The University NOW Day Nursery Oral History Project is pleased to partner with The Voices of Princeton. Visit UNOW & Then on The Voices of Princeton.

The following interviews are available:

Joan Bartl

When Joan Bartl moved to Princeton in 1969, she was denied service at the Yankee Doodle Tap Room because she was a woman. Shortly after, she joined the central New Jersey Chapter of NOW (National Organization for Women). The group’s first action…
See Joan Bartl's interview

Francesca Benson

By law, Francesca Benson (then Stonaker) had to stop teaching when she adopted her children. In 1969, she joined the central New Jersey Chapter of the National Organization for Women (N.O.W.), and was soon drawn into a committee tasked with setting…
See Francesca Benson's interview

Halcy Bohen and Mary Procter

Beginning in the fall of 1969, Halcy Bohen, Assistant Dean of Students, and Mary Procter, Assistant to the Provost, worked together to welcome the first class of 171 undergraduate women to Princeton University. In this joint interview, Procter and…
See Halcy Bohen and Mary Procter's

Victory Chase

Victory Chase moved to the Princeton area in 1969 and soon became involved with the central New Jersey Chapter of the National Organization for Women (N.O.W.). As well as attending consciousness-raising sessions with fellow feminists, she volunteered…
See Victory Chase's interview

Lin and Allison Chou

Allison Chou attended the University NOW Day Nursery in the early 2000s. In this interview, she and her mother, Lin, recount the warmth felt and the adventures had while in an admittedly cramped, older building. Of note are the case of the missing…
See Lin and Allison Chou's interview

Karen Comins

Karen Comins and Erika Gilfether sat down and talked about Karen’s long career as a preschool teacher at University NOW Day Nursery (UNOW ) on the campus of Princeton University. Karen began working at UNOW in 1986 and over the years has seen the…
See Karen Comin's interview

Patricia Albjerg Graham

Patricia Albjerg Graham, a historian of American Education, spent the 1969-1970 academic year at Princeton University in an administrative role focused on hiring more women faculty. Pat came to Nassau Hall from Barnard, where she was a professor of…
See Patricia Albjerg Graham's interview 

Elisabeth Hagen

Elisabeth Hagen, who comes from South Africa, lived in Southern Africa and Great Britain before moving to Princeton in 1969. She quickly became involved in the Central New Jersey Chapter of the National Organization for Women (N.O.W.), particularly…
See Elisabeth Hagen's interview

Betty Harris

Betty Harris was a teacher at University NOW (UNOW) from 1972-2016. In this conversation with Erika Gilfether, Betty talks about the deep respect she has always felt for the ideas of young children, how vital she found the freedom and independence…
See Betty Harris' interview

Eileen Hohmuth-Lemonick

Eileen Hohmuth-Lemonick, an art teacher, came to Princeton in 1969 and lived in the Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood. Before her son was old enough to enroll at University NOW Day Nursery (UNOW), she kept him in a cardboard box in her classroom. In…
See Eileen Hohmuth-Lemonick's interview

David Keller

In 1972 David Keller had just finished his PhD in English Literature when he began teaching at the University NOW Day Nursery. In this interview, he speaks of his experience as UNOW’s first male teacher. He recalls rich memories of the children and…
See David Keller's interview

Liz Lempert

Liz Lempert, the current mayor of Princeton, moved to town in 2002 when her husband got a job teaching at Princeton University. UNOW made it possible for her to continue to work as an NPR radio producer, and the year she spent on the UNOW Board gave…
See Liz Lempert's interview

Jane Eldridge Miller

Jane moved to Princeton to attend graduate school in 1986. She was surprised to learn when she got here, that there were no daycare options for her 7 month old daughter Emma. She heard about UNOW from another family living in graduate housing and Emma began...
See Jane Eldridge Miller's interview

Ruth Miller

Ruth Miller moved from Canada to Princeton in 1970 with her husband and young sons. Tragically, in 1972, she lost her husband. Her youngest son was just old enough to enroll at UNOW. Not only did the school provide full-time care, which Ruth now…
See Ruth Miller's interview

Barbara Suomi

Barbara Suomi moved to Princeton in 1973, the year her oldest child was born. All three of her children attended UNOW Day Nursery throughout the 1970s & ‘80s. She remembers UNOW fondly and was impressed by their philosophy, quality of teachers...
See Barbara Suomi's interview