Longtime Red Oak day care closing

RED OAK – If you ever spent any time in day care while growing up, you probably have memories of that first person who took care of you while you were away from home.

My first babysitter was a lady named Mrs. Gann.

She seemed as old as the hills when I was a child.

I would be dropped off at her house a few times a week, and I suspect she wasn’t as old as a three-year-old imagined her to be.

I remember she was a beautiful soul.

I also remember she spit tobacco into a tin can, made the best mashed potatoes ever, had this eerie tornado cellar in the back yard that was mainly for housing canned pickles and jelly (and who knows what else) and, I remember she watched a lot of soap operas.

Not the CBS soaps either that my mother watched, no this women loved ABC.

And I loved Mrs. Gann very much.

She was still alive when I graduated from high school. I sent her an invitation to my graduation, and she sent me a card and a piece of fashion jewelry that I have lost by now.

However, that piece of jewelry meant more to me than any other graduation gift I received.

In Red Oak, there is that equivalent to Ms. Gann.

Her name is Ms. Noma, and her day care is called Happy House Day Care. One can only imagine the

One can only imagine the happy days spent at Happy House by the children who had the chance to know Ms. Noma.

John Martin, a Red Oak resident since 1993, and whose children spent time there while growing up said, “It was the day care my son and daughter went to when they were younger. They went for almost 10 years.”

These days, Martin’s daughter is 24-years-old, and has graduated from UT Arlington, and works at UT Southwestern.

Martin’s son is 21-years-old, and is a junior at Texas A&M.

Happy House has not been forgotten though. Martin has had grandchildren who attended there – and one grandchild still does.

Ms. Noma is closing Happy House next month because, as Martin said, “She would like to retire and travel.”

The daycare owner is 87- years-old. She was open for 45 years.

She was recently recognized by the Red Oak City Council because of the many lives she has touched in the area.

“It was never just a daycare, it was so much more,” Martin concludes.

“Ms. Noma would have ‘circle time’ everyday and would sing and teach church songs. She would also read from the Bible. My kids never wanted to leave because they loved being there.”