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Hello Dolly, I was in St Paul's from 1946 to 1952, but my Aunt Peggy Waters was there in the 1930's and 1940's. Is there any chance you knew her or her brothers Matthew and Bill?
Hi Nan, I was just browsing and I saw your post. I was at St. Pauls from March of 1936 to August of 1944. Back then I knew just about every kid there by name but now only the ones in my class remain in my memory. If you want to ask me anything else my email address is dolly.floccari@gmail.com .
Hello Dolly, I was in St Paul's from 1946 to 1952, but my Aunt Peggy Waters was there in the 1930's and 1940's. Is there any chance you knew her or her brothers Matthew and Bill?
Hi, this is Dolly, I was browsing and just noticed you letter. I don't know how long ago you sent it but I'll reply now. I was there from March of 1936 to August of 1944. Like I said, there were a lot of kids there andwe were separated in divisions according to our age. Girls in one building and boys in another. I barely ever got to see my own brothers and sisters. So, the ones I remember were the ones in my grade in school and the girls my age. Could you tell me what years in school they were. What I mean is I was 1st grade in1937 and so on. This probably won't help but I doubt it will help. Wish I could of helped you. Write again. Dolly
My mother and uncle were in St. Pauls in the 1930s I have pictures.
Hi, Ijust noticed your post in which you said you have pictures. I don't suppose you could send me some? My email address is dolly.floccari@gmail.com Thank you.
Oh my goodness! So excited to hear of your photos. I just sent you a message and I'm not sure it went through, so I will try again. I was able to locate a beautiful nun who sent me photos of "Sister Bridgit" and of the Orphanage. I would love to share them with you as well and to have more to fill our home with. Thank you for your kindness in writing back.
Hi Gina, I never noticed this post before. All I have to say is , there sure were a lot of Webers . I knew a George nd Peggy Weber. I was there from 1936-44. My brother Frank was a good friend of a George Weber. I have a small picture of the George I knew still. He would be about 85yrs. now if still alive. I am 83. Let me know if you are interested. My email is dolly.floccari@gmail.com
Hello, my name is George, and i was at ST PAULS FROM THE LATER 40'S TRU '54, I did know of a "Richard Weber", we played in the band together, (The orphanage band), under Mr. DiMagio., and if i look hard enough i may be able to locate pics of him in my scrap book, have numerous pics of the buildings, children that were there with me, and the wonderful sisters of mercy, if i can be of further help, feel free to contact me at my e/m address. I just stumbled upon this site, and was thrilled to learn of it because of my education at st pauls....
George S
My name is Anthony Crisi. I was in St. Paul's Orphanage from 1941 to 1948. I was in the band as a clarinet player. Mr. DiMagio taught me how to play clarinet. My email is crisit@comcast.net. I am also on Facebook. From reference material and other research, I understand that Mr. DiMagio's real name is Frank Maggio. Before being assigned to the orphanage, he had a number of dance bands on the road. I am interested in any and all photographs you may want to share about the orphanage. Please provide me with your email.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dolly3Flo
Hi Gina, I never noticed this post before. All I have to say is , there sure were a lot of Webers . I knew a George nd Peggy Weber. I was there from 1936-44. My brother Frank was a good friend of a George Weber. I have a small picture of the George I knew still. He would be about 85yrs. now if still alive. I am 83. Let me know if you are interested. My email is dolly.floccari@gmail.com
Gina, I am definitely interested in any narrative or photographic information you may want to share. My email is crisit@comcast.net. I am also on Facebook. I was a resident in the orphanage from 1941 to 1948.
Hope to hear from you, Anthony (Tony) Crisi
Quote:
Originally Posted by papadon1935
A quick look at the recently released 1940 Census for St Paul's Orphanage. Pittsburgh, PA Enumeration District 69-815:
• For St Paul's there are a total of 14 census pages, about 40 entries per page. Page 13 is half-used and page 14 is blank. This would indicate that there were about 500 people residing at St Paul's in 1940. The data shows: 26 nuns, 2 Chaplains, 30 identified as "Lodgers" (all adults) which leaves about 440 identified as"Inmates."
• All were designate "W"-white (Although there were a couple of Hispanic surnames) and all "S" Single.
• Age and Grade: The vast majority of inmates were between 6 years and 14 years of age. There were many, however, as young as 3 or 4 years. Interesting to note that 4th grade students ranged in age from 10-14 years old. There was at least one 15 year old in the 5th grade. Several inmates were apparently in high school. I don't believe they attend on-site.
• The "Lodgers" ages ranged from 19 to 78. There were several in their early 20's. The group's ages ranged through their 30's 40's and 50's. I speculate most of these were civilian workers living on site-cooks, maintenance works, etc. My mother was there for several months "rehab" in the middle 40's and worked in the hospital facility.
I easily found most of the names mentioned on this forum as having been at St Paul's in the time frame enumerated in the census.
I was in the orphanage from 1941 to 1948. If you have a copy of the census for 1940, would you mind sharing a copy. My email is crisit@comcast.net Thanks, Anthony (Tony) Crisi
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dwaynerh52
It's been interesting finding this post and reading the different perceptions about the experience of being at St. Pauls. My mother, Angeline Julian and her two sisters Mary and Katherine and her brother Frank were in St. Paul's from 1938 until 1942. Her parents were divorced and her father moved to Indiana, leaving her young and loving but uneducated and work inexperienced mother to care for four children during the middle of the depression. I think it's hard for us to understand how difficult (or should I say impossible) it was for women back in 1938 to find work, particularly with four children. The social services and public assistance as we know it today simply did not exist and the church was one area someone could turn to for assistance. If you chose the church for help then you had to play by their rules which on reflection at times could be harsh and rigid (cleanliness, godliness, and hard work). My mother and her siblings did not want to be at St. Paul's but in time adjusted and my mother came to see it as a positive experience (though they all still wanted wanted to be with their mother). She says that they were clean and warm, had good food, that she got a good basic education, she learned to play the violin, and she also made friends with many other children there . She says the majority of the kids there were not actually orphans but their parents were having difficulty(illness, finances, death of one parent, divorce) and couldn't take care of them. My grandmother got a job at Mayview State Hospital and went to school nights to become an LVN and eventually got all the kids out of St. Paul's in 1942 and they were reunited all the remainder of their lives. My grandmother was pretty incredible herself! My mom got married in the 1940s, had three kids, 2 grandchildren, and 3 great grandchildren. She is the greatest mother. She is 85, in good mental and physical shape and would love to see pictures of St. Paul's and hear from anyone(or their families) who was there when she was. I went there in the 1970s, before the fire, and took some color photos. I will dig them out and try and post them on this site and anyone who would like to have them can also email me. Also keep in mind that if you do research on the orphanage records birthdates, medical and school records are probably most accurate. Home, family and social assessments done many years ago are most likely biased towards justifying a reason for taking children from the home. Social Work has improved tremendously over the years and I guess what I'm saying is if you read something that sounds negative about your family it may not be accurate. In the old days of Social Service the theory was we know best, we are right and you are wrong. Today Social Services looks at the whole family ina completely different "helping context." So be careful you don't get your feelings hurt when reading some of these records (and I am talking from experience). Good luck to everyone searching about their families. Dwayne
Dwayne, it is good to hear the good things about the orphanage. It took me almost a lifetime to realize the good things, especially after one experiences how life is in general and in some particulars. How good I had it compared to some of my own cousins and the trauma and hurt they experienced with their biological families. I had let some of the particular hurtful and traumatic experiences darken and overshadow the greater good that I had experienced. I was even angry at God and "religion" as I had perceived it in my eyes as a child. God is good. Life is good. Gratitude and thanksgiving are good. I now really appreciate what was done for me. God has done wonderful things for me. He has filled my life with good things and often redeemed my life from distruction. He has crowned me with honor and glory. He has blessed me with a good wife, children and their spouses, and grandchildren, good health, and wholesome activities. Along the way I also learned so much about my family genealogy and where my paternal and maternal ancestors came from; and, I am proud to be Italian and Catholic. If you care to write my email is crisit@comcast.net. I am also on Facebook. Any narrative or photographic info you care to share will be appreciated. Anthony D. Crisi
Last edited by Yac; 01-15-2015 at 05:27 AM..
Reason: 4 posts in a row merged
All, I'm attaching the link to 18 photos I took of St. Paul's about 5 years ago. I've also posted 3 Black and white photos of St. Paul's and a post card I found on the internet, all taken during the 1930s. The photos are posted on Flickr.com. Feel free to download and copy any of my photos (they are the color ones). If you haven't done this before copy the below link into your address bar and it should take you to my photo stream on Flickr.com Once you get to the photos click on any that you want and they will enlarge. Once the photo is enlarged right click on it and you will get some options regarding the size of the photo you want to download. Click on whatever size you want (small, medium or large) and save it to your computer. Once downloaded you can have prints made of the photos if you like or use them on the web. You might also try just going to www.flickr.com (http://www.flickr.com - broken link) and putting St. Paul's Orphanage in the search box and the photos should come up. If anyone has trouble feel free to email at dwaynerh52@msn.com and I will try and assist or possibly email the photos to you (but the photo files are large and emailing is a long hard process). This just seemed the best way to make the photos available to anyone who wanted them. The following is the direct link to the photos (just copy and paste the link into your address bar). Good luck! Dwayne Haught
Flickr: dwaynerh's Photostream (http://www.flickr.com/photos/77266640@N06/?saved=1 - broken link)
Dwayne, I really appreciated seeing the 18 photos of the orphanage. The one thing I am sad and disappointed about -- not your photos -- but, I have not been able to find any photos of the interior of the church/chapel that was located above the cafeteria at the orphanage. If anyone ever finds any, please let me know. My email: crisit@comcast.net Anthony (Tony) Crisi
I was at the home from 1936 to 1944 and I knew Mr. DiMagio. I played the violin in the orchestra and my brothers played in the band and orchestra. Did you have Mr. Gabor for gym class? I did. My name is Dolly {Bertha} It's a small world after all. My brothers were Frank, John, and Joe.
I was in St. Paul's from 1941 to 1948. I knew Mr. Frank Maggio. He taught me how to play clarinet. I had Mr. Gabor for gym. My sisters who were there with me are Anna and Helen Crisi. You may have known them. Do you remember Louie who used to often drive the kids everywhere and worked in the laundry and general maintenance? Feel free to contact me: crisit@comcast.net. Or phone: 503-364-5446 I would very much like to have any photos of Mr. Maggio, the band or orchestra, and other items of the orphanage. Did you know that Frank Maggio used to have a number of dance bands and traveled on the road, until the depression hit. Through the Public Works Administration he found work at the orphanage. All he had to do was pay his transportation to and from.
My day was in an orphanage he was udapted at 2 his birthday is March 9 1954 his name is Edward Stanley buchek adopted by Ann and Stanley Buchek can anyone help me find Any info on my dad!!! I have to kids of my own now my dad no longer has the mind set to do anything besides sit in the nursing home. I want to know something anything for my kids and I
My grandmother was at St. Paul's somewhere around 1949-1952 or so. Her name is Dorothy (Dottie) Coll. She was there with Charles (Chuck) Coll, Walter (Porky) Coll, Patricia Coll, and Loretta Coll. She remembers Sister Loretta as some of the previous posters also remember. She also remembers that her mom brought home Frank Baker for a short time when the kids returned home.
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St.Pauls Orphanage....1950's t0 63
