Item 1968-001 - St. Michael's 1968

Patricia Mantle (1911-1998), former primary school teacher, started St. Michael’s Children’s Centre in 1957 after gathering a group of children together to serve as companions for a friend’s son she was providing respite care for a couple of days a week. After outgrowing her living-room, in 1960 she leased a building to operate the pre-school on land owned by the District of Mission located on Ruskin Crescent. For the next three decades, she both managed and taught at the pre-school five days a week, offering an educational program for three to five year olds designed to help their emotional, social and personal growth and development. Attended by multiple generations of local families, the school was phased out in 1987 following a building inspection in 1986 deeming the structure unsafe for occupation and a recommendation for its demolition. It was believed to be the oldest pre-school in the Fraser Valley.