"Abandoned Orphanage"
Michael John
My musical gift to everyone today! A short original composition all made with Garritan:
Garritan Authorized Steinway
GPO4 Celeste
GPO4 cello 2
GPO4 cello 3
GPO4 choir
Listen here:
http://www.acidplanet.com/artist.asp?PID=1383758&t=3009
(click Play Song, 160Kbps streaming wma, must use IE or FF, Chrome does not work)
This piece was inspired from the pics and info I found about the The Holy Family Orphans’ Home, a large abandoned and dilapidated 4 store brick facility that was open for over 50 years in Marquette MI, and could accommodate 200 children at any time.
What was life like for a child in a large orphanage 70 years ago? Well in this orphanage, run by nuns who "kept a strict routine", Phil Niemisto, who lived at the Home from 1929 to 1941, recalls rather fond memories:
"...Our days were pretty regimented. But we didn’t know any different. Everything was well organized...we all slept in a big dormitory, the girls in one wing, the boys in the other. We got up early, about 6:00 a.m., made our beds and knelt and said prayers. After that, we had breakfast, it was pretty institutional food, mostly cereal and toast."
"Then we’d go to chapel for more prayers, classes started at 9:00 a.m. and went until 3:00 or 4:00 p.m. There was recess and a break for lunch, which usually was a hot meal. We’d do our homework, then we had playtime...there were swings and a teeter-totter, the regular kind of playground equipment...they showed us a lot of movies. We went on outings. They would take us out to the Island for the day. In winter, we went tobogganing on the hill..."
"We were always well remembered at Christmas...Santa Claus always came, and most of the kids would get two or three gifts. The downtown merchants were good about donating toys and food. They always put on a big dinner for us. I loved it there...the people were really good to me. They looked after me like I was one of their own."
See pics here of the now dilapidated building:
http://brnation.d2sector.net/roadtri...day02_hfo.html
Read more from Phil Niemisto in the "Home away from home" article here:
http://www.mmnow.com/mm_archive_fold...en.html#homawa
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