Meet Irva H. Collins (1922-2008)

Irva H. Collins of Rutherford, NJ was a life-long public-school teacher.  As a voice for progressive early childhood education and seeing the hidden talents of young children, she created the first nursery school in Rutherford.

In 1975, along with Marj Reenstra and Dorothy Trovillion, Irva created the Rutherford Day Care Center at the Rutherford Congregational Church on Union Avenue in Rutherford.  The church had had a one-year contract with an education teacher at Fairleigh Dickinson University to establish a day care center at the church the year before, but for several reasons it had not worked out.

In June of 1975 the Church did not renew the contract to use the church space for a day care center, but did establish a separate Board to develop and operate a non-denominational childcare center themselves, which opened its doors in September of 1975.  Irva Collins served as a principal in the creation of the Rutherford Day Care Center at the Rutherford Congregational Church and served on its Board (The Child Care Committee) for the next 26 years until 2002 when she moved to Washington State to be closer to her son.

During her years with the Rutherford Child Care Center, Irva Collins was also the tireless organizer of the popular “Christmas Train Ride with Santa” on the Erie Railroad.  This event was a major fundraiser for the Childcare center, which helped to keep fees for attendance at a reasonable level.

As seen on Facebook.