St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church Home - Joe

Joe was placed at St. John's in 1937 with his two brothers and one sister. Joe's mother passed away in 1936, and his father was working twelve hours a day to sustain their welfare. His father was unable to care for them and provide proper supervision, he had placed the children into St. John's. Joe spent his pre-teen and teen years, from 1937 until 1942 at St. John's. Joe resided at St. John's for five years during his pre-teen and teen years.

Joe and his siblings were just four of the near 150 children at St. John's. He remembers each dormitory having thirty-five children. He also remembers working on the farm during the summer months and thinking it was "terrible".

St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church Home - Jason

When I first contact Jason, his first words to me were, "never refer to St. John's as an orphanage, nor ever call him an orphan". Jason, his sister, and his brother were placed at St. John's in 1944. He lived at the Home for four years. Jason did not offer the circumstances leading to their placement, but he does recall going in with "a chip on his shoulder".

Jason states he learned self-sufficiency, fellowship, and nobody was unique. He vividly remembers working hard and feels some of the aspects of the child labor laws has done an injustice to youths.

Jason lived much of his adult life not mentioning he lived at the Home. He now looks back and remembers the grade school teacher and her dedication to the Home. The teacher lived in Colden, NY, had a farm, and still managed to make the daily trip to West Seneca even in the worst weather.