Ida (Nugent) Paey (circa 1880-1958) was George and Anna Nugent’s youngest child of four, born circa 1880. She graduated with honors from Central Colored High School, now known as Central High School, in 1898. Throughout her life, Ida diligently worked towards equality and the vote for black women through education and community service. In March 1903, Ida was elected to be the first kindergarten teacher at Louisville’s Main Street Colored School. In June 1904, she began teaching at South Louisville Colored School. She taught at South Louisville until at least 1907. On December 28, 1907, Ida gave a talk about how to teach kindergarten at a workshop titled “Industrial Education and Manual Training” in Danville, Kentucky. Ida married Andrew Lyman Paey on June 30, 1908 in Louisville. The 1910 census showed the newlywed couple moved to Norfolk, Virginia. This census also listed Andrew as a physician. According to the Norfolk City Directory, from 1914-1920 Ida was a superintendent at the Norfolk Day Nursery. From 1922 through 1949, she was a probation officer for City Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. Ida was very involved in her community as well. On July 15, 1913, “The Nashville Globe” published a story about a meeting she led for the Virginia State Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs. Ida, chairman of the program committee, organized the event at which more than 2,000 women were present. In December 1917, she was named one of several Vice Presidents of the Negro Organization Society of Virginia at its Fifth Annual Meeting. She was also on the Board of Negro Collaborators for the Virginia War History Commission in 1920. Even though she lived in Virginia, she often visited her sisters in Louisville and remained connected to black community activists in the state. She was an associate member of Louisville’s Woman’s Improvement Club. She died in Norfolk on September 19, 1958 and was buried in Eastern Cemetery. – Bio by Girl Scout Laura Bache. Her project’s FB page: Shattering the Glass Ceiling: A Girl Scout Gold Award Project. Her Instagram featuring more role models like Ida: @rolemodelmoxie
