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GLANMORE CHILDREN: ACROSS THE COUNTRY, AN ESTIMATED THREE TO FOUR MILLION PEOPLE CAN TRACE THEIR ROOTS BACK TO "BRITISH HOME CHILDREN".
July 13, 2010
THEY WERE DISADVANTAGED YOUNG PEOPLE BROUGHT TO CANADA BETWEEN THE 1860'S AND 1940S. NOW, THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT HAS DESIGNATED THIS YEAR AS A TIME TO HONOUR THEM. NEWSWATCH'S ERIN HOWE EXPLAINS HOW A BELLEVILLE MUSEUM IS PAYING TRIBUTE. PKG
MELISSA WAKELING PACKS A TRUNK THAT ONCE BELONGED TO A BRITISH HOMECHILD - ONE OF THE THOUSANDS OF ORPHANED AND IMPOVERISHED KIDSWHO WERE FORCED TO GO TO CANADA FROM THE 1860S TO THE 1940S. WAKELING: "THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION REALLY CHANGED SOCIETY IN BRITAIN, AND THERE WERE A LOT OF VERY POOR AND HOMELESS FAMILIES." IN THE 1860S, A GROUP OF WELFARE ORGANIZATIONS SUGGESTED SENDING THE KIDS TO THE BRITISH COLONIES - A PLAN THAT MOVED MORE THAN 100-THOUSAND KIDS TO CANADA TO LIVE IN FOSTER HOMES, OFTEN WORKING ON FARMS, OR AS DOMESTIC SERVANTS. NOW, THE FABRIC OF THEIR STORIES HAS BEEN STITCHED TOGETHER INTO A QUILT - EACH SQUARE MADE BY DESCENDANT OF A HOME CHILD - TO HONOUR AND SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCES. WAKELING: "SOME OF THEM ARE POSITIVE, SOME OF THEM NOT SO HAPPY, AND SO IT'S INTERESTING TO SEE THE MIX. YOU CAN SMILE AND CRY IN THE SAME LIFE STORY." JONES: "IT'S A TESTAMENT TO PEOPLE REVERING THEIR ANCESTRY, AND REALLY HONOURING THE EXPERIENCES THE HOMECHILDREN HAD, AND MAKING SURE THEY AREN'T FORGOTTEN." DANIELLE MCMAHON-JONES HELPED RESEARCH THE EXHIBIT - AND IN THE PROCESS, DISCOVERED HER GREAT, GREAT GRANDMOTHER WAS, HERSELF, A HOME CHILD. JONES: "I FEEL OF COURSE, A NEW PERSONAL CONNECTION TO THEM, LIKE, FROM NOT KNOWING ANYTHING ABOUT THEM, TO HOME CHILDREN BEING INTEGRATED INTO MY OWN PERSONAL HISTORY SO CLOSELY." IT'S A SET OF STORIES THAT RESONATES FOR MANY IN THE QUINTE REGION. BELLEVILLE ONCE HAD A HOMECHILD DISTRIBUTION CENTRE CALLED MARCHMONT -- WHICH SERVED AS A TEMPORARY RESIDENCE FOR CHILDREN AWAITING PLACEMENT WITH FOSTER FAMILIES. THE LINK TO THIS HISTORY IS ALREADY GENERATING BUZZ FOR THE EXHIBIT. WAKELING: "BEFORE IT EVEN OPENED, WE'VE HAD PEOPLE COMING IN, AND THEY ALL HAVE STORIES TO TELL." HOWE: "WHILE THE QUILT IS A TEMPORARY EXHIBIT AT GLANMORE, STAFF ARE ALWAYS LOOKING TO ADD TO THE LOCAL COLLECTION OF HOMECHILD ARTEFACTS, HIGHLIGHTING BELLEVILLE'S CONNECTION TO THIS IMPORTANT PART OF CANADIAN IMMIGRATION HISTORY." WAKELING: "THERE'S SO MANY OF THEM THAT IN FACT, THEY SAY THAT IN FACT, ELEVEN PER CENT OF CANADIANS ARE DESCENDED FROM HOME CHILDREN." THEIR EMOTIONAL STORIES NOW DISPLAYED ON THIS QUILT. ERIN HOWE, CKWS NEWSWATCH, BELLEVILLE.
