INDIANA TRAILS BOONE COUNTY
CHILDREN'S HOME 1896-1938
(Written by Richard Voorhis)

      To all strangers driving by and to most Boone Natives, under 50 years of age, the big old two story box like frame house on Old 52, just south of the County Farm, appears to be a typical case of owner neglect, encroaching urban commercialism and a prime example of an old structure that has just outlived its usefulness. To many Boone County residents of the right age, however, this view stirs memories of a past era when the property was known as the Boone County Children's Home. The house has a long and distinguished history in the matter of housing and caring for Boone County orphan children.

      The Home was first founded in 1898 at the direction of the Boone County Commissioners for the purpose of providing a convenient facility to house and care for Boone orphan children who, up to that time, had been living in a home at Westfield. The site chosen for this undertaking was a 40 acre tract with farmhouse and outbuildings located just south of the Boone County Infirmary, or County Farm. A purchase price of $3,100 was made to the owner, Benjamin Headrick on December 9, 1896. Mrs. Jane Harris, daughter of William 0. Carey, was engaged as matron at a $20 per month salary, and was to have an assistant (a hired girl) who was to be paid $2. 00 per week. Mrs. Harris was “ to take full charge, to look after the children's schooling, and to provide entertainment for them while out of school. “ How long Mrs. Harris continued as matron is not known. In the period trough 1917 it is known that at least three, and possibly more, families lived in the Home and it is presumed that they, in turn, managed the facility and cared for a small number of children.

      In early 1918 the Commissioners decided to expand and improve the facility in keeping wit increased demands for satisfactory orphan care in the County. A full basement with a coal fired central heating system was added, along wit expanded living quarters and large block and concrete front and side porches. By this time some division of acreage had been established between the Children's Home facility and the County Farm. The Home property now included a fine orchard just north of the house, the barn across the old Indianapolis road (Old 52), and t he small woods back of the barn and adjacent to the old Hall Baker road. In this environment, the Commissioners hoped to establish a Children' s Home that could cope with the rising requirements of the County and, at the same time, offer improved facilities for child care and training. How well they succeeded is apparent by the record established over the next two decades by a combination of this excellent physical facility and the dedicated and energetic efforts of the individual they were about to appoint as ‘Matron’ of the Home.

      On July 2, 1918, Mrs. Alice Whitehead was contracted by the Commissioners to serve in this position for one year with the provision for annual renewals, subject to CommissIoner approval. Each year, for the next 26 years, regardless of County political fortunes or any other local issues, this contract with Alice Whitehead was faithfully renewed. This long and unbroken term is even more remarkable when it is considered that Alice Whitehead and her husband were one family, out of tree or four others, who succeeded Mrs. Jane Harris, the very first matron appointed to the Home back in 1896. The Whirehead family lived in the Home and cared for a small number of children during the years 1898 to 1902.

      Prior to this latest appointment starting July 2, 1918, Mrs. Whitehead had found herself the sole breadwinner for her family of three daughters and one son, and for the some nine years had been employed by the local Bell Telephone Office, as night chief operator. At the time she moved into the expanded and improved Home with her first one year contract, she took with her the two youngest daughters, Velva, now Mrs. Velva Smith living in Phoenix, Arizona, and Mildred, now Mrs. Richard Suckow of Franklin, Indiana. Her son, Herman, was with the American Expeditionary forces in France for World War I, and her oldest daughter, Mrs. Ross (Mary Donnis) Voor­his had her own family in Lebanon at the time,       For the next two decades, the story of this Home and the lives of approximately 200 orphan children, who were fortunate enough to be sent to this unique facility, remained intimately involved with the daily dedication, love and enormous energy of Mrs. Whitehead, The Home, under her direction, became more like a large but fluctuating family with love, respect and individual participation in mutual objectives, the rule, rather than the exception.

      My qualification, for writing with some authority on the subject of Home life and living conditions during this period is one of which I am proud. Alice Whitehead, in addition to being a loyal. conscientious, and energetic public servant in her capacity as Children's Home Matron, was also a remarkable person, a great lady and my maternal grandmother, and part-time second mother. During the years 1918 to the late 1920’s, I managed to spend many, many weekends, and a large part of each summer vacation visiting her and enjoying the close companionship with the Home children. In 1927, on the death of our mother, my sister, Margaret Jane, went to live with her grandmother for the next twelve years, and this, of course, provided further incentive for my regular visits.

      To my best recollection, it seems that the number of children living there at any one rime fluctuated between twelve to eighteen, with an occasional slightly higher or lower figure. Their ages, as I remember, were mostly from around four or five to not more than sixteen to eighteen. It seemed, even then, that babies of tree or less were much in demand for adoption, and if any should happen to get as far as the Home, they were usually there only a short time. On the other hand, the older children from around fourteen to eighteen, both boys and girls, were often placed in homes of good families, under non -adoptive procedures, which gave the child a real home environment, in exchange for help in the house, or a great many times, in the case of boys, help in the fields.

      As far as the remodeled house, itself, was concerned, on that July 1918 date, it consisted of the following: On the first floor was was the kitchen with a large coal fired cooking range and a connecting pantry that, I remember, provided temporary storage for all kinds of culinary delicacies, either awaiting the next meal, or being returned as leftovers from the last. Adjoining the kitchen was the dining room, an area of approximately 300 square feet, dominated by one of the largest and longest tables I have ever seen. The table would seat, fully utilized, sixteen people and even more remarkable, had the strength and capacity to hold limitless numbers of main dishes, platters and steaming bowls of the best food a child or adult could possibly sit down to. A nearby overflow table had intermittent use, but it was Mrs. Whitehead’s ironclad policy that regardless of who the company might be at mealtime, close relatives, friends, or even a visiting Commissioner, everyone sat at the same table, if at all possible. More about the fantastic fare served these poor little unfortunate children later, but it has always been my conviction that those wholesome family cooked gigantic meals offered a nutritional and therapeutic value unequaled in many, many more fortunate homes in the County at the time. Next to the dining room at the front of the house was the sitting room, and adjacent to it the only downstairs bedroom. Because there was also a children's playroom off to the north of the dining room area, the small sitting room was used sparingly by the children and served mostly as Mrs. Whitehead’s “before retiring’ retreat, and as an occasional sire for meeting with guests, or entertaining friends and relatives of the children. However, on banner nights, the door to this room was opened to accommodate as many children as possible in order to enjoy some records played on the old Victrola, or better, yet, listen to something special on the Atwater Kent radio.

      The second floor contained two dormitory -type bedrooms for the boys and two for the girls, separated by Mrs. Whitehead’s room right in the middle of the structure two bathrooms and ample closet space were also on this floor. There was a front and back stairway with an interesting bannister arrangement as a part of the front one. This, by the way, has long since disappeared from the premises, either appropriated by the present owners or the result of vandalism of the unlocked and unprotected house.

      To complete the picture for all those of tender age, who only know the present sad and dilapidated. treeless site, there were four huge maples in the front yard. a tall stately cedar. on the south side and across the front, for the full width of the lot, ran an ornamental iron fence with a free swinging gate. This fence was purchased by Dr. Jack Porter after the Home was closed and installed in front of his new home on the Elizaville Road, where it remained several years. A small chicken house and yard to the north provided ample fresh eggs and, better yet, a year round supply of fried and baked chicken dishes for that huge dining room table inside. Further north was the orchard which I remember as much for its playground character as for its many bountiful harvests of apples, plums, pears, and cherries. In back of the house was the vegetable garden of which my memory conjures up a most interesting picture of row after row after row, stretching to what seemed to me then as the horizon, and the view of many small boys’ behinds, each engaged in a strange sort of straddle, crawl and weed grabbing maneuver. Since my Grandmother played tin favorites, I also served my time, when visiting, in this curious and what we then considered unnecessary interruption to cur more interesting activities.

      Just across the road (Old 52), where the County Highway Department now stores huge piles of road material, was the barn, which at various times, head quartered horse (Old Maud), and a cow (name escapes me), that were u sed very early in that period to provide transportation and milk in that order. In fact the cow, or probably it was a series of cows, remained long after the horse had been preempted by the arrival of a spanking new 1924 Overland, which took up a permanent residence in the old barn. Mrs. Whitehead, at age 57 attacked the challenge of mastering this noisy chrome and metal monster, as she did every other challenge in life, and became a very good driver. Back of the barn and down a short lane was the Children's Home woods, which to boys of all ages in the Home, for two decades, represented the ultimate retreat where a grain of imagination and two bare feet could take a boy to the fan­tasyland of his choice. That treasured woods of those unaccounted boys has now, of course, been uprooted in the name of progress to make way for Interstate 65, the south Lebanon Interchange, and the Lebanon Motel.

      In looking back at the daily activities involved in running this unusual and over-sized household, I am continually amazed at how it all seemed to be conducted with a minimum of effort and confusion. Imagine such items alone, as housekeeping chores, (try picking up after eighteen children), laundry and ironing, button sewing, sock darning and pants patching, children's sack lunches during school periods; checking for dirty ears, regular baths, hair washings; seasonal canning of garden vegetables and above all, the three square meals a day! It has to be a tribute to Alice Whitehead’s tremendous patience and unusual ability in training children to help themselves, and each other. How many present day families find it convenient now and then to miss Church because of the press of Sunday dinner preparation or other household emergencies? Every Sunday of the year, barring illness or some other catastrophic interference with normal practice, Mrs. Whitehead and the whole kiddy population managed to have a complete breakfast, do the dishes, start preparation for the weekly Sunday big dinner and ten change into Sunday best (small boys assembled for ear inspection) and go in to town for both Sunday school and Church services. Volunteer drivers from the Church membership helped each week with the transportation problem.

      The Sunday dinner was an event that to this day seems un -believable when I think about it. A typical dinner might consist of the following - either fried chicken and smoked ham, or baked chicken with noodles and dressing and smoked ham. Big bowls of mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, pickled beets, corn, home -made cottage cheese and side dishes of home canned pickles, pear and quince honey, hand -churned butter wit steaming hot home-made rolls. Probably iced tea if it were summer, and more often tan not, home-made ice cream. Can you believe the volumes needed for such a group, and the preparation required?

      My aunt, Mrs. Richard Suckow, has reminded me of a weekday meal technique that was common practice during the school year. Chickens were fried before breakfast with the bony’ pieces being served for breakfast and the nice pieces included in the children's lunches for school that day. Again, only through training and providing incentives for the children's challenge in life, and became a very good driver. Back of the barn and down a short lane was the Children's Home woods, which to boys of all ages in the Home, for two decades, represented the ultimate retreat where a grain of imagination and two bare feet could take a boy to the fantasy land of his choice. That treasured woods of those unaccounted boys has now, of course, been uprooted in the name of progress to make way for Interstate 65, the south Lebanon Interchange, and the Lebanon Motel. In looking back at the daily activities involved in running this unusual and over-sized household, I am continually amazed at how it all seemed to be conducted with a minimum of effort and confusion. Imagine such items alone, as housekeeping chores, (try picking up after eighteen children), laundry and ironing, button sewing, sock darning and pants patching, children's sack lunches during school periods; checking for dirty ears, regular baths, hair washings; seasonal canning of garden vegetables and above all, the three square meals a day! It has to be a tribute to Alice Whitehead’s tremendous patience and unusual ability in training children been practical. Every child of seven or over was made to feel needed and an integral part of the Home family by having his or her own regular duties. The big girls, of course, helped with all kitchen duties and some became expert cooks under Mrs. Whitehead’s tutelage. The bigger boys had responsibilities for care of the cow and terse and did all the heavier work chores in yard and garden maintenance, including firing the furnace in winter.

      Mrs. Whitehead’s weekly shopping trips to town were events cherished by the two or three children being rewarded each time for exemplary conduct the past week. All groceries were bought at the Hopkins Grocery, next door to the old Interurban Station, under a contract with the Commissioners, and delivered to the Home once a week. After leaving the weekly list with Mr. Hopkins, Mrs. Whitehead would start the inevitable leisurely trip around the Square, stopping often to greet her many friends and almost always including a shopping stop at the old Adler’s Department Store to replenish the many items, of children's wear required at the Home. Around Christmas time each year, this shopping took on renewed significance and much additional effort. next ten years and one month, she enjoyed the rewards due her full and unselfish life by living in relative peace and quiet with her children in Florida and Indiana. On September 2, 1947, one of Boone County's much respected and loved ladies passed away. In my nostalgic memory of those years in the 1920’s and early early 1930’s, one vision in particular comes to mind when I happen to watch a currently popular TV program. Whether or not the writers of The Waltons have any factual basis for their inevitable closing scene featuring the many “goodnights’ passed passed back and forth in the Walton household, I know not. What I do know for a fact and remember vividly, are the nightly expressions of good wishes that were exchanged on the second floor of that venerable and loved Home for Children. It was always the same, almost like a series of echoes - first from the girls wing - then the boys’ ‘ Goodnight, Mrs. Whitehead, Goodnight, Mrs. Whitehead, Goodnight, Goodnight.”

      Shortly after Henry Ulen transferred his Company to Lebanon, and became a local resident again, a mysterious check would find its way each December 1st to Mrs. Whitehead’s hands and the message was always the same: Buy gifts for the children and respect the anonymity of the giver. “ This continued until the home was disbanded in 1937, and if all the joy and pleasure of those kids at Christmas time over the years could have been measured and documented on a “Thank You” note to Henry, the Post Office would have been hard put to deliver it!

      In the early 1930’s, State and Federal funded programs were created to give financial aid to needy mothers, and to provide temporary foster homes for unfortunate children. With the increasing utilization of these funds, it became apparent that the Boone County Children's Home should probably be phased out. Accordingly, with Mrs. Whitehead’s contract renewal for one year made on August 8, 1936, it was planned to close the facility one year from that date. By late 1936 there were only eight children left, seven boys and one girl, and by August 8, 1937, all had been placed in private homes. Thus, after almost a quarter of a century, dedicated to maintaining a Home for homeless children, giving of herself and energies in an unprecedented measure and leaving an astonishing legacy of over 200 children's lives who had been touched by one who really cared and proved it, Alice Whitehead, at the age of 70 years, said a last good-bye to the old structure. For the next ten years and one month, she enjoyed the rewards due her full and unselfish life by living in relative peace and quiet with her children in Florida and Indiana. On September 2, 1947, one of Boone county's much respected and loved ladies passed away.

 


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