The Orphans' Nine Commandments: A MemoirWhen Roger Bechan was six, his mother packed his suitcase and told him they were going to Oklahoma City to visit an uncle. Instead, she took him to the Oklahoma Society for the Friendless, where he began a long journey through three orphanages and several foster homes. With all the color of the 1930s, this is a story of survival within an impersonal child-care system, a story filled with vivid characters, pathos and surprising humor, and the tenacity of a young boy who longs for a normal home--and can't understand why his mother abandoned him or who his father is. No wonder he and his orphan friends omit the tenth commandment--to "honor your father and mother." As a teenager, the boy finds a home with a supportive couple in a small Oklahoma oil town. Roger Bechan becomes William Holman, who obtains degrees from two universities, marries and raises three sons, and becomes the youngest director of the San Francisco Public Library and an award-winning book designer. Late in life, he discovers the identity of his father--and a new family. |
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Arlie asked Baptist Orphanage Barbara Belle Isle Belle Isle Lake Benny Bessie Blackstock blue Buck Rogers building cheeks child couple court Dad Hardt Dad's Dardis dashed door dorm dreams dress driveway Drumright Edward Erector set eyes face father felt floor friends front giant girls grabbed hair hall hand head Helen Minter hill Holman Jay Cole kids Leroy Leroy Harris Library lived looked Mickey Mouse mind Momma morning Mother Hardt Neal never Nichols Hills night Number Oklahoma City Oklahoma County Olga Orphans pants paused play pocket porch pulled Radio Flyer Roger Bechan Rosenberg Library roustabouts Rover Boys Santa Santa Claus shirt shook side slipped smelled smile stood Street talked tears Tim Curtis told took tossed tree turned Uncle Paul Uncle Walter voice walked wanted watch week Wheeler window