Author Dean Jensen is seeking information about the Allen County Children's Home in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In particular, he wants to gain a sense of what the children's daily lives were like (schooling, play, jobs), as well as the layout of the grounds and what it looked like inside and out. Information from anyone who has knowledge of what the institution was like - including janitors, kitchen helpers and groundskeepers - would be appreciated, particularly from the years 1929-1932.
If you have any information, please contact:
Dean Jensen
759 N. Water St.
Milwaukee, WI 53202
deanjensenart@sbcglobal.net
Hello Dean
ReplyDeleteIwas a child ther when i was about 6. I n the 60's i rememberit pretty well I'm looking to find it also again the schooling was hard and punishment worse I was beat with a belt for playing ring a round the roses i also am on the search for it i've been told that it closed in the late 60's and became a unwed mother's home my e-mail is kellersgramma@yahoo.com
Laura
I was there around 1963. The building I stayed in had a bottom floor and a second floor. The first floor had the playroom/gathering room, the charge persons room and I think bathrooms. The second floor had two large rooms that contained our beds. They were divided according to age. I was in the older girls section. There was a huge clothes closet that had bins with our names on them and our clothes were kept there. There was also a bathroom with a tub which is where we took a bath. Stair case was all wood with spindles. We ate in a different building and went to school in a different building. School building also served as church. If you wish any additional information & I can help, please email me at karen.saville@yahoo.com
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I lived there in the late 60's and early 70's along with my 2 sisters and brother. I was in the Jr. Girls cottage first and then Sr. Girls. It was o.k. for me, but my brother would probably tell a different story. My email is: rizzi5@msn.com if you need information. My name is Tonna (Despos)
ReplyDeleteMy mother and her 7 siblings were there from around 61 to 65 a total of 4 years and she says it was hell that a miss weegan was very mean and abusive to the children,and that there was a lady that was really nice to her and her sisters and her name was mrs lane. Punishment was really harsh and often unneeded
ReplyDeleteMy father was there in in 1930 to 1943. His first 4-5 years of school was at Washington Elementary in Fort Wayne, and he road the trolley there. They built the school on grounds because the kids would cause trouble when they arrived at Washington School too early and/or would run away. He, too, reported physical abuse...beaten out of a sound sleep when "somebody" believed he had been talking.
ReplyDeleteMy dad was there from abt 1945/6 to 1952/3 as he passed away in 1972, so u stated that they built a school on the orphanage land? I'm trying to get information from the time he was there (I know the name of him when he was there)
DeleteI lived there in the mid 60s. As a toddler I don't remember much but I do recall that at bed time I was crying uncontrollably and the counselor tried to get me to stop. I had always slept with my 2 older brothers and was so alone. He made me a little bed beside his. It did bring me some comfort. I am now 54 and it still brings tears thinking about it. I would like to tell him thank you. You did make a difference to a lonely little boy. Thank you
ReplyDeleteYes,i was put in the Allen County Children's Home in the Mid 60s,sentenced by the state of Indiana. I did a 5 Year stretch for being poor and a chronic truant in the public school system, And other home circumstances...AHH yes i remember the communal shower cube and how Mrs.Boyer would watch us shower then rub our heels intermittently to make sure they were clean,and the round Tooth brush basin.and how some kids where yanked outta bed and given a good beating with the old razer strap by old man Sawyer the night matron just to be made the example of, I can still hear that crack that it made when it connected with the unfortunate kids flesh that got picked that night,Anyway just another slice of the memory pizza of the ole A.C.C.H....Cheers
DeleteOMG. I was there in the early 60s. The memories are mostly bad, probably because I wet the bed. Anyway, the school/gym/church? had 4th,5th and 6th grades in the same room. I remember peeling a lot of potatoes and waxing the floor on my hands and knees. Cornmeal mush every Friday. OMG I survived. Left for a foster home that was little better.
ReplyDeleteI remember ms.Lane and she was mean and her thumbs were missing on both hands...she would hit you with a stick...I was there twice..1964 and 1966
ReplyDeleteI have family that was there between 1940-1944. Billy & Bobby Ryan. Their parents both died, and they lived with family then here until they aged out & joined the military just before WW2. I have letters that they wrote to my great grandmother while they were there. Would love to learn more about the facility and anyone that had family there during that time. Best wishes! Rebecca
ReplyDeleteTtaflinger@aol.com
ReplyDeleteMy last name is taflinget 7 of my family was there
Late fifty's early sixty's. Mr Estes night watch, millers were good to us, played cards with us..
ReplyDeleteDo you recall who the superintendent were at that time?
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