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Ethel Reid Hayes

Some Newtown residents drive past the Helen R. Payne Day Nursery on 33rd Street to spark memories of learning how to read and count during the most formative years of their lives.
Ethel Reid Hayes and her sister Viola, the daughters of pioneer Leonard Reid and Eddye Coleman operated the pioneer preschool program. Lifelong friendships formed among children who played in the sandbox and waited a turn on the seesaw, merry-go-round and swings. Both women were educated in Sarasota and went on to obtain college degrees. Hayes attended Florida A&M University for four years, acquired a teacher’s certificate then began her career in education at Booker School in Sarasota. She also excelled in music, taught summer school during World War II and eventually married Roosevelt Hayes, a Navy man. The couple briefly moved to California but returned to Florida in 1951. She obtained a master’s degree from her alma mater and taught for many years. After retiring from the Sarasota County school system, Ethel became the director of Helen P. Payne Day Nursery.
 
Viola also attended Florida A&M and went on to work as a substitute teacher in Sarasota County, as a teacher at the Newtown Day Nursery from 1953-1970, and later, a supervisor at Helen R. Payne Day Nursery where she was assistant director. Ethel and Viola were active in the community and lived in their childhood home built in 1926. The Leonard Reid Family House was locally designated by the City of Sarasota in 1999. Mrs. Hayes died in 1991. Her oral history interview was provided courtesy of Sarasota County Historical Resources.