Local Girls Complete Baby Sitting Course-This Day in Norwood History-June 7, 1957

BABY SITTERS — These Norwood girls have completed a course In Baby Sitting sponsored by the Norwood Women’s Community Committee. Front row (left to right) Nancy Bannon, Skirmante Maikaitis, Diane Cronin, Caroline Croft, Mary Roderick, Denise Daley, Carol Hertle, Martha Badger. Rear row: Renata Simenas, Irena Taylor, Susan Smith, Sylvia Radel, Louise Becker, Peggy Carroll, and Mrs. Robert Davis, Instructor. (McLean Photo)

In the spring of 1957, a group of Norwood’s youngest community members stepped into a new kind of responsibility — one that blended civic trust, practical skill, and the optimism of postwar American family life. Under the guidance of the Norwood Women’s Community Committee, fifteen Junior High School girls completed a comprehensive course in Baby‑Sitting, emerging with certificates, confidence, and a pledge that framed their work as nothing less than the protection of “a priceless possession.”

The program was chaired and taught by Mrs. Robert Davis, who appears in the accompanying McLean Photo with the full class. She described the group as “unusually bright and attractive,” a reflection of both their enthusiasm and their seriousness of purpose. The girls — Nancy Bannon, Skirmante Maikaitis, Diane Cronin, Caroline Croft, Mary Roderick, Denise Daley, Carol Hertle, Martha Badger, Renata Simenas, Irena Taylor, Susan Smith, Sylvia Radel, Louise Becker, Peggy Carroll, and Mrs. Davis herself — posed proudly after completing the four‑lecture course.

The curriculum was thorough and hands‑on. Mrs. Davis opened with a session on the ethics and responsibilities of babysitting — a reminder that the job required maturity, judgment, and vigilance. She was followed by Mrs. Louis Sieracki, a former committee member, who delivered a lecture and demonstration on feeding, handling, and caring for infants. The girls then learned about managing and entertaining preschool children from Mrs. Robert Wallace, whose talk emphasized patience, creativity, and safety.

The final session added a crucial layer of training: emergency preparedness. Chief Harry Butler of the Norwood Fire Department addressed the class, stressing fire prevention and the importance of calling the department at the slightest concern. “We would rather be called unnecessarily,” he told them, “than have the girls take any chance whatever with the safety of their precious charges.” His message underscored the seriousness with which Norwood’s public safety officials viewed the program.

At the conclusion of the course, the girls repeated the Baby‑Sitters’ Pledge, a solemn declaration of alertness, responsibility, and readiness to act in any emergency. The pledge emphasized staying awake and watchful, knowing how to contact doctors, police, and fire officials, and being prepared to treat minor injuries. It also urged the sitter to assess a home for hazards upon arrival — a remarkably forward‑thinking safety practice for the era.

The Committee encouraged families to clip and save the list of newly certified sitters, complete with names, addresses, and telephone numbers. The girls represented neighborhoods across Norwood — Nichols Street, Gay Street, Sumner Street, Chapel Street, Wheelock Avenue, Linden Street, Clapboardtree Street, Oxford Road, Wilson Street, Heaton Avenue, Vernon Street, Walpole Street, Azalea Drive, and Pleasant Street — a cross‑section of the town’s mid‑century residential landscape.

In an era when babysitting was becoming a rite of passage for American teenagers, Norwood’s program stood out for its structure, its emphasis on safety, and its recognition of the sitter’s role as a trusted guardian. These girls were not simply earning pocket money — they were stepping into a position of real responsibility, supported by civic institutions that took their work seriously.

Following is a list of the girls completing successfully the course.

Nancy Bannon, 162 Nichols Street. No. 7-3047

Diane Cronin, 56 Gay Street. No. 7-4174.

Skirmante Makaitis, 331 Sumner Street. No. 7-2449-J.

Renata Simenas, 29 Chapel street. No. 7-3363-W.

Carol Hertle, 39 Wheelock Avenue, No. 7-4035M.

Irene Taylor, 1 Linden Street. No. 7-1026.

Martha Badger, 40 Clapboardtree Street. No. 7-2949-R

Mary Roderick, 45 Oxford Road. No. 7-4172-W.

Louise Becker, 120 Wilson Street No. 7-0504.R.

Sylvia Radel, 11 Heaton Avenue. No. 7-4376.

Louise Goepner, 108 Vernon Street, No. 7-3994.

Susan Smith, 205 Walpole Street. No. 7-0016.

Peggy Carroll, 42 Azalea Drive. No. 7-3910-M.

Denise Daley, 18 Oxford Road. No. 7-4420-J.

Caroline Croft, 95 Pleasant Street, No. 7-4572-M.

Provenance Note: Reconstructed from the Norwood Messenger / Boston Globe local reporting, June 7, 1957

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