Yet Widman doggedly tracked the thread through every single deposition and document, and eventually the accounts piled up: people who didnt know each other, people who hadnt met since all shared their story of being rowed out and thrown in. Its years and years and years ago, he said. But overall, the documents those that were publicly available and those that were withheld from Widman lent credence to what the plaintiffs, and in particular Sally, said had happened to them, and to the children who didnt make it out alive. It argued that it could prejudice a jury to hear stories from such a long timespan. Plaintiffs said as many as 160 individuals, who had been at the orphanage from the 1930s to the 1970s, pursued the bishops offer. They didnt remember any abuse. Later, Sally asked the nuns if the girl was okay, and they told her the same thing she had heard about the others: The girls family had taken her home for good. They were just kids, Miller later testified that she told him. Widman asked Sally to write down what she remembered. In 1975, St. Vincent Orphanage is run by the young Brother Peter Lavin. Her house was full of cheery little knickknacks, like small china animals, but everything was always exactly where it was supposed to be. Some orphanages were simply rebranded as asylums, and untrained nuns were elevated to the status of psychiatric nurses armed not just with their wooden paddles but with all the tools for treating mental illness in the 1950s, including restraints and intravenous sedatives. Mary, too, had gone home for good. Sally explained many times that she didnt think her memories had ever been entirely lost, but maybe they were hidden. Inevitably the figures didnt quite add up. One thought the nun said, I am going to show that I dont tolerate stealing in here. Another remembered it as, This is what happens to people who steal. A third thought the nun said, This is what happens when you do things like this. But they all remembered that the match was lit and the girl was held. The defense attorneys asked plaintiffs to estimate the frequency of their rape or molestation by day, by week, by year, and then overall. It's likely that more than 5 million Americans passed through orphanages in the 20th century alone. They sat down at the table and ended up speaking for hours. And you guys here are representing people that you know nothing about. We you had to do things you didnt want to do, you were unable to do. But as all that was going on, Whites doctor told him that he had adult-onset diabetes. The women had worked so hard, laboring through the day and sitting up till dawn with the children if they were sick. Family History - Strawberry Hill Museum and Cultural Center Robs father said he barely saw the statue because he couldnt take his eyes off the huge smile on his wifes face. There were still more accused priests and laymen at the Burlington Diocese summer camps and other local Catholic institutions that the St. Josephs children attended. Each orphans account helped explain the context of every other account. NOT FORGOTTEN: Historical marker dedicated at former orphanage site at
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