The McGuffey Centre had its beginnings in 1937, when Birdie Welcher met with a small group of men and women to discuss community problems. Foremost among these problems were issues relating to children. At the time, there was little in the way of supervised activities for children such as playgrounds. Relief services were out of the way and a lack of adequate transportation forced persons on relief to walk great distances for help. The solution to these problems was to establish a center that would provide such services in a location nearer to the needs, namely McGuffey Heights. This solution would take form in 1939 as Judge Henry P. Beckenbaugh of the Juvenile Court, and John H. Chase, director of playgrounds, came to recognize the need for such an organization in McGuffey Heights.
Judge Beckenbaugh asked Attorney Paul Booth to help in establishing the Centre and in 1940, Booth and Welcher selected as the location a former Presbyterian Manse. Birdie Welcher would serve as the Centre’s president for 10 years and volunteer recreational director as well. Many of the needs discussed by those young men and women in the years preceding its founding would be met by the Centre, such as a playground and exercise activities and classes for social and racial education. The Centre grew over the years, becoming a member of the Community Chest in 1943 and then becoming incorporated as a non-profit organization with a full-time executive in 1951. In 1961, the McGuffey Centre was relocated from the old manse to its present location at 1649 Jacobs Road.
McGuffey Center Board, 1959
Items relating to the McGuffey Centre in the Delta Heritage Project include:
