St. Michael's School
Memories by Patricia

It amazes me how much my brother remembers about St. Michael's. I don't remember any of the those things, but that could have been because the boys were more involved with sports than the girls.

I do remember we had a girl's baseball team and we played the boys. We also had a basketball team and again we played against the boys. Whether the town kids were a part of that, I do not remember. I have blocked most of the memory of that time in my life out of my head because it was so tramatizing for me. Each of my brothers and sisters remembers different things. I think I blocked out the most.

Some Good Things I Remember
Some Not-So-Good Things I Remember

Some of the articles, about St. Michael's, paint a rather pleasant picture. It is important to realize there were also quite a bit of hard times. There was more discipline than there was freedom. There was a great deal of isolation, rather than relationships with the outside world.

As children, growing up with children, we had to rely on ourselves for our comfort, rely on a child for our learnings of how one would know what to do when they grow up. I have raised three children and the biggest compliment I received was when one of my son's college Professors said to him, to tell his mother "She did a good job." I raised my children based on what happened to me and the vow I would never allow that to happen to them.

Birthday, for me, were just another day. There were no birthday parties or presents. I made sure my kids knew they were special and had a special day just for them.

At St. Michael's, after the 8th grade, you had to go into a foster home so you could attend High School. Since I left St. Michael's, I went back once. At that time there were only 90 children there and they were considering closing down. That was the last time I went for a visit.

editor's note: This is a very touching note from a woman who lived at St. Michael's as a child. It gives a good sense of some of the difficulties of institutional life, with its rigid displine and isolation from the surrounding community. I am so happy that the woman appears to have gained control of her life and has done an outstanding job of raising her family. It leaves the hope that many of the children were able to overcome their difficult beginnings and were able to enjoy a full and rewarding life.

return to St. Michael's History Page
posted January 2000