It wasn’t an easy thing to watch in any event. Children getting their expectations up for the visit…waiting all day and then being dashed as other boys welcomed their visitors…and he continued to watch. Sister Louise Mathias tried to dissuade Buddy from the weekly activity. She tried to encourage him to go out to play with the other boys and told him the time would pass quickly for him and the front office would call him from the playgrounds or the gym in the event his mother did come to visit. He took some hope from the suggestion and began to go with the others to play and did not spend so much time obsessing over the fact that his mother had not arrived to visit him.
But all of that changed on Mother’s Day in 1947. Buddy was about to complete the first grade and he was six years old. He was extremely bright and precocious. In fact there was talk that Buddy may be too smart for this group of first graders and his teacher, Sister David, an infectiously happy nun was recommending that Buddy skip the second grade. He was reading on a third grade level, was best by far in the class on math, spelling and in class participation he was always quick to answer all questions put to him.
After Mass and lunch as the visitors began to file into the waiting room, Katherine Quinn came into the room. Sister Mary Como recognized her immediately, Katherine Quinn looked as though she had stepped out of Vogue magazine. This day she wore a lite blue seersucker dress which came below the knee; she wore brown and white heels and she had a wide brimmed straw hat covering her reddish hair. Sister would later tell Father Hermann that she was the most stunningly beautiful woman she had ever seen, and apparently the young man who had brought her out to the orphanage thought so as well… since he waited patiently for her to visit with Buddy. Katherine had even taken Buddy out to the car to meet this man.
“Buddy this is my friend Ham…we work together at Central Overall, he is my supervisor.”
Ham discarded the cigarette he was smoking and stuck out his large hand for Buddy…“Really swell to meet you there Buddy…how do you like my new car?”
“Great looking Ford…could we go for a ride?”
“Oh I don’t know Buddy…I would have to ask the nuns.”
“Please mother…take me for a ride in Ham’s new car.” Buddy said shouting to her excitedly.
As Katherine went to the office Ham and Buddy got into the car. Buddy noticed immediately the smell of the new car…it didn’t smell like Father Hermann’s Buick, which reeked of Chesterfields.
Katherine returned with a gracious smile aimed at Ham. “You are going to spoil him aren’t you?”
“I hope so…kids are made to be spoiled.”
They rode off down the long lane and out the road along Grand Avenue. It wasn’t minutes until they had reached U.S. 60…now renamed Shelbyville Road because the U.S. 60 led to a town called Shelbyville.
“Look Buddy, what did I tell you…that is where the bus stops.” The bus line had built a new little shelter with a wooden bench to keep it’s customers out of any inclement weather.
Ham took a right and they drove east out Shelbyville Road. Barren farm land along each side for a few miles as the new Ford moved rapidly along the highway, until they saw a sign that read Middletown.
“How about an ice cream Buddy?” Ham asked.
“Oh yes, that would be great.”
There wasn’t much activity in Middletown on Sunday but there was a motel, a new Howard Johnson’s with a restaurant.
“I know they have wonderful Ice Cream Sundays…served up on this perfect day.”
The three of them got out of the shiny red Ford, just a family out for a Sunday drive…happy to be together.
Inside the Howard Johnson’s, they took a seat in one of the new booths. It was quite beautiful, there was even a long bar with stools where people could sit and watch the cook or the waitress scoop up the ice cream.
This was the happiest day of Buddy’s young life, and when Katherine went to the lady’s room to powder her beautiful nose, he and Ham had the opportunity to talk.
“Buddy you know I love your mother?”
“Me too.”
“I want to marry her.”
“Would that mean that I would leave St. Joseph?”
“Yes it would.”
“When would you marry her?”
“Well Buddy…you see there is a complication…I am still married to this other woman.”
“Do you have kids?”
“Boy, you sure come right to the heart of the matter, don’t you?”
Buddy didn’t know what he meant by that…but the question seemed to stop Ham in his tracks, so it must have been important.
“Yes Buddy, I do have children…two boys…they are much older than you, in high school now…and that is the problem…you see my wife won’t give me…you know what they call a divorce…until my boys are out of high school…and that will be three years.”
“That’s a long time.”
“That is what your mother said.”
“Buddy I know you probably can’t imagine how difficult this all is for me, and there are things…you know, grown-up things I can’t explain to you, which really complicates this whole matter…but I am so in love with your mother and I want so much to take you from the orphanage…I just don’t know what your mother is thinking.”
“I’ll ask her.”
And that is precisely what Buddy did when she returned from powdering her nose.
“Well Buddy…I just don’t know what to say to you…you see, my father…your grandfather, Leck Lenahan…will not condone…you know Buddy…will not allow me to live with a man unless we are married. He is a very strict father, and he has been very good to me all these years…even when my own mother died when I was but a little girl…near your age when you went to the orphanage. My sister, brother and I were without a mother for several years…and my father kept us together on the farm until he remarried my step-mom, Lucy.”
“Are you divorced from my father?”
“No Buddy…when your husband dies, you become what is called a widow and in the eyes of the church, you are no longer legally married but then that further complicates the potential for Ham and I.”
“What do you mean by that mother.”
“In the eyes of the church, if Ham gets a divorce from his wife, as long as she lives, the church says they are still married…and it would be a grave sin for me to marry Ham…if I did so, I would be excommunicated from the Catholic Church and that would destroy my father who is a devout Catholic.”
“So you see Buddy, the life I hope for with your mother is complicated by the Catholic Church. Even if I do get a divorce…and in the eyes of the law…I am free to marry your mother…I will never be free to marry her in the eyes of the Catholic Church without causing a major problem for your mother with her father.”
“And all of this is further complicated Buddy by the fact that my father, your grandfather did not want me to marry your dad, even-though I was pregnant with you at the time.”
(It was November; a cold north rain had been battering the small farmhouse for a week…a strange car was parked in front of the farmhouse…it was loaded with suitcases in the back seat. A stranger wearing a dark suit and sporting a thin waxed mustache waited uncomfortably behind the wheel, chain smoking one cigarette after the other. At the door of the farmhouse, Katherine and her step-mother, stood motionless in the biting wind and stinging rain, locked in an embrace that neither of them were willing to release. They wept bitterly. At last Katherine broke away, turned to an up-stairs window, and stared at the streaked glass. At first it was difficult to see the faint figure in the stained, dark window. It was Leck Lenahan, Katherine’s father, and the look on his face was sufficient to stop Katherine in her tracks. It was a face carved in stone; it was a face that only knew regret and it existed only to carry a pair of bottomless, anguished eyes. Katherine had never seen such eyes, although she had felt the pain…his eyes were like a nightmare apparition…they had the look of death.
At la
st the statue face turned away from the window…and then Katherine turned away as well. She was climbing in the passenger seat of the car when she suddenly looked back at the house-and there in the front window was her sister, Polly and her brother Joseph, whom everyone called Boots…shamelessly staring at her. And in the instant, that the sibling’s eyes met, silent volumes concerning passion, acceptance, love and forgiveness was passed between them. Then Katherine smiled at the small faces and she blew them a kiss. The car sped away, she would never again see her brother…he would be killed in the closing days of the war.)
“Well it sounds like you and Ham will never marry.”
“Buddy…you are the smartest kid I know.” Katherine said to him with a glow of respect.
“And that means that I will never leave the orphanage.”
“We may have something to say about that Buddy.”
“How do you mean mother.”
“Next month school will be over for the summer. I am going to ask the orphanage if I can take you home with me to the city…I have a small apartment on St. Joseph Street…the name helps me feel especially close to you…and, it is only five blocks to my work…you would have to stay alone all day…would you want to do that Buddy?”
“Well I stayed alone when I was with my dad.”
“Yes, and you know the police did not like that.”
“They didn’t like me staying alone all night…you would be home at night, wouldn’t you?”
“Yes Buddy, Ham and I would come home and we could all have dinner together.”
“Would Ham live with us?”
“No Buddy, he would have his own place.”
“Could I have a bike?”
“Why sure…we could get you a bike.”
“Could I have a dog?”
“No Buddy, there is a rule against having dogs in the apartment.”
“We could leave him in the yard.”
“No dogs, Buddy.”
Katherine had brought Buddy a bag of fresh fruit and a bag of mint candy. He ate some of it as they hugged and enjoyed each other. Sister said she overheard Katherine tell Buddy that she had a job in the city and a boyfriend who was quite generous to bring her out to the orphanage. She also told Buddy that she had discovered that the bus line was going to start coming to Grand Avenue in July and therefore she would have a ride and could walk the two miles from the bus stop to see him.
Buddy could not have been happier with the news…unless of course, she had told him that she was taking him from the orphanage to live with her. Every child longed to be with the parent and Buddy was certainly no exception but when Sister Mary Como had the opportunity to speak with Mrs. Quinn she was quick to tell her that Buddy was doing so well. She cautioned Katherine not to make promises that would be hard to keep…that Buddy was very sensitive and it would be quite upsetting to him if something happened and she could not fulfill the promise to take him from the orphanage.
“I understand Sister, and I do not want to do anything that hurts Buddy.”
“I know that you don’t Katherine, but you must remember that we picked Buddy up from a Juvenile Detention Center, we do not know what happened to him while he was there for that two weeks. While we suspect that he may have been molested we have no way of proving it…”
“Why would you say such a thing then.”
“Katherine, we see these boys every day and on the very first day Buddy informed Father Hermann that he had been masturbated by an older boy. Katherine, Buddy was four years old…we are just very concerned that he not be given any great expectations, which cannot be fulfilled, which may cause him to act out and seek other forms of revenge against those that he considers unreliable.
“One last thing,” the old nun said to Katherine. “You have made a major impression here today…remember Katherine, you have a son in an orphanage…you are accepting charity for the care of your son…some people may be offended by the way you dress in such finery when you haven’t cared for your child in six years…now I don’t enjoy lecturing you in this way…but Katherine, you must learn to be more sensitive to the feelings of others, especially to your son who is most impressionable.”
The good sister watched Katherine as she left…a proud woman, out of place with her conditions. But perhaps she wasn’t unlike many young people of her generation, wanting what they wanted…when they wanted it, regardless of the impact on others.
Katherine Quinn would get what she wanted, if her health held, but the good sister had a feeling it would happen at the expense of her relationship with her son. But there was time for that to resolve itself, one way or the other…at the moment Buddy Quinn was safe and reasonably happy here at the Asylum.
********************
Katherine Quinn made good on her promise to Buddy. She and Ham drove out to pick him up on the first Sunday in June, the plan was for Buddy to spend the summer with his mother.
Buddy said good-bye to all his little friends, and before he left he walked over to the laundry to say good-bye as well to Joe Tough.
“Ok, Buddy…you be good to your mother, “
Joe Tough said, “see you later.”
“Good-bye Joe, I’ll see you in a couple of months.”
Sister Mary Como was able to pull Katherine off to the side before she left with some parting advice.
“Remember Katherine, eight, nine hours is a long time for a little boy and there is a great deal of trouble that he can get into. There is a wonderful Catholic Church only five blocks from your apartment. It is St. Louis Bertrand. I spoke with Father William Edwards and he told me that there are special daytime programs for the little kids, like T-ball and art classes…there is no charge and Buddy can easily walk there in the morning…they also serve a lunch and they have an afternoon library program…it is basically an all day care for children whose moms must work. Please tell me that you will enroll Buddy and will take him to the first day. I have written down all the information for you and Father Edward’s phone number at the rectory.”
“Thank you sister, it sounds like something Buddy would enjoy…also I am taking Buddy to my father’s farm for a month in July…he will have a good time there.”
“That sounds wonderful Katherine…thank you for taking Buddy, I know what it means to him…but please keep an eye on him…there is a lot he could get into that is dangerous.”
********************
Katherine was pleased to have the daycare information and after talking with Buddy, they agreed this would be a good thing for him to do while she was at work. Ham agreed to cover for her at the laundry the next day and she took Buddy to St. Louis Bertrand for the first day sign up.
St. Louis Bertrand was located in the Limerick area near 6th and St. Catherine. It was a small ethnic neighborhood of mostly working class Irish immigrants. The church was a beautiful Gothic stone design, built at the turn of the 19th century. In the style of the old master designers, it contained an entry vestibule and faulted ceilings in the main body of the church and the sacristy. The church itself, could easily hold 1,000 people for a sit-down Mass. The floors were of marble, leading to the alter rail and steps of stone to the alter which was massive and at that time faced the wall with the priest’s back to the congregation. These priest were of the Dominican Order and all wore white cassocks with a black center veil and hood, which none ever wore.
Katherine learned that Father Edwards was a big shot in the church, called the Procurator, it meant that he took care of all the parish money. When she and Buddy arrived, Father Edwards was greeting the new arrivals, he had a cigarette in one hand which he held in a rather effeminate manner. His thin black hair was combed wet to the scalp causing his narrow features, sharp nose and chin to stand out. He was tall and very slim and he did not have a very kind face. Katherine was frightened by his piercing look and even his smile seemed to be exaggerated.
But he was a priest…a man of God and she felt that priest could always be trusted.
She
spoke politely to Father Edwards when it was her turn.
“So this is Buddy Quinn, I did speak with Sister Mary Como and she said that you were new to the parish and that Buddy would be with you for the summer.”
“Yes Father, we live on St. Joseph Street, about five blocks from here, and I work at Central Overall located on Brook Street.”
“Ok, well we have lots of fun for the children this summer and the program operated by the good sisters is open to all parishioner’s children…so I will need to sign you up as a member of the church. We can do that on Saturday or a day that fits your working schedule.” Father Edwards smiled but it seemed to be forced and Katherine thought that his face might crack.”
“Thank you Father…being from a small farming community, it is hard to imagine that these wonderful programs are available to working people.”
“Where is this community?”
“It is in Danville.”
“Yes, I know the city…predominately protestant but they have a few Catholics there.”
“Father Will Warren is the pastor of St Peter & Paul.” Katherine offered.
“Yes, well you run along to work and we will see to Buddy…children must be picked up by the parent by six o’clock sharp. Of course it will still be light at that hour so it should not be a problem for you. Should you encounter some problem, please call the rectory and we will take Buddy there until you come for him?”
“God bless you Father.”
“Et cum spiritu tuo.” (and with thy spirit) He replied, but his attempt at humor was lost on Katherine.
********************
Father Edwards was a very cold fish, but there were several nuns who were actually running the program in a large four story building, which also served as school classrooms during the school year. Katherine was so pleased with the church, she decided that she would send a thank you note to Sister Mary Como and let her know Buddy was signed up and enjoying the day…she hoped.
Buddy was having more than a good time. He had two boys from the neighborhood there and they became fast friends. Playing ball in the large fenced playground around the church property, which was beautifully kept. St Louis Bertrand was a parish in transition…even in the early 50’s. Many of the families had moved to the suburbs but most of them came back to the church for worship and they continued to be faithful to the church and the pleadings by the procurator who showed no give when he mounted the podium to ask for donations.
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