Life In An Orphanage |
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This is a picture of the "boys" community bathroom at the orphanage |
Picture of the kids in front of the orphange building |
Kids in the classroom |
Life in An Orphanage
Since living in an orphanage is a thing of the past in the United States, we wonder- what was it like??
Thee are 3 main eras when orphanages flourished in the United States
They are:
• mid 1700's
• mid 1800's
• World War I era (1914-1930)
The issue that faced our society was this: What do we do with the overpopulation of unclaimed children?
Although orphanages did develop earlier, they really became more prevalent in the mid-19 th century. Churches were the greatest advocates of orphanages. Church organizations helped those people living in poverty, so it was a natural step to “rescue youth” and “correct moral order.”
World War I and the post-war period brought in what we know as the modern day orphanage. The Great Depression took its toll and gave our society children who were victims of unwed parents, immigration, abuse, neglect, abandonment, and of course, death. Sometimes orphanages housed children while parents attempted to get back on their feet and circumstances improved.
Orphanages continued to serve a necessary role until the 1950's and 1960's when attitudes began to change. Society began to believe that children did better in a family environment, and so this philosophy gave rise to foster care and group homes. The debate still continues as many ideas are offered on how to raise parentless or neglected children.
Although there are still a few orphanages left in our country, they are now for the most part, virtually a thing of the past. As we have researched this subject, we found that dealing with the welfare of people reveals both good experiences and bad ones.
As we researched our own local St. Vincent's Orphanage, we have been fortunate to discover an experience “of the good kind.” We are anxious to share it with you.
A First Hand Experience
“Mr. Mister” Clark, as we call him, that's because his son is our teacher, came to school and shared with us his life at St. Vincent's Orphanage. It was an amazing story and one that left us full of respect for him and the place he called home during his childhood.
Now a man in his seventies, Mr. Mister Clark was just beginning first grade when he was diagnosed with tuberculosis of the bone. Mr. Mister Clark's father had died of TB and now Mr. Mister Clark was hospitalized for 4 years at Riley Hospital in Indianapolis. During his hospitalization he was in isolation so he had no contact with people except for a few cautious nurses. While in the hospital his mother died of TB. Upon his release he was sent to live in St. Vincent's Orphanage here in Vincennes.
When people hear about orphanages they think of “Little Orphan Annie,” sleeping on the floor, and poor food. Mr. Mister Clark remembers just the opposite at St. Vincent's.
The food was nutritious, the home clean, and all of the children were looked after. But life was very different there than in a regular family home. There was a girls' dormitory and a boys' dormitory. There were many beds together in one room and the same was true for showers and stools, which was called the group lavatory. The girls and boys were not to visit with one another, and Mr. Mister Clark got in trouble one time for talking to his sister when he shouldn't. His punishment was to wear a girl's dress! He learned his lesson that time!
Franciscan nuns ran the orphanage, and although they were strict, they always cared about the children and gave them a good education. He was also taught about responsibility because he and the other children had regular chores to do.
When Mr. Clark was about 16, he was sent to a foster home to live. The family was not very nice to him, and he was kicked out a couple of years later.
He was never treated as part of the family. He later went to live with a family member and graduated from high school.
When Mr. Clark remembers his childhood, he remembers St. Vincent's Orphanage as the best part. In fact, he has such fond memories of St. Vincent's and the nuns who raised him that he organizes reunions to get people who lived there together. He keeps in contact with many of those people still.
Mr. Mister Clark made us see that orphanages weren't as awful as we imagined and that St. Vincent's Orphanage was a great asset to our community. We also decided that Mr. Clark is a great asset to our community as well!
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Mr. Clark and the Franklin 5th graders |
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