My husband was at the orphanage in Owatonna after his mother died and for unknown reasons at least 4 of his siblings went there,too.He and his brothers George and Robert, and sister Vivian were the middle children of the family and two younger brothers were adopted by relatives.The two eldest girls were Fern ,who got married and Helen, who lived with a family in town there in Owatonna.Sadly, there is only one of the children of Frank Pomeroy and Grace Curtis still living.The strie Ralph told me of his youth are precious to me and I want to pass them on.We trveled through Owatonna in the mid 1980's when it was being used in a different manner than Ralph remembered, although he pinted out all the areas he remembered,like the infirmary where he had his tonsils out,the apple orchard where the kids would sneak an extra one in and bake it on the radiator.He remembered thr matrons by name,some with happy memories and some not.He would tell about how on Sundays a lady would come to play the piano and sing hymns , and what a beautiful person she was.He was a natural athlete and would perform tumbling and acrobatic tricks for the people who would come out to pick a child.He would recall how all the kids would help polish the wooden floors with rags scooting about on their hands and knees.He told of a coach and how they would have swimming indoors in the pool.Most prominent, though, was always the loneliness he felt and longing for his mother.His wish, when he had time to daydream, was that he could become a bird and fly away.After reaching the age of 11 or 12 , a couple took him as a foster child to basically be a farmhand.In their care he was starved and beaten, so badly that his cries were heard by neighbors and he was rescued and returned to the orphananage once again.Later, he was placed in the care of foster parents from the small town of Hayfield Mn.He was now 13 and had spent 6 or 7 years in state care.The couple he spent the rest of his youth gave him love and encouragement.He gave them 9 grandchildren who all have fond memories.
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