Delores and John Reitmeier
Delores Schumacher's mother died when she was a year-and-a-half old.

John and Delores Reitmeier were among the former St. John's residents honored.

When she was 4 years old, her father dropped her and her sister and two brothers at the door of the St. John's Lutheran Home for Children.

"He wasn't really much of a father," she said.

She spent most of her childhood at the home, attending primary school and later South Park High School.

"Most boys and girls graduated eighth grade at 16, but I graduated at 13," she said. Because she attended South Park, she was not made to do housework at the home like the girls who didn't go to school.

While some residents of the home viewed their experiences there as more prisonlike than anything else, Delores' opinions are more varied.

"We didn't have much, but we had some good times," she said. "We had some bad times too, though."

She recounted memories of washing the outside windows as a punishment for talking back and then falling from her perch, breaking both of her wrists, and of a supervisor with an affinity for castor oil.

"Every year we had a picnic at Delaware Park, and you could eat all that you wanted, but you got your castor oil at night," she mused.

At 13, Delores met John Reitmeier, a fellow resident who was also 13. The two began a secret courtship.

"We'd sneak down to the basement for a quick kiss, then run like hell," she laughed. "There was a handball court that everyone called the lover's court because we'd always be there playing handball.

"Like I said, we had some good times."

At 16, Delores and John decided to get married.

When John left the home, Delores remained as a supervisor but eventually ran away to be with John.

"I swam across the Cazenovia Creek," she said. "I lost my Bible, and my bag of shoes broke open in the water."

During World War II, John joined the Army. Delores was living with one of his sisters, and on April 23, 1944, while John was home on leave, the couple was married. They were both 19.

"I didn't have time to get a wedding dress, so I wore my Easter outfit," she said.

The Reitmeiers have been married for 63 years. They have eight children, 16 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.

"I always wanted a lot of kids because I grew up with a lot of kids," she said.

As far as the St. John's home is concerned, Delores looks back on it with a certain amount of reverence.

"We had a roof over our heads, clean clothes and three meals a day," she said. "What would have happened to me if I didn't go there?"