When my parents used to go on vacation, they would drop the little kids off at St. Joseph's orphanage on North Avenue. I have such vivid memories of the place - the little white metal beds, the giant stone bathtub. When I was 4-years old, my parents went for a 2-week trip to Uruguay, so off we went to St. Joseph's. I remember the nuns wouldn't let me sleep with my big sister Hope; all the kids were separated by age and gender, so Hope was in a different room. But at night, she would come and find me, and we would sleep together in that tiny metal bed.
My brother David stole a doorstop from the orphanage. My mother didn't find out until years later, and she was too mortified to return it. Turns out it was actually an artillery shell, probably from nearby Fort Ethan Allen. I assume it was an empty, as opposed to unexploded, shell, but who can tell? As far as I know, it's still sitting there, stopping the door in my parent's library.
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4 comments:
I've never heard of that - giving your kids to an orphange so you could take vacation. Um... they were lucky you were still there when they returned. Or not?
smile
Hi Sarah,
Yes, I come from a very strange, very large family (I'm the youngest of 8). Basically, I think my mother knew most of the nuns in the area (being Catholic in a fairly small Catholic community), so they were probably doing her a favor. But it is a weird thing to do. We laugh about it now; my mom is the Lucille Ball of crazy schemes.
Wasn't meant badly. I figured there must be some churchy connection. So, come to think of it, happy easter, dear Laura.
sarah
Wasn't taken badly at all. In fact, we used to joke that we must have had a hard time convincing the other kids that our parent were coming back for us. Really, they're coming back!
And happy Easter to you, too, dear Sarah.
Laura
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