Orphaned 80 years ago, Cieminski recalls life on the County Grounds

In the same basement room where he estimates he ate nearly 4,400 meals as a child in the Milwaukee County Home for Dependent Children, Joe Cieminski sat at a table about 80 years later to share tales of growing up on what is now Innovation Campus in Wauwatosa.

His talk was part of Tosa's All-City Read, a program of the Neighborhood Association Council of Wauwatosa that encourages all residents to read the same book — this year, "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline. As part of the program, the organization is offering several events to educate the community more about the experiences of orphaned children in the United States.

In Milwaukee County, beginning in 1898, orphans were sent to the Home for Dependent Children on the county grounds in Wauwatosa. Cieminski, sent there in the early '30s at age 7, lived on the grounds until he was placed in a foster home at age 17.

Memories are still fresh

The tiles on the floor and walls of the basement dining area in the administration building are unchanged, Cieminski said, but everything else is different. The building now houses the Milwaukee County Parks Department.

The cottages for older boys and girls have been torn down, along with several other buildings on the campus. The Eschweiler buildings, which housed the younger children for a time, are still standing but their future is in question as Innovation Campus develops.

Despite the loss of contact with his family, Cieminski describes his arrival at the home as a happy time. His father had lost his job and had "too many mouths to feed," Cieminski said. The home met his needs in ways he said he didn't know possible.

"I got all clean clothes, which I marveled at," Cieminski said. "They showered me, scrubbed me, checked my hair for lice, gave me a beautiful winter coat with my name in the back of the collar."

It was the wrong name on the collar, but Cieminski lived with the error until he joined the military and found the correct name on his birth certificate. As a child, Cieminski was just happy for food and warmth.

"I had these things that were mine," Cieminski said. "They'd cut your fingernails and toenails, give you a white nightgown and show you to your bed. I couldn't believe it; I had my own bed. The other shock I got: three meals a day. I never dreamed that anyone ate three meals a day."

Learning to be institutionalized

As a younger kid in the Eschweiler buildings, Cieminski said he "learned how to be institutionalized." With strict daily routines, he learned how to clean and dress himself properly, sweep and mop the floors, use good manners.

"Everything was regimented," Cieminski said. "Until you learned to do things right, you were miserable. As long as you did things right, there was no problem."

Outside of school and chores, Cieminski said the kids enjoyed a "beautiful" playground surrounded by farm fields. He remembers how a farmer would stop to greet the kids and let them feed his horse grass out of their palms. Sometimes they could sneak off to an orchard where Cieminski would collect apples to trade for comic books and other treats.

Cieminski said his family never visited him in the home and he never thought about them.

"Other boys would sit on the porch and cry when their parents didn't come. I never worried about that," Cieminski said. "I never missed my parents. I never missed my brothers or sisters. I never missed home. As far as I was concerned, this was my home. This was my family."

After leaving the home, Cieminski enlisted in the military, then served in the air force. In retirement, he started researching, writing and making drawings about about his time in the Milwaukee County Home for Dependent Children.

Binders of Cieminski's work are available to the public at the Milwaukee County Parks Administration Building and the Wauwatosa Historical Society.

More All-City Read events

For a calendar of other All-City Read events, visit tosasallcityread.com/events.

The next event is the Battle of the Bartenders, when several local bartenders will compete to create the best Irish-themed drink, as the main character in "Orphan Train" is an Irish immigrant. The event is 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Cafe Hollander, 7277 W. State St.