Kennedy Home Alumni (Carmel, Peekskill: high school, live in, moving)

[nancy613]

peter im so happy some one was able to lead you in the right direction, i hold much hope that you will be able to piece the puzzle together soon so you will have all the info to finish your family tree. good luck. nancy

[PWhite9420]

Dear Nancy and others:

Thank you for helping me with this search. I have located and have been communicating with one of the retired Sisters and making progress.

Peter White

[PWhite9420]

Thank you, to everyone who helped me locate the woman to whom I was related and did not know very well.

Sister Martin Marie Dunne, unfortunately passed away on 7 October 2001, however I now know who she was and how we were related.

She is not my "Great Aunt" however she was my fathers first cousin, daughter of his Fathers sister "Annie White" of New York City. This would make her my second cousin.

She was an administrator at both the Kennedy home and St. Josephs and later became the "Provincial" at Mount St. Francis in Peekskill

Thank you again,
Sincerely,
Peter White

[amaranth]

I'm not sure if I'm doing this right I'm new to this sight. But here goes

I was in the home in the early 70's and I can tell you it was the worse place to be. I spent most of my time trying to run away because everything you had was stolen. The fighting was really bad. All the kids i was with came from troubled back grounds including me. My sister was the youngest girl in the home, I was in cottage C, It was the toughest of all the cottages and you had to fight to keep it that way. Does anyone remember the horse stables across the street from the home. How about the big pay out of 19 cents for doing chores. East Chester Or Gun Hill RD before they build anything on it. my saddest memory is when the girls in my cottage got hit by a car. He was a drunk driver, The little school room where we used to get paid by the teacher to do our work so he could keep his job LOL. it was the worse place a kid could end up, my best memory was going to a place call Hawaii Ki in the city is was the 1 and only trip we went on. I'm a mother of 6 now and would like to share with my children and grand children what this place meant to me so they could understand what my life was like but can't even find a picture to show them.. Hey why did the boys get such nice cottages on the other side near the rec room and the girls got the big buildings, I hated that LOL I would love to hear back from anyone that was there from 1970 to 1976. My name is Frances and my little sisters name is Theresa you may remember us as being the only youngest white girls in the home besides 2 others some heavy set girl and penny whom ran away with me time or 2. Jackie was my other run away partner. Now those were the good times getting away from that place for a day or 2 before getting brought back.

[marnet]

I was wondering if anyone remembered the Gillliams? My 5 brothers were in the Kennedy home from 1968, and my sister and I arrived in 1970. I believe I was the youngest there, and was kept in the infirmary because of my age. I was 4 at the time, and would stay there between foster homes. My name is Maryann. I'm working on a memoir, and would appreciate any info anyone might have.

[nancy613]

hello amar. i am srry you and your sister had such an awful experience at the home during your stay in the 70s. most ppl that stayed there in the earlier years had better memories and most admit that those years were the best childhood years of their childhood. during my stay i must stay there were maybe a handful of black children in the home the home was perdominatly an all white orphanage. you mention in your post that you and your sister were the minority. i can only speak for myself i was there in the 60s and i did not have any problems as you mentioned and many fond memoried i do hold of the nuns and the home itself. i along with a brother and sister were placed there not due to behavior problems but, from a divorce of my parents. many children were there in the earlier yrears because of broken families not because of troubled or deliquentcy issues. i am happy to know that you have grown to understand the value of what family means and what it is to have one and you are blessed to have 6 chilfren. the lord has given to you back what was taken from you so long ago. may you be blessed with many beautiful memories. best of luck to you and your family nancy

[lotisflwr1]

Hi Nancy, Were you ever at St. Joseph's ? Your name sounds familiar. My bothers and I were sent to Kennedy for about a month, and then to St. Joseph's which I was there for 7 years. Like some of us it was due to my parents divorce, I was 5 at the time and remember the day very clearly. I loved the place and will always call St. Joe's my home. I feel very sorry for some of the storys I read on this site, the early years from the 60's to the late part of the 60's seem to have been better for some of us. I still try to keep in touch with my group Mother who was Sister Francis Marie. She is still alive and well and still at St. Joe's. The name has change to the Sisters of Mount St. Francis in Peekskill N.Y. Keep in touch, Joanne

[Jacqueline Joseph]

My brothers and I were in Kennedy home for a few years during the late 50's early 60's. The address is engraved in my mind. I would love to meet people that have shared similar experences.

Jacqueline

[Hilda Correa aka H. Diaz]

Hi Homies, I just joined the group. It would be nice to have a alumni get together - does any remember Hilda - I also attended the Assisium Secretarial School - graduated 6/68. Attended 8th grade in grounds at Kennedy - graduated 1966

[Hilda Correa aka H. Diaz]

Physically, its still there but not as you or I remember as. I believe its a mental/handicapped resident. Sometimes I pass by in the bus

Hilda - alumni '68