biggest fund raisers, Carol Barriere has been the coordinator
for most of the years through 1995.
The Fall Harvest Festival (another big fund raiser) has become not only a fund raiser but
an anticipated community event. Local vendors and crafts people display and sell their goods
while other festival goers enjoy hay and fire truck rides, sample luncheons, chicken BBQ,
games and displays such as wool spinning and the Enfield Town Historian. The height of the
festival has always been the raffling of the Senior Citizens hand-made quilt.
The Harvest Festival and auction continue to be the Councils biggest fund raisers
however over the years there has been bake sales and other events that has brought in money
for the youth program, including a "Run for Youth" fun run and basketball game with a local
radio station.
The Community Council has gone through many leaders, programs, trends, era's, and
changes. Through the years the main thing that keeps this organization a working part of the
community are the dedicated members that have sat for hours in meetings, volunteered in
programs, and helped with fund raisers. Whether membership was large or small, all the work
seemed to always get done. Now children who started out in our programs are becoming ECC
members, staff as well as other town representatives and leaders. The Community Council is a
great example of the old proverb "It takes a whole village to raise a child". It is very exciting to
see the hard work of the ECC and other town programs pay off.
“The Town of Enfield New York Christian Hill to Enfield Falls” a history of the town of Enfield .
2002.
OFFICERS OF THE ENFIELD COMMUNITY COUNCIL
1981-1982 1984
President Ann Rider Helen Jackson
Vice President Pam Whittaker Carol Barriere
Secretary Dorothy Hunter
Treasurer Nancy Wurster Nancy Wurster
1985 1986
President Theresa Manheim Theresa Manheim
Vice President Debbie Ketchum Marnie Kirchgessner
Secretary Mattie Rumsey Chris Smith
Treasurer Roy Barriere Roy Barriere
Financial Director Rich Favaro Rich Favaro
County Youth Board Rep.Helen Jackson Helen Jackson
United Way Board Rep. Marnie Kirchgessner
1987 1988
President Carol Barriere Lura Arcangelli
Vice President Joanne Smith Marnie Kirchgessner
Secretary Barb Williams Barb Williams
Treasurer Roy Barriere Debbie Ketchum
Program Coordinator Peggy Hubbell Peggy Hubbell
1989 1990-1991
President Marnie Kirchgessner Marnie Kirchgessner
Vice President Barenda Smith Roy Wollney
Secretary Helen Smith Helen Smith
Treasurer Rose Pellegrino Rose Pellegrino
1992 1993
President Rose Pellegrino Rose Pellegrino
Vice President Roy Woolney Dave Owens
Secretary Debra Traunstein Debra Traunstein
Treasurer Marnie Kirchgessner Marnie Kirchgessner
1994 1995
President Fredi Shapiro Karen Anderson
Vice President Dave Owens Fredi Shapiro
Secretary Jessica Connors Alicia Febo
Treasurer Marnie Kirchgessner
Chapter 11 -
1996
President Karen Anderson
Vice President Marnie Kirchgessner
Secretary Alicia Febo Treasurer Tom Drew
Chapter 11 -