Maureen Stebbins, the Felton fixture who has owned and operated Mo’s Daycare for the past 37 years, is closing up shop.
Stebbins began in January 1976 with a playgroup that quickly developed into a day care for children 6 weeks old to preschool age on Plateau Drive in Felton.
In the past several years Stebbins started to see the second generation of youngsters pass through the pre-school.
“I’m like the grandma,” Stebbins said, smiling.
To celebrate her retirement, Stebbins’ family hosted a reunion party for anyone involved at the preschool in the past four decades at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park.
Mo’s Daycare was known for its outdoor yard with a play set and many toys, as well as Stebbins’ unique way with young children.
She let children dig for bugs, swim in the kiddie pool and learn about nature through experience.
“It’s an environment you don’t find that often,” husband Gary Stebbins said, noting the love his wife showed each of the more than 125 kids who went through the day care over the years. “She can put down seven kids for a nap. What she has is a presence.”
The Stebbinses have built a house in Lake Almanor where they plan to spend their retirement.
“I’m sure I’ll miss the kids,” Maureen Stebbins said in early June while contemplating retirement. “I have high hopes of learning to fish and snowshoe. I’m getting back into re-inventing my life.”
The two have four children, Martin, Molly, Joseph and Emily, and are excited to have grandchildren visit their new home.
