“Graduation Day… 1952 & 1953…”

Aug 22nd “Graduation Day… 1952 & 1953…”

This is 1952… and …GRADUATION DAY – for Mary Ellen…

The above photo is MARY ELLEN and younger brother DENNY – – this day sure took long enough for me. Thought that I would collect some telephone numbers – – of some of the GRADUATES – – just so we could check …with each other – – after we left here – – and several said …”No way – – this is one place that I will completely forget – and do not try to look me up!”

Some of the girls that I was interested in keeping a contact – just left me know – that there was no way – that anyone on the outside of the ORPHAN HOME – would ever get to know that they were a “half-way Orphan” – – as in all the years that I was there – – there was only one (1) child that had no parents at all???

This is 1953… and GRADUATION DAY for DENNY H. McClarren Jr.!

The above photo is of DENNY and his younger sister, Eve Karen – we are in line… to get on the “Ferris Wheel Ride” – – this is one of the larger “RIDES” that the ORPHAN HOME has set up – – on the front lawns of the Orphanage – in front of the new “Gymnasium” building that you can see in the back ground of the above photo. I am taking this photo – and where our younger brother, TOMMY is – just have no idea??? BUT…next year TOMMY will be Graduating!

Graduation Day was always on a Sunday… and the second Sunday of the month of JUNE. We would start the day with Mass at six o’clock in the morning and as I had previously told – how the day would be… – but – for us, GRADUATES …all the old ways for us… were over… what – we had on our mind… was getting ourselves dressed for the ceremony to be at ten o’clock in the morning. All the parents and relatives with friends were now coming in – parking their cars on the fields in the back “baseball” fields and any other place handy… and of course there were lots of families – that did not own cars – and had to take at least three (3) different buses as their transportation – with the last bus – the “RAMONA” at least a half-hour wait – which made it a very long and taxing operation to do – for a very good number of people.

The day was long…everybody having a long and lasting – “FUN” day – the “PICNIC” atmosphere – music playing – all kinds of “RIDES” – and lots of booths set up for any and all kinds of games of chance – “PONY RIDES” – and “Chuck-a-Luck” – and do not for get today was also a money making day for the ORPHANAGE – CHICKEN DINNERS – and lots of cold beer and soda! You just had to have “FUN” – everything there if you had the money!

When evening time was near – we needed to call a “TAXI-CAB” – in order to take all of our personal belongings – as to transfer from bus to bus would have been just too much – to have to do… for the ending of an otherwise “TERRIFIC DAY!”