The late Ann Bagnall made a large impact on a wide variety of people, judging by the crowd on hand to honor her Wednesday, which ranged from a 4-year-old who loves being buried in cicadas to her 96-year-old husband.
The Beverly Community Nursery School, located at the Givins Castle in Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood, honored its founder, Bagnall, during a ceremony Wednesday that also served as a dedication of an expansion of the school’s outdoor classroom.
A group of children sang a few songs, including Beverly resident Dashiell Sanchez, 4, who is back at the school after enjoying classes and activities in the summer.
“This is beautiful, are you kidding me?” his mother, Crystal Sanchez said of the outdoor area. “Dashiell loves this program and comes home covered in sand. He was pouring cicadas on himself. He loves it.”
The cicadas are gone but the memory of Ann Bagnall, who died in 2021, is still present. A new plaque in her honor caught Dashiell’s attention as he touched it in wonderment, and speeches included one by her 96-year-old husband, George, a longtime Beverly Shores, Indiana, resident.
“My only regret is that Ann is not here for this,” George said. “This school was something that she loved.”
Ann raised five children, but in theory may have helped raise many more as she helped start the school in the 1950s.
George remembers kids running around in a small area back then.
“There were little guys running this way and that way,” he said. “It seemed like it was completely disorganized, but it seemed to be working. It looked like chaos, but it wasn’t.”
In recent years, the outdoor area has been converted into a learning playground that school director Patrick Singler calls a “wonderland for children.”
“Patrick has done an amazing job,” said Sally Bagnall, one of Anne’s daughters. “He has such high energy and he’s doing a great job.
“The cool thing is that I was reading up on Patrick because I didn’t know him all that well and he would do things that my mom would do. That was wonderful.”
Included in the 3,500-square-foot area is a mud kitchen, a water works area, a garden with pollinator plants and vegetables, a ball area, a sandbox, a rock pit and a fairy garden.
New to the outdoor area is a climbing structure created from 25 tree stumps that cascade up the side of a hill.
The Bagnall family donated money to build a fence for safety and for landscaping.
Singler was a student at the school but returned 20 years later as a teacher. Upon becoming the school’s director, he made it a pet project to enhance the outdoor area.
He is not stopping now.
“We are continuing to improve as much as we can,” Singler said. “I have a laundry list of different things I want to do. I’m continuing to discover what those are.
“The outdoor classroom is nearly complete. We have some beautification that we are planning on doing. The work continues.”
Singler said everything gets used when the children are present.
“We can have about 80 kids out here at once and one of my favorite things to do is just sit and watch,” he said. “Let me tell you, children do not stop. They are engaging in everything. Some are balancing on the balance beam, they are running and skipping and jumping.
“They are creating with the large sticks. They are pouring water in and out and seeing what gravity is like. They are digging and making castles. All kinds of stuff.”
Beth O’Grady, board chair of Beverly Unitarian Church, which owns Givins Castle, said the grounds are ready to be shown off as part of Open House Chicago on Oct. 20.
“Oh my gosh, I’m just so grateful to the Bagnall family,” she said. “The grounds look just gorgeous. This is a destination for Open House Chicago and there will be a lot of people looking at the grounds.”
Betsy Bagnall, another daughter of Ann, said her mother would appreciate being honored.
“We’re beyond grateful for the opportunity,” Betsy said. “My mother was a remarkable early child instructor and we are happy that Patrick, who is more than capable, will carry on that same legacy.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
