Catholic Children Home 1950

Does anyone have info on this Children home in the 1950 In Alton Illinois. Was this a home for Catholic's only? What was the purpose of this home.Why so many children there in the 1950's.Was it private school? Any infor welcome.Thanks

Catholic Here wrote:

Does anyone have info on this Children home in the 1950 In Alton Illinois. Was this a home for Catholic's only? What was the purpose of this home.Why so many children there in the 1950's.Was it private school? Any infor welcome.Thanks

The Catholic Children's Home is located at 1400 State Street, Alton IL, 62002. Their website is http://www.catholicchildrenshome.com/index.ht...
I volunteered there over twenty years ago in their Special Ed Dept.

Catholic Here wrote:

Does anyone have info on this Children home in the 1950 In Alton Illinois. Was this a home for Catholic's only? What was the purpose of this home.Why so many children there in the 1950's.Was it private school? Any infor welcome.Thanks

I was a child at the "Home" from 1951 - 1957. It was an instutition for orphans and children from "broken" families. Most of the children came from Catholic families, but there were children of other faiths there also. Many of us came from environments of pain and fear and this was a place of love and safety. The nuns were not perfect, but they did the best they could with what they were given. I have had the opportunity to talk to other former boys and girls of the home and they, with one exception, feel as I do. I have nothing but praise and love for the sisters and the home.

does anyone one know a picture or information for childrens jobs in 1950 if so please say

My grandmother use to work at the Catholic Childrens' Home in the 70's as a cook.

Ed Colvin wrote:

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I was a child at the "Home" from 1951 - 1957. It was an instutition for orphans and children from "broken" families. Most of the children came from Catholic families, but there were children of other faiths there also. Many of us came from environments of pain and fear and this was a place of love and safety. The nuns were not perfect, but they did the best they could with what they were given. I have had the opportunity to talk to other former boys and girls of the home and they, with one exception, feel as I do. I have nothing but praise and love for the sisters and the home.

I was put there in 1963 along with three brothers and two sisters, it was a safe and warm place for me also, coming from abusive alchoholic father. in a divorce. I have very good memories from then, the only thing I didnt like, they seperated us and I only saw one brother the entire time I was there. I am glad I had that experience in my life at that time. I would like to see pictures from that time and talk to others if interested e-mail me at braada1@cs.com thamks

anyone with pictures they would like to share from around 1963 from the childrens home, I would appreciate, especially the outside, I remeber sledding down a big hill in the back and picnics on the side of the building. alot of good memories from then. e-mail to braada1@cs.com thanks

Me and my one brother and three sisters were in the "Home" from 1943 to 1949.I don't know if every child there was Catholic but every child there attended Catholic Mass every day.

I was a resident of the home along with two brothers and two sisters in 1959 to 1960. I was only three to four at the time. I was always getting spanked for crying and peeing my pants. My older siblings got along much better and enjoyed the care. We were separated which was very hard on me, my older sister had been my care giver so when I would catch a glimps of her I would bolt out of line to run to her therefore being in trouble again. We had a warm place to sleep and food to eat but as a very young child my understanding of the situation was they kept my "ME ME" (sister) away from me and I cryed all the time. Sometimes our Mother & sister-in-law would come to visit, at that time we were all together, my happiest moments there!!!

My Grandmother went there in, well all I know is that she "graduated" in 1937. She died when my mom was fours years old - she was only 28 at the time of her death. My Mom said that nobody would talk to her about her - her Dad would just break down, so she really knows nothing about her. Her only memorie of her was of her in bed with a cane and then being taken out of the house and put into a car (hearse most likely). She died of cervical cancer.
My mom had an autograph book (I never knew until last night) of her Mom's from the school. It is signed with sweet and funny saying from her classmates and the Nuns. It is very cool to read it but now I am longing for more. If anyone has any information, I would love to hear back. Her name was Mary Helen Hennessey.

i remember very little about the home, i lived there for a short time when i was about 4 or 5 . my 2 brothers and i lived there, we also were seperated from each other. i have several pics of us taken in the front of the building with the virgin mary. unfortunatly i do not remember much. i remember lots of children being there and all housed in one room.

karin varble wrote:

i remember very little about the home, i lived there for a short time when i was about 4 or 5 . my 2 brothers and i lived there, we also were seperated from each other. i have several pics of us taken in the front of the building with the virgin mary. unfortunatly i do not remember much. i remember lots of children being there and all housed in one room.

What year were you there? I was there at that age also (3 to 4). I do remember in our large room an old record player playing Humpty Dumpty and we took turns sitting in a swing set bar falling off as he fell. We had pictures taken in front of the home also, my sister has them. I visited the home in 1996 with my sister and a friend, brought back a lot of memories and also cleared up some fears.

I know some things the school is haunted
that is what the people that work there say
the school is old and needs up dates

Catholic Here wrote:

Does anyone have info on this Children home in the 1950 In Alton Illinois. Was this a home for Catholic's only? What was the purpose of this home.Why so many children there in the 1950's.Was it private school? Any infor welcome.Thanks

No this home was not just for Catholics. It was mainly a home for orphans; but they accepted children on a weekly basis for parents that could not take care of them at home because of working. It was like a live-in baby sitting service that the parent had to pay minimal charges for.

I lived at the "Home" from age 3-6 in 1960 to 1963 with my 2 brothers and 2 sisters. We were all separated from age group and boys from girls. Don't have any bad memories, just missing my parents. I remember standing in line to brush our teeth, to bathe, to eat and to go to the bathroom. Beds were all grouped together in one room. In the morning a nun would come by your bed and put a dress at the end for you to wear that day. You would be wearing someone elses dress too big for you and I remember getting mad because someone had mine on. I remember sled riding down the hill and thinking a witch lived in the house at the bottom of the hill. Also remember pancake suppers, going to church and the priests German Sheperd dog. There were alot of green glass blocks inside used as room dividers. We could only watch show's like Shirley Temple and Don Amechi's Circus. Never anything with guns and Superman wasn't allowed. I quess they were afraid some kid would try to jump off the building thinking he could fly. Went back a few years ago but everything had been remodeled. It didn't look the same inside but the outside looked the same.

Myself and my 3 other sisters and 1 older brother were placed in the home in 1960 and got out in 1968. My older sisters Lisa and Pam were placed upstairs in Maria Goretti and my younger sister and I were in Little Flower, my brother in Don Bosco. I remember Father Quilligan, and on Sundays getting to go with him for a newspaper. Church everyday, I played violin. My kindergarten teachers name was Sister Engelbert, just a tiny little thing, I had Sister Helen at first on our floor, then Sister Olivia took over. Father Quilligan had a Saint Bernard, and I remember swinging for hours thinking the higher I got then I could get away. I also remember playing lots and lots of tetherball and winning all the time. If Delores Haglaur or Kathy Rios, Lenee & Renee Somers are out there, send me a note, would love to hear from everyone.

my e-mail is kpreciouspea@cox.net, hope to hear from someone.

I was in the catholic childrens home in alton from 1935 to 1943. The boys would spend most days playing ball when we were outside, we used to hit rocks down the hill with a stick to get better at batting. Some would sneak out and walk downtown for a bit.

smacdonald wrote:

I lived at the "Home" from age 3-6 in 1960 to 1963 with my 2 brothers and 2 sisters. We were all separated from age group and boys from girls. Don't have any bad memories, just missing my parents. I remember standing in line to brush our teeth, to bathe, to eat and to go to the bathroom. Beds were all grouped together in one room. In the morning a nun would come by your bed and put a dress at the end for you to wear that day. You would be wearing someone elses dress too big for you and I remember getting mad because someone had mine on. I remember sled riding down the hill and thinking a witch lived in the house at the bottom of the hill. Also remember pancake suppers, going to church and the priests German Sheperd dog. There were alot of green glass blocks inside used as room dividers. We could only watch show's like Shirley Temple and Don Amechi's Circus. Never anything with guns and Superman wasn't allowed. I quess they were afraid some kid would try to jump off the building thinking he could fly. Went back a few years ago but everything had been remodeled. It didn't look the same inside but the outside looked the same.

The dogs name was rusty........my brothers lived there along with me from 1959 - 1962 I was 4 when we went in and a very shy little girl but I remember it well