The Cornwall Children's Center - Beginnings

 Early History

Jackson House, once home of the Cornwall Children's Center

The history of Cornwall’s Jackson House on Boyd Street is told here, culminating in serving as Bethlehem Steel’s Cornwall Division offices until the 1970s. Cornwall Manor, which began in 1949 was finishing three decades of operation, when it became aware that the vacant structure might be purchased and used as a tavern. Wanting to keep such an operation away from the neighborhood, conservative board members intervened and purchased the property in 1978.

They did not have a clear vision for its immediate use, possibly converting it into residential apartments for a growing population.

Enter Steve Hassinger

Steve Hassinger arrived at Cornwall Manor in late 1978 as Administrator of Health Care Services for then Executive Director Rev. Don Miller. The following year Harrie Schimmel became CEO, replacing Miller (Steve served as his executive vice president and would replace him as CEO a decade later - photo). In 1980 Steve attended a conference on “intergenerational programming” and returned with the idea of a daycare center that would address several needs, a concept quickly endorsed by Schimmel.

Many of Cornwall Manor’s nurses and employees were young mothers who needed a way to care for their infant children. They were ineligible for local daycare centers, which required children to be potty-trained.

Cornwall Manor residents as grandmothers could nurture and care for the infants, including bottle-feeding and diapering. This gave them purpose, with opportunities to interact with others and serve in practical ways. They would become known as the “Rockers group,” becoming an extended family of caregivers.

As the program grew, older children interacted and served in simple ways with residents, as shown by photographs of intergenerational activities.

Therefore the “Cornwall Children’s Center” became the first facility in Lebanon County to provide care for infants and pre-school children, which became helpful to mothers working elsewhere in the area, not just employees of Cornwall Manor.   Another benefit of this venture was to dispel the prevalent notion in the community that Cornwall Manor was as an isolated, aloof Methodist church home.

Settling in

As a practical matter, Steve had to set up the Center as a separate non-profit organization with its own board of directors that included a local pediatrician, attorney, businessman, and several parents.

The board incorporated early in 1982 and hired Debbi Zweitzig as a consultant to design the program. Within months her design met approval; she was hired as executive director and began preparations for launch in September. The program was three-fold: safe care for young children, intergenerational experiences for children and Cornwall Manor residents, and service for Cornwall Manor staff and residents of the county.

Zweitzig made it clear that the seniors were not the baby-sitters; a full staff of caregivers was hired, as well as teachers, to provide educational programs to the children. Initially the plan was to house the program in the first floor of Corson Hall at a weekly cost of $50 per child. However, when it first opened it was housed temporarily using rented space at the United Methodist Church in Cornwall center. Renovations were required at Corson at a cost of $50,000, causing the delay.

The logo designed for the center depicts its intergenerational nature, with the initials “CCC” cleverly integrated with the rocking chair.

The initial operation also included low-cost meals for qualified low-income families.

On the Move

Near the end of the first year of operation at the local church, the Center held an open house for its new location, not Corson Hall but the former Keiser mansion on the “Grandview” estate.

Cornwall Manor had obtained this property with intentions of creating more apartments for seniors but the modifications needed to comply with residential codes were impractical.

The mansion had been home for Cornwall Manor’s new president, Steve Hassinger and his wife Jean. They moved out, making a place for the Cornwall Children’s Center while administrative offices for the center remained in Corson Hall.

When Cornwall Manor developed new plans for expansion, the mansion was torn down in 1984 making way for constructing single-family homes on the ridge. The Center returned temporarily to the United Methodist Church in Cornwall center.

Finally in April of 1985 the center moved into Jackson house, operating on the first floor.

For the past years the building had been idle, as the board of directors found that the costs of modifications necessary for senior apartments were going to be prohibitive.

The building had been used mostly for storage of surplus furniture and appliances. As the Cornwall Children’s Center made a home on the first floor, the second floor continued to serve as storage. Even then the aging building experienced on-going and expensive repairs.

The 1980s and beyond

For the rest of the decade the center flourished in its intergenerational mission. In its fifth year of operation Debbi Zweitzig moved away from the area. Steve’s wife Jean Hassinger served as interim director until in 1986 the board found a capable replacement, hiring Marilynn “Miki” Cashmore as the new Executive Director.

Highlights over the years include:

• 2002 included kindergarten and summer school programs

• 2009 observed over 25 years of operation (photo) with plans to expand to accommodate enrollments

• 2011 welcomed as a member of the Lebanon Valley Chamber of Commerce

The End of the Beginning

In 2014 Cornwall Children’s Center moved further “down the road.”

Increasing regulations such as the need to maintain proper caregiver-to-child ratios, coupled with increasing labor costs made the center difficult to operate.

The Church of the Good Shepherd in Lebanon had been intending a childcare ministry and Steve Hassinger facilitated the transition, moving the center there, where it operated for a number of years.

1984 Staff Photo - Debbi Zweitzig 2nd row, 3rd from left

In 2021 the Center became independent, retaining the name “Cornwall Children’s Center” and moving to a facility on Keystone Drive in nearby South Lebanon township. It continues to rank highly among several “Best of Lebanon Valley” children’s daycare centers.

The Jackson House continues serving Cornwall Manor as a storage facility, facing an uncertain future.

Debbi Zweitzig returned to the area, now a resident of Cornwall Manor.

Steve reflects that the Cornwall Children’s Center had been a trend-setting initiative in the 1980s, one that had spread to other “Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRC)” across the nation. When it began in 1982 it was one of only five intergenerational centers in the country.

In appreciation

Thanks to Debbi Zweitzig, Steve and Jean Hassinger for their reflections.

Coming soon - reflections on the next chapter of the Cornwall Children's Center.