IF you attended child care in Albury during the last fifty years, chances are you crossed paths with Janice Wilcox.
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Mrs Wilcox retired yesterday after more than half a century of working and operating child care centres in Albury and Lavington.
Mrs Wilcox and husband Noel opened the first child care centre in Albury, the Wilcox Street Childcare Centre in 1964.
![FAMILY: L-R: Taya, 2, Mum Carly Brown, Janice Wilcox, Ciara, 6, grandfather Steve Brown and Mila, 4 are a family of three generations of children cared for at Mrs Wilcox's child care centres. Pictures: MARK JESSER FAMILY: L-R: Taya, 2, Mum Carly Brown, Janice Wilcox, Ciara, 6, grandfather Steve Brown and Mila, 4 are a family of three generations of children cared for at Mrs Wilcox's child care centres. Pictures: MARK JESSER](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/QCWxNXm2Zu7MVAKrvEafBf/524cf5a3-b9d4-41bf-a1a3-720bf5f7a460.jpg/r0_277_4620_2874_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
They also owned and ran Banff Avenue and Craiton’s child care centre.
“We started there with a small number of children and we went into Banff Avenue and then we came out here, we’ve been here for 22 years,” Mrs Wilcox said.
“We built Craiton’s about 22 years ago and it’s been a joy.”
Mrs Wilcox said the best part of the job had been the families involved.
“I’m seeing children now who are married with their own children and I’m caring for those children now,” she said.
“A lot of kids I have looked after over the years have come up to me in the street and said hello.”
“I always ask them what their best memory of the centre was and most of them remember the food that we ate like the mince or the mashed potatoes,” Mrs Wilcox said.
“I just hope when they see me in the street they stop and tell me who they are and remind me all about it.”
Mrs Wilcox looks forward to some adventure in her retirement.
“I’m sad I’m going but you’ve got to move on with your life,” she said.
“You can’t stay in the same place forever and there are things that I want to do like abseiling and bungee jumping.”
![Kyra Slade, the new owner and opertator of Craiton's Child Care Centre in Lavington with Janice Wilcox who has cared for thousands of Border children. Kyra Slade, the new owner and opertator of Craiton's Child Care Centre in Lavington with Janice Wilcox who has cared for thousands of Border children.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/QCWxNXm2Zu7MVAKrvEafBf/c92e1466-cb6b-42e2-bc59-2641081c28f6.jpg/r0_234_4570_2803_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Craiton’s Child Care Centre is now operated by Kyra Slade and Richard Hassall.
Mrs Wilcox wishes the best to the new owners and operators.
“I wish them all the best and I’m sure they will do a really good job because they are really passionate about it,” she said.