P a g e 5 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r Life on The Ranch The Orphan Girl By Phyllis Nettik, September 18, 2020 -Backstory...during the pandemic shutdown, our Pastor asked us to write devotions to send to our congregation. Thus, the Life on the Ranch series was born... Twin Bridges was home to the Montana Children’s Center. Growing up on The Ranch, it was a place I rarely visited but drove past daily. Closed in 1975, it now stands guard over thousands of memories from the children who called it home. Originally named the Montana State Orphan’s Asylum, it was established by the 1893 Legislator for orphaned and destitute children. Opening September 26, 1894, any child under the age of 12 was eligible to be placed there. If the Board of trustees deemed it suitable, children would also be sent to private homes. Children came to the Center for a variety of reasons. Some had lost one or both parents, as was the case with my Grandma Clara. Others were left because their parents could no longer care for them. The population during the great depression rose, with up to 400 children in attendance. The 26-acre facility had 26 buildings on site. An indoor swimming pool, gymnasium, both boys’ and girls’ cottages, a preschool house and a primary grade schoolhouse were just a few. The one structure that stood out was what the children called “The Castle”. It was a large Victorian Queen Anne-style building. The Children’s Center was closed by the Montana Legislature due partly because of the campaign against institutionalization and a slow decrease in children. Photo by Jolene Ewert-Hintz Photo Courtesy of Phyllis Nettik My Grandma Red, fondly given that name by her grandchildren, often recanted the story of her childhood. Her mother, Katherine, came to America from England possibly in 1890. She married Alonzo L. Monroe in 1895 when she was either 17 or 18 years old. Alonzo was 45. Together they had 8 children, evenly spaced 2 years apart: Pearl, Ruth, Lorena, Charles, Frank, Viola, Harold, and Clara. Katherine was a kind, patient, and gentle loving person. She went to church and taught Sunday School. This exceptional woman died suddenly of a heart attack on April 5, 1914. She was teaching Sunday school in the township of Little Chicago, across the Missouri River from Great Falls, Mt. As my grandma recalled, “she just slumped over and was gone.” Kate was 38. On April 9, 1914, the application was filled out to admit the 6 younger children in the State Orphan’s Home as Alonzo couldn’t care for all of them. They arrived in May. My Grandmother was 6 years old. Older sister Ruth also went to the home to be near the other children. Each of them stayed in a separate cottage. They could only see each other on Sunday afternoons. Ruth and Mae were allowed to bathe Viola and
6 Publizr Home