Jon and Roxanne LaFave met in high school, or so they thought.
It wasn’t until they had a chat about their preschool days that they realized they must have crossed paths at the Jack and Jill House in Hazel Dell when they were about 5. The Ridgefield couple, who attended the day care center in the mid-1960s, were back Sunday to help celebrate Jack and Jill’s 50th anniversary.
During those 50 years, an estimated 1,000 children graduated from the day care, at 1202 N.E. Minnehaha St., owner Rosalee Johnson said. They each put on a cap and gown and had their photo taken before heading off to kindergarten.
The LaFaves said they had just a few memories of their time there, but what stands out the most was the food.
“I don’t know if I remember much, except for the spaghetti,” Jon said.
Roxanne recalled the creamed corn, too, and seeing cots lined up in one room just before nap time.
“The layout seems really familiar,” she said of the facility. “I remember the corner playhouse — playing with kitchen stuff in there. It’s cool to know it’s still going.”
Guests during the celebration included six staff members (most of whom are grandmothers), past and present day care children, and even a day care licenser. They snacked on refreshments, and many remarked that not much had changed at the Jack and Jill House.
Colorful rugs still covered the floors, and books and toys lined the inside perimeter of the day care. Outside, there was still plenty to explore, including wooden playhouses, swings, slides, a sandbox and asphalt canvases for chalk drawings.
Johnson’s parents, Edgar and Eve Mitchell, built the Jack and Jill House in 1964. They also owned another day care, the Gingerbread House, at 1714 E. 29th St. in Vancouver.
Johnson became an elementary school teacher in 1957 in Portland. Not long after that, she moved to Redwood City, Calif., where she ran a preschool at a church. In 1988, her parents asked Johnson and her husband, Eric, to buy the Jack and Jill House and the Gingerbread House. They agreed.
Johnson split her time between her preschool in California and the day cares in Washington, rotating between states every week. In 1996, she and her husband left California to work in Washington full time. Johnson’s husband died in 2012.
Johnson said her daughter, Gwen Lusk, has been very supportive but is not willing to purchase the day care and take over the family business. Johnson said she is undecided about what to do with her day care facilities once she retires.
Day care memories
On Sunday, Johnson paused to reflect on her career and how many children she’s worked with. “It’s amazing,” she said.
“Look at those two having a good time going through the pictures,” Johnson said. She watched Sandra Becker and Amanda Morris — both 1989 graduates of the day care — as they sat at a set of kids’ tables and chairs and flipped through photo albums full of memories from the Jack and Jill House.
Becker and Morris became friends at the day care, and the Vancouver women said they remain close friends.
Becker, who now works at the Gingerbread House, said her favorite memories at Jack and Jill include pretending to clean the outdoor playhouses, taking trips to the skating rink and learning how to swim during outings to the Marshall Center pool.
Morris said she remembers singing songs at local nursing homes. The songs were mostly show tunes, with some folk songs mixed in. Her favorite was “Oh Shenandoah.”
“We would practice for weeks,” she said. “It was fun.”
Johnson said any former day care children who couldn’t attend the anniversary celebration can still stop by to see the picture albums and photo boards that staff made for the event.
Just “not during nap time,” she quickly added. That’s noon to 2 p.m.
