Memoirs of a Dante Orphanage Resident, Gil Nunzi
circa 1944-1950
Gil Nunzi found CTHS through the internet and discovered that Dante Orphanage, in which he had spent so much time, was on our website and being used as our Township Municipal Offices. He contacted CTHS to share his story with us.
Gil found himself at the Dante Orphanage toward the end of WWII, in 1944, at the age of 6, because his mother was unable to care for him. By that time, Dante had evolved into a home for families who could not care for their children, but which had at least one parent. Gil relates his memories of his time at Dante:
“At least I would not go hungry and had a place to sleep. The first day when I arrived at the school I didn’t know what to expect. One of the Sisters came and took me to my room and showed me my bed, my bed table, and then took me on a tour of the school. The boys were on the right side of the building and the girls on the left. There was a large dining room and kitchen on the first floor [where today the Township Municipal Offices are located: the fireplace which can be seen in the reception area indicates where the dining area was, and the kitchen is where the Township Assistant Manager’s office is located]. The church was on the second floor. The rooms on the 3rd floor were taboo [where the sisters and Father Dominick lived]. After a couple of years, I became an Alter boy and served with Father Dominick who for me was a Saint.
~ Photos were taken in front of Dante, alone and with his mother ~
On the days when our parents were allowed to come, and that was just once a month on a weekend, my mother would give him a couple of dollars, then when Father Dominick gave me a lesson on the clarinet he would give me 25 or 50 cents from the money my mother gave him till it was gone. That money was then used to buy some candy from one of Nuns who had a small business there. On different occasions, Father Dominick would take us on hikes and then there was a water hole on the other side of the road where we would go swimming. This went on until someone donated two houses for the school in Sea Isle City. The girls’ house was on the front beach and the boys’ house was behind it about 50 yards. All of the food was cooked in the girls’ house and then brought to the boys’ house. We would spend about two months there in the summer and then return to the school. While we were at the school we had Mass every Sunday, Stations of the Cross every Friday, and the Rosary every evening before we had to do our homework. While doing our homework, one of the Nuns would sit in the classroom and control our homework: you were not allowed to speak, and if we did, then we were punished with a ruler.
Gil relates his recreational time at Dante, although he does not recall any time spent in the Maplewood Gymnasium, which was built before the Orphanage and is now the Township Community Center.
We had plenty of time to play outside as we had different seasons i.e. baseball, marbles, Baseball and Football cards, then there was the Cowboy and Indians. In winter we would go sledding – there was a small hill behind the school which led to the Pigpen just off to the left of it. Oh, there was a barber that would come once a month and cut our hair. We were allowed to go home for Christmas and Easter – can’t quite remember but I think it was two weeks for Christmas and one for Easter. There was an elderly lady that would come and get me to pick apples. I thought it was great as she would give me 25 Cents for every bushel that I filled, plus extra for raking her lawn, plus my mid-day lunch. Behind the school there was also a basketball court. To the right of the school going up to the Caretakers house and Father Dominick’s, I remember there was a monument or a bust of Dante. Yes we did have our good times and bad times, and yes, I had a great respect for Father Dominick and some fear for the Nuns as some of them were good and others weren’t.
The boys took most of the trips with Father Dominick and we were happy to be with him. As for being with the nuns they were very, very, very strict and we had to obey them to the tee. When we would go with Father Dominick there was one store he would take us to to buy some ice cream. I really can’t remember but I could be wrong and the store was located up the pike called the four corners. [this was likely the Concordville Post Office and General Store on Baltimore Pike in the village of Concordville, not far from Dante, where Lane Signs now resides]
Gil left Dante after 6 years and 9 months. He went on to attend school in Maryland and eventually entered the US Military, retiring in 1981 in Germany, where he now resides, having served 26 years in the military.
In closing, from his communication with us: “I wish you all the best of health and happiness and may God bless you and yours. Take care. I remain sincerely, Gil”
~ Photos show Gil in military uniform, and with his wife today ~
