lullabies such as ‘Rock a Bye Baby’. He held onto my thumbs with his tiny hands and when I woke in the morning he would be staring adoringly into my eyes.
Agnes was fearful Edmund was growing too attached to me and tried to take him upon herself but he proved to be too much trouble when she had so many other children to chaperone. The older children were growing restless and reported to be smoking and using profanity in the boxcars. One of the teenage boys had plans to jump from the train and run away but he was forced to sit in coach with us until his Christian notions settled in. Agnes quizzed him on bible verses, filled his mind with Christian ways and other nonsense until she was certain he would behave. When he finally made his way back to the boxcar he leapt off and we never saw him again.
One family on our fifth stop inquired about me as they heard I was skilled at laundry. The family was rather wealthy and had three young girls. They had a nanny under their employ but she struggled with the care and keeping of the girls and requested they hire a girl strictly for laundry. I was much too small for their liking and they hated my cropped haircut. Still they poked at my ears and hair, opened my mouth and inspected my teeth and gums as if I were a cattle specimen. They turned my hands over multiple times, looking curiously at my nail beds.
“She will do,” said the predatory woman without ever looking into my eyes that were welling with tears.
“Fine, I will sign the papers, meet me outside dear.” The man with the receding hairline said to his wife who was already walking away into the outdoor sunshine. There was nothing cheerful about her and I would be nothing more than a piece of property to them.
I was about to become indentured to a family that would never love me. What would become of Edmund? I had grown to love this child. He was pointing to all sorts of objects now and reciting them as well as reciting different animals and what sounds they made, “cat, dog, meow, ruff, ruff….”
“Now Mary, I assure you that I will remain in touch. It’s part of my job to follow up and see that you are thriving in your new environment.” Sister Agnes tried comforting me.
“But it’s not a family, as I’d hoped for….” I let my voice trail off.
“I know Mary, I know it isn’t as we hoped, but you will be provided for and have everything you need. You can write to me yourself, we shall be pen pals, would you like that?” She asked.
“I suppose it would be nice. Thank you, Sister Agnes.”
I prepared to say my goodbyes to Edmund, kissing him gently on the cheek and whispering into his tiny ears that I loved him and hoped a nice family would come for him at the next stop. He put his little hands on my cheeks and I heaved a sigh of grief so great that I began throwing up. I threw up all over my good Christian dress and all over Eddie’s suit of clothes. I had chunks of vomit in my hair and on my shoes, I looked into the face of the man who was to take me home and he snarled at me, threw the pen back at Agnes and said, “We’ve changed our minds.” He walked out. I was free to be with Eddie and Agnes for another few days at least.
I don’t know what overcame me that day, perhaps it was the fact we had been traveling for several weeks having gone through New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois and had paraded ourselves desperately in front of strangers, hoping to be wanted. Or perhaps it was my growing love for Edmund who was softening me, either way I was grateful for we only had one more stop before returning back to the city. We only had to go through the flat lands of Iowa and would be turning back around heading east to pick up more orphans. I would be able to stay with the Sisters until our next trip was scheduled.
Our very last stop on the way home was going to be in Mason City, Iowa. I had considered that maybe I could be a ward like Agnes some day and she agreed I would do a
Agnes was fearful Edmund was growing too attached to me and tried to take him upon herself but he proved to be too much trouble when she had so many other children to chaperone. The older children were growing restless and reported to be smoking and using profanity in the boxcars. One of the teenage boys had plans to jump from the train and run away but he was forced to sit in coach with us until his Christian notions settled in. Agnes quizzed him on bible verses, filled his mind with Christian ways and other nonsense until she was certain he would behave. When he finally made his way back to the boxcar he leapt off and we never saw him again.
One family on our fifth stop inquired about me as they heard I was skilled at laundry. The family was rather wealthy and had three young girls. They had a nanny under their employ but she struggled with the care and keeping of the girls and requested they hire a girl strictly for laundry. I was much too small for their liking and they hated my cropped haircut. Still they poked at my ears and hair, opened my mouth and inspected my teeth and gums as if I were a cattle specimen. They turned my hands over multiple times, looking curiously at my nail beds.
“She will do,” said the predatory woman without ever looking into my eyes that were welling with tears.
“Fine, I will sign the papers, meet me outside dear.” The man with the receding hairline said to his wife who was already walking away into the outdoor sunshine. There was nothing cheerful about her and I would be nothing more than a piece of property to them.
I was about to become indentured to a family that would never love me. What would become of Edmund? I had grown to love this child. He was pointing to all sorts of objects now and reciting them as well as reciting different animals and what sounds they made, “cat, dog, meow, ruff, ruff….”
“Now Mary, I assure you that I will remain in touch. It’s part of my job to follow up and see that you are thriving in your new environment.” Sister Agnes tried comforting me.
“But it’s not a family, as I’d hoped for….” I let my voice trail off.
“I know Mary, I know it isn’t as we hoped, but you will be provided for and have everything you need. You can write to me yourself, we shall be pen pals, would you like that?” She asked.
“I suppose it would be nice. Thank you, Sister Agnes.”
I prepared to say my goodbyes to Edmund, kissing him gently on the cheek and whispering into his tiny ears that I loved him and hoped a nice family would come for him at the next stop. He put his little hands on my cheeks and I heaved a sigh of grief so great that I began throwing up. I threw up all over my good Christian dress and all over Eddie’s suit of clothes. I had chunks of vomit in my hair and on my shoes, I looked into the face of the man who was to take me home and he snarled at me, threw the pen back at Agnes and said, “We’ve changed our minds.” He walked out. I was free to be with Eddie and Agnes for another few days at least.
I don’t know what overcame me that day, perhaps it was the fact we had been traveling for several weeks having gone through New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois and had paraded ourselves desperately in front of strangers, hoping to be wanted. Or perhaps it was my growing love for Edmund who was softening me, either way I was grateful for we only had one more stop before returning back to the city. We only had to go through the flat lands of Iowa and would be turning back around heading east to pick up more orphans. I would be able to stay with the Sisters until our next trip was scheduled.
Our very last stop on the way home was going to be in Mason City, Iowa. I had considered that maybe I could be a ward like Agnes some day and she agreed I would do a
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