Jay B. Nash c1925

Description:
Jay B. Nash, Superintendent of Recreation Department, City of Oakland, Calif., from 1915 to 1926.

Date of Document:
circa 1925

Document Author:
Unknown (Oakland Department of Recreation)

Geographic Location:
365 45th Street, Oakland Calif.

Context:
Oakland was the second city in the state to create, in 1910, a recreation department. From its earliest days, Recreation supervisors George E. Dickie, Jay B. Nash and Robert Robertson, established Oakland s Rec Department as one of the best in the country. The Department s orientation was rooted in the social work and community service philosophy that had been inspired by the settlement house movement in Chicago and other eastern cities in the early 1900s. This holistic approach viewed recreation not just as activities for keeping youth off the streets and out of trouble, but as a means of serving individuals, families, and neighborhoods and their changing needs. This philosophy aligned perfectly with the Studio One art program established at North Oakland s Bushrod Park in 1947 and moved the following year to the newly opened North Oakland Recreation Center on 45th Street in Temescal whose mission was to provide the resources and a supportive, noncompetitive studio environment in which not just children, but adults of all ages, could explore and develop their creative abilities and improve their art-making skills. Included in the vision was that classes were to be taught by professional artists, as opposed to trained recreation staff a distinction that set Studio One apart from other recreation centers in the city. Robert Crawford, who was director of Recreation when Studio One began, was a nationally recognized leader in Recreation. Crawford brought in Alta Bunker in 1947 to be Head of Programs. Part of what made these men and women effective leaders was their political savvy. They had a vision for the Recreation Department, and they could articulate it in ways that the city s elected officials could understand, support, and fund. In addition, they saw to it that there was strong leadership at every level within the Recreation Department. The Department took the professional growth of its employees very seriously. Training of new and veteran staff was contin