THE EARLY DAYS:FOUR
Hiring Georgia Nelson
Henry Toll salutes both Morrison Shafroth and Abby Staunton Shafroth. It was she who brought Georgia Nelson to Graland. The most important act of her entire existence was the writing of a letter to Katherine Taylor in 1927.
“Katherine Taylor was a friend of Abby Staunton's Vassar days, who had gone·from the Francis Parker School to the Shady Hill School, which she had then developed into an establishment which everyone who was interested in the evolution of progressive education was following appreciatively. Katherine Taylor wrote Abby Staunton Shafroth that she emphatically recommended a certain Miss Nelson whom she had known at the Francis Parker School.
“This Miss Nelson sounded good, but we all wanted somebody to have a look at her. Abby Staunton Shafroth was going to see her, but the plan didn't click. Ruth Waring was going to see her, but that didn't click either. At the moment, Miss Nelson, a native of Moberly,Missouri, was at Mayo's in Minnesota, where her mother was sick.. .
“Time was growing short! We were intrigued by the fact that Katherine Taylor's protege, after taking a degree at the University of Chicago, had taught for one year at Francis Parker in Chicago, for two years at Sunset Hill in Kansas City, for one year at Shady Hill in Cambridge, and then had financed a trip to the Orient by teaching for a year at a kindergarten operated under the auspices of the American Legation in Peking.
“At any rate, we finally signed up that certain Miss Nelson, sight unseen. The Shafroths then left to spend the summer in Europe, and on the steamer, Abby Staunton heard reassuring opinions from other passengers who chanced to know Miss Nelson well: the Head of the Francis Parker School, Flora Cook, and Goodwin Thorne Thompson, the poet. And so in September 1927, Miss Georgia Nelson was met at the Union Station by Abby Staunton Shafroth and June Brown Benedict.”
Graland Country Day School
Graland Country Day School is a private school in Denver, Colorado, serving students in preschool, kindergarten, elementary, and middle school. Founded in Denver in 1927, Graland incorporates a rich, experiential learning approach in a traditional classroom setting, emphasizing the development of globally and socially conscious leaders who excel academically.
