Appendix C: Gino Ullian: Email to Linda Wysocki – 2002

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I will try to answer you to the best of my ability. Living in the orphanage gave us a roof over our heads, three square meals and an education. Living with 30 kids in each building taught us to be able to love one another and to be able to share what you had even thou it wasn't much, such as toys and friendship. I think that is why I am so lenient with what I got now. I grew up knowing that the next kid didn’t have no more than I did, so that’s why I want to give what I got away just to see a smile on there faces like the smiles I seen on the other orphans. Why your mother went to a fancy school? When our father placed us in the home I think it was on the intention that we would not be separated. The orphanage's thought was if we could find a suitable place for the two girls that that would be O.K., so that was what was done. None of us boys knew they were going to leave, it was done on the QT. Wherever a child went from the home the State of Illinois would pay the expenses for the people to raise that child. On the other hand it would be pretty hard to find a place for us three boys without splitting us up which would be against our fathers wishes. The home knew she was a Catholic so that is why she went to a fancy school to stay within the boundaries of her religion. We had no Catholic schooling facilities at the home. The majority of the kids were not Catholic so all the other children were raised as promised [sp] All the kids went to the same grade school and high school as long as they were from the home. There was other ways you could possibly leave the home, 1-Be adopted 2-after you graduate from high school 3 -run away [ which was tried many times] 4-become of age [18] 5- or do what me and my two buddies did by quitting school and getting your guardian to sign a release for you to go into the military. Joe never graduated from grade school. He enlisted into the Army straight out of grade school because he was of age. I don’t know if Johnny finished high school in Joliet or Normal U High where I went. He went into the service from living with a foster home on Morgan Street in Joliet. Was we close to our dad? We only seen him maybe 4 time in 10 years. Coming up from Texas in those days was a expensive taking of because in them days it took 3 to 5 days of traveling. I think your mother had bad feelings for her father thinking he was in Texas having a ball but getting down to the truth of it he was trying to survive like tens of thousand other fathers that put their children in other orphanages and foster homes around the entire U.S. without knowing when they will ever see them again. You were right when you said milk and honey being they were coming by the thousands. Look at it this way . This county was heading for the worst time in it’s history. If it was bad for us ,what was it like in Italy being the rest of the world looked up to us as they do now. I do hope you made a copy of my story. Dad came to Joliet on about the 18th of March from Texas. Mary had David on the 28th of Feb. and I finished boot camp the 15th of March so the only home I thought might be mine was with Mary so that's where I stayed on my 7 day furlough before going overseas. Dad rode up in a taxi around 10:00 to Mary’s house on Lind Street just off of Maple road. He moved to East Clinton Street under the Cass Street bridge and worked at Farrell Manufactures grinding out the inside of large tanks for the military on Cass Street. Linda ,I didn't mean to bend your ear this long but I hope this helps you to some extent. Let me know if you need any more question answered. Please excuse the mistakes. Love Uncle Gino

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