Book 7024 (REDUCED)
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A Century
of Caring
The Story of The New Brunswick Protestant Orphans’ Home
Ruby M. Cusack
The
house shook with each gust of wind from the Nor'easter that was raging
through the valley. The accompanying snow was quickly being formed into
high drifts.
To keep us entertained, Mum gathered us near her and commenced to read
from her ‘Anne of Green Gables’ book.
Within moments all ears were tuned in.
I could visualize the busybody, Rachel Lynde, sitting on her porch watching
Matthew Cuthbert, who was dressed in his best suit of clothes and white collar,
drive by in the horse and buggy.
The visit to Marilla Cuthbert, who was sitting in her kitchen knitting
showed just how nosey Rachel Lynde was. Of course the first thing she spotted
was the table set for three, which really sparked her curiosity, especially
since Marilla was using her everyday dishes and there was only crab-apple
preserves and one kind of cake.
I could even see the look of surprise on Rachel’s face when she heard
Matthew had gone to the Bright River train station to pick up a little boy
from an orphan asylum in Nova Scotia.
By the time Mum finished reading the first chapter, I had cuddled close
to her with tears in my eyes as I thought how terrible it would be to not
have a mother. I wondered what it was like for poor Anne to live in an orphanage
and now to be taken to an unknown house with strangers.
I asked Mum, “Are there orphanages in New Brunswick?”
“
A Century of Caring - The Story of
The New Brunswick Protestant Orphans’ Home” by Harold McCullagh tells
about the province's largest one.
After the Cholera of 1854, a group of 15 ministers of Protestant churches
set about collecting funds for an orphan asylum to assist children who had
lost their parents. In January 1855 a proposal was presented and shortly
afterwards a house was rented on Pond Street in Saint John with an elderly
husband and wife engaged to act as house-parents – of what was then called
the St. John Protestant Orphans' Asylum.
The number of orphans being cared for in the early years was small. There
were 13 in the care of the matron Miss Caroline Sarah Frost when the Great
Fire broke out on June 20, 1877. At that time the home was being operated
in the Millidge Building at the corner of Carmarthen and Britain streets.
This structure was razed in the fire after the orphans had been evacuated
to the General Hospital, which had been built in 1865. When those in charge
of the “Home for Little Wanderers” in Boston learned of the New Brunswick
orphans' plight, they offered to take them in on a temporary basis. The matron
and children accepted the offer and took free passage to that city, where
the orphans lived for several months, until they could again be accommodated
in Saint John.
The earliest building still associated in the public mind with the New
Brunswick Protestant Orphans' Home was located on Britain Street in the
South End of the city, the cornerstone of which was laid on September 2,
1880. A period of growth in admissions and charitable support followed.
An 1895 report reveals the generous donations that were being made at that
time. One gift mentioned was the annual picnic sponsored by Mr. Manchester.
It was also noted that E. G. Nelson had supplied slates and that Mrs. R.
Hunter had contributed two barrels of apples.
Not all Protestant orphans in the province were welcomed, however. Incredible
as it seems today, for the first 60 years of its existence, illegitimate
children were barred from the Home.
In 1919, a building for orphans was opened in West Saint John. The next
year, 40 of the older children were being housed there and 44 of the younger
ones at the Britain Street location. The acquisition of the spacious Manawagonish
West Side property paved the way for numerous improvements and innovations.
For example, a small farm was established, and a three-classroom school was
built.
In 1945 there were 200 children in the care of the Home. It continued
to meet a need for many more years, but by the 1970s, the winds of change
were blowing. With government assuming more and more responsibility for child
care, and the public no longer being so supportive of orphanages, the doors
of the institution were closed – and a charitable foundation created in its
place.
In “
A Century of Caring - The Story
of The New Brunswick Protestant Orphans’ Home” (1986) author Harold
McCullagh describes the institution's rise and fall – and about its founders,
directors, operators, buildings, programs, etc., in great detail. There
are no children's names or stories in this book, however, except for some
quotes from one former resident, Ralph Doherty. There are some nnamed pictures.