A life comes full circle
Former resident moves into orphanage apartments
By DONNA HICKMAN
Daily Journal Staff Writer
Daily Journal Staff Writer
Saturday, May 31, 2008
FARMINGTON — As Ida Dawson Taylor unpacks the furnishings inside her new apartment, she can almost hear the giggles of the girls who lived there a lifetime ago. She lived there with them.
Taylor grew up with her five brothers and sisters in the Farmington Children’s Home after their mother died and their father was unable to care for them alone. In the rooms she once shared with 13 other girls, she now lives alone in a new apartment. The Children’s Home has become Parkland Senior Apartments and the first eight residents have moved in.
“It’s beautiful! It’s just like coming home!” said Taylor, who makes her home on the second floor of the administration building. That was home to the “middle size girls,” age 11 and older, when Taylor was 13. That was 54 years ago. She has nothing but praise for the way the campus has been rehabilitated. “They’ve done a beautiful job. I wouldn’t change a thing.”
But she would add a few things. Already, she’s told Apartment Manager Cindy Dunn it would be nice to have a cat clock in the foyer of the administration building because there was one there a half century ago. She’s asked about a “waving Santa” for the mantle at Christmas in the community room – because there was one there a lifetime ago. Dunn is eager to comply.
“She’s telling me wonderful stories about what it was like when she lived here as a child,” said Dunn. “I’ve had a lot of people call to ask me about renting here and they’ve told me they lived here when they were little.”
Dunn herself grew up in the shadow of the orphanage and walked to school with some of the children who lived at the Children’s Home.
Only about 14 of the 41 apartments have been rented. There are income guidelines that must be met. To find out more, contact Dunn at 573-701-9596.
Wanda Grissom wanted to live in the same place where she helped the children at the Home recover from boo-boos and more serious injuries. She was a nurse at the Children’s Home in the 1960s. Now, she lives in Holmes Cottage.
“I loved that building when I worked there and it really hasn’t changed all that much,” she said. “The exam rooms are now my bedrooms!”
Grissom said living at Parkland Apartments is special because of all the children to whom she was once so attached. Over the years, she was always sad to see the campus deserted. She looks forward to all her new neighbors moving in.
The Children’s Home developed from the Elmwood Presbyterian Orphanage, formed in 1914 by the Potosi Presbytery and the Synod of Missouri (Presbyterian Church) to house the orphaned children of miners. The first two children entered the home in May 1915. In the 1970s, the Presbyterian Home for Children expanded to a multi-service agency to meet the needs of children and their families. It now operates on Pine Street.
The campus on Liberty Street in the heart of Farmington had been empty since 1997. The four-acre property was sold in 2006 by Children's Foundation of Mid-America to Nye Management Company in Doe Run which then sold its interests to developers from Columbia and Kansas City.
The project is being carried out under the direction of East Missouri Action Agency (EMAA) as its managing partner. Work began in February of 2007. Funding has come through Historic Tax Credits, Affordable Housing Tax Credits through the Missouri Housing Development Commission and a Community Development Block Grant through the city of Farmington.
As the rehabilitation of the old campus has taken place, new construction has mirrored the old styles of the past. The plaques in buildings and on the grounds have been preserved, as well. Grissom said it’s changed a lot, but in many ways, it’s still the same.
As Taylor stands in the living room of her two-bedroom apartment, she looks out over the courtyard where she played as a child. Her mind fills with memories.
“One of my best memories is on Saturday mornings at 10 am. when Nellie Jenkins — who had hair all the way down her back — would come out and sit in the sun to dry it,” said Taylor. “I also remember washing the windows of what’s now my apartment because we would hang out those windows to wash them just before the board was going to meet. And we’d get down on our hands and knees and wash the floors, too.”
The room she had is now her bathroom. In the space where she now spends her days, she once spent Sunday nights watching “What’s My Line?” with her housemother.
As she takes a visitor up the stairs to her home, she stops to point to the basement.
“We could never go beyond this point,” she explains. “That’s because the basement is where they kept all our Christmas presents.”
She wants to clean the flagpole she sees out her window because it’s there in memory of Dr. Walker’s daughter who died of cancer. She’d like to plant flowers around it.
Taylor looks forward to sharing her memories with those who attend a reunion of the children from the Farmington Home on July 19. The event has been moved from Engler Park to Parkland Apartments. Dunn suggested the switch so that those who once lived there could see what the Children’s Home has become. Taylor thinks that will really draw a crowd for the event to be held in the community room known as Liberty Hall from noon to 4 p.m. She said those who wish to attend should bring a pot-luck dish and call her brother Jim Dawson to reserve a spot. Call Jim Dawson at 573-756-7274. So far, about 30 people have called to say they’re coming to the reunion. Taylor believes they’ll be happy with what they see.
“I grew up here and now to come back and re-live it is incredible,” said Taylor. “It’s a dream come true.”
Dunn said she’s been unpacking photos from the days it was an orphanage and she hopes to put them on display throughout the apartment buildings. Apartments in the Dearing building are ready to occupy and those in the Harlan building are expected to be ready by mid-June. A grand opening is planned later, after landscaping is completed.
“The rain has really slowed us down on the grounds,” said Dunn. “We can’t even pour concrete for the sidewalks until it’s been dry for several days.”
To see more photos of Parkland Apartments, go to www.dailyjournalonline.com.
Donna Hickman is a reporter for the Daily Journal. Contact her at 431-2010, ext. 138 or at dhickman@dailyjournalonline.com.
Taylor grew up with her five brothers and sisters in the Farmington Children’s Home after their mother died and their father was unable to care for them alone. In the rooms she once shared with 13 other girls, she now lives alone in a new apartment. The Children’s Home has become Parkland Senior Apartments and the first eight residents have moved in.
“It’s beautiful! It’s just like coming home!” said Taylor, who makes her home on the second floor of the administration building. That was home to the “middle size girls,” age 11 and older, when Taylor was 13. That was 54 years ago. She has nothing but praise for the way the campus has been rehabilitated. “They’ve done a beautiful job. I wouldn’t change a thing.”
But she would add a few things. Already, she’s told Apartment Manager Cindy Dunn it would be nice to have a cat clock in the foyer of the administration building because there was one there a half century ago. She’s asked about a “waving Santa” for the mantle at Christmas in the community room – because there was one there a lifetime ago. Dunn is eager to comply.
“She’s telling me wonderful stories about what it was like when she lived here as a child,” said Dunn. “I’ve had a lot of people call to ask me about renting here and they’ve told me they lived here when they were little.”
Dunn herself grew up in the shadow of the orphanage and walked to school with some of the children who lived at the Children’s Home.
Only about 14 of the 41 apartments have been rented. There are income guidelines that must be met. To find out more, contact Dunn at 573-701-9596.
Wanda Grissom wanted to live in the same place where she helped the children at the Home recover from boo-boos and more serious injuries. She was a nurse at the Children’s Home in the 1960s. Now, she lives in Holmes Cottage.
“I loved that building when I worked there and it really hasn’t changed all that much,” she said. “The exam rooms are now my bedrooms!”
Grissom said living at Parkland Apartments is special because of all the children to whom she was once so attached. Over the years, she was always sad to see the campus deserted. She looks forward to all her new neighbors moving in.
The Children’s Home developed from the Elmwood Presbyterian Orphanage, formed in 1914 by the Potosi Presbytery and the Synod of Missouri (Presbyterian Church) to house the orphaned children of miners. The first two children entered the home in May 1915. In the 1970s, the Presbyterian Home for Children expanded to a multi-service agency to meet the needs of children and their families. It now operates on Pine Street.
The campus on Liberty Street in the heart of Farmington had been empty since 1997. The four-acre property was sold in 2006 by Children's Foundation of Mid-America to Nye Management Company in Doe Run which then sold its interests to developers from Columbia and Kansas City.
The project is being carried out under the direction of East Missouri Action Agency (EMAA) as its managing partner. Work began in February of 2007. Funding has come through Historic Tax Credits, Affordable Housing Tax Credits through the Missouri Housing Development Commission and a Community Development Block Grant through the city of Farmington.
As the rehabilitation of the old campus has taken place, new construction has mirrored the old styles of the past. The plaques in buildings and on the grounds have been preserved, as well. Grissom said it’s changed a lot, but in many ways, it’s still the same.
As Taylor stands in the living room of her two-bedroom apartment, she looks out over the courtyard where she played as a child. Her mind fills with memories.
“One of my best memories is on Saturday mornings at 10 am. when Nellie Jenkins — who had hair all the way down her back — would come out and sit in the sun to dry it,” said Taylor. “I also remember washing the windows of what’s now my apartment because we would hang out those windows to wash them just before the board was going to meet. And we’d get down on our hands and knees and wash the floors, too.”
The room she had is now her bathroom. In the space where she now spends her days, she once spent Sunday nights watching “What’s My Line?” with her housemother.
As she takes a visitor up the stairs to her home, she stops to point to the basement.
“We could never go beyond this point,” she explains. “That’s because the basement is where they kept all our Christmas presents.”
She wants to clean the flagpole she sees out her window because it’s there in memory of Dr. Walker’s daughter who died of cancer. She’d like to plant flowers around it.
Taylor looks forward to sharing her memories with those who attend a reunion of the children from the Farmington Home on July 19. The event has been moved from Engler Park to Parkland Apartments. Dunn suggested the switch so that those who once lived there could see what the Children’s Home has become. Taylor thinks that will really draw a crowd for the event to be held in the community room known as Liberty Hall from noon to 4 p.m. She said those who wish to attend should bring a pot-luck dish and call her brother Jim Dawson to reserve a spot. Call Jim Dawson at 573-756-7274. So far, about 30 people have called to say they’re coming to the reunion. Taylor believes they’ll be happy with what they see.
“I grew up here and now to come back and re-live it is incredible,” said Taylor. “It’s a dream come true.”
Dunn said she’s been unpacking photos from the days it was an orphanage and she hopes to put them on display throughout the apartment buildings. Apartments in the Dearing building are ready to occupy and those in the Harlan building are expected to be ready by mid-June. A grand opening is planned later, after landscaping is completed.
“The rain has really slowed us down on the grounds,” said Dunn. “We can’t even pour concrete for the sidewalks until it’s been dry for several days.”
To see more photos of Parkland Apartments, go to www.dailyjournalonline.com.
Donna Hickman is a reporter for the Daily Journal. Contact her at 431-2010, ext. 138 or at dhickman@dailyjournalonline.com.
Ads by Yahoo!
Asian Egg Donor Agency
L. A. Baby is a full service Asian Egg Donor agency based in Los Angeles.
www.lababy.us
Reader Comments (3)The comments below are from readers and do not represent the views of the Daily Journal
Marcie Fletcher Taylor posted on Sunday, June 1st, 2008 at 12:23 pm
I am glad that my mom is able to live at the place where she grew up, and I know that it was a dream come true for her. She has so many memories of the childrens home, and now she has even more memories to make.
Report Abuse
Regular posted on Saturday, May 31st, 2008 at 10:35 am
Very happy story. I was hoping there would be a follow up after I had read about this sister and brother earlier this year. I am glad to see that the buildings were not just left empty to deteriorate or torn down.
Search the archives
Last 30 Days
Advanced Search
Advanced Search
This Week's Most Viewed Stories
» All Most Viewed
This Week's Most Commented Stories
» Latest Comments
- Stem Cell Research (20)
- Council kills request to build duplexes in subdivision (17)
- Police seek man who attempted robbery (13)
- No lions, tigers or bears in city limits (10)
- Police make traffic stop, find meth (9)
» Latest Comments
This Week's Most Emailed Stories