Orphan Eleven Read online

  It is not speculation that the University of Iowa regretted using the children from the Soldiers’ Orphan Home for the fluency study.

  On June 14, 2001, “University of Iowa officials issued a formal apology…for an experiment conducted by their speech pathology department in 1939, in which orphans were induced to stutter.”*24

  In 2001, six orphans who were unwilling participants in the Fluency Study sued the state of Iowa for the damage incurred. In 2007 the case was settled. The orphans won.

  “The state (Iowa) has agreed to pay $925,000 to the unwitting subjects of an infamous 1930s stuttering experiment—orphans who were badgered and belittled as children by University of Iowa researchers trying to induce speech impediments.”*25

  Money doesn’t begin to compensate these children for what they went through. Still, how often do orphans prevail in a battle against a big university?

  *1 lpaonline.org/​faq-#Midget, accessed March 30, 2019.

  *2 “The Circus,” American Experience, written, produced, and directed by Sharon Grimberg.

  *3 Vladimir L. Durov, My Circus Animals (Boston: Cambridge Riverdale Press, 1936), 52–73.

  *4 Connie Clausen, I Love You Honey, but the Season’s Over (New York, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1961), 11.

  *5 June Schroeder, File OH 80, Soldiers’ Orphans’ Home Oral History Project, Davenport Public Library, Davenport, IA.

  *6 Gerald Van Cleve, Soldiers’ Orphans’ Home Oral History Project, Davenport Public Library, Davenport, IA.

  *7 Annie Wittenmyer, Miscellaneous File, Soldiers’ Orphans’ Home Oral History Project, Davenport Public Library, Davenport, IA.

  *8 June Schroeder, File OH 80, Soldiers’ Orphans’ Home Oral History Project, Davenport Public Library, Davenport, IA.

  *9 June Schroeder, File OH 80, Soldiers’ Orphans’ Home Oral History Project, Davenport Public Library, Davenport, IA.

  *10 Erma Dalton, File OH 72, Soldiers’ Orphans’ Home Oral History Project, Davenport Public Library, Davenport, IA.

  *11 Gretchen Reynolds, “The Stuttering Doctor’s ‘Monster Study,’ ” The New York Times, March 16, 2003, nytimes.com/​2003/​03/​16/​magazine/​the-stuttering-doctor-s-monster-study.html.

  *12 Allen M. Hornblum, Judith L. Newman, and Gregory J. Dober, Against Their Will: The Secret History of Medical Experimentation on Children in Cold War America (New York, Palgrave Macmillan, 2013), 178.

  *13 Jim Dyer, “Ethics and Orphans: The Monster Study,” Mercury News, June 10, 2001, front section.

  *14 Allen M. Hornblum, Judith L. Newman, and Gregory J. Dober, Against Their Will: The Secret History of Medical Experimentation on Children in Cold War America (New York, Palgrave Macmillan, 2013), 179.

  *15 Allen M. Hornblum, Judith L. Newman, and Gregary J. Dober, Against Their Will: The Secret History of Medical Experimentation on Children in Cold War America (New York, Palgrave Macmillan, 2013), 179–180.

  *16 Gretchen Reynolds, “The Stuttering Doctor’s ‘Monster Study,’ ” The New York Times, March 16, 2003, nytimes.com/​2003/​03/​16/​magazine/​the-stuttering-doctor-s-monster-study.html.

  *17 Allen M. Hornblum, Judith L. Newman, and Gregory J. Dober, Against Their Will: The Secret History of Medical Experimentation on Children in Cold War America (New York, Palgrave Macmillan, 2013), 180.

  *18 Jim Dyer, “Ethics and Orphans: The Monster Study,” Mercury News, June 11, 2001, front section.

  *19 Allen M. Hornblum, Judith L. Newman, and Gregory J. Dober, Against Their Will: The Secret History of Medical Experimentation on Children in Cold War America (New York, Palgrave Macmillan, 2013), 181.

  *20 Gretchen Reynolds, “The Stuttering Doctor’s ‘Monster Study,’ ” The New York Times, March 16, 2003, nytimes.com/​2003/​03/​16/​magazine/​the-stuttering-doctor-s-monster-study.html.

  *21 Jim Dyer, “Ethics and Orphans: The Monster Study,” Mercury News, June 11, 2001, front section.

  *22 Jim Dyer, “Ethics and Orphans: The Monster Study,” Mercury News, June 11, 2001, front section.

  *23 Jim Dyer, “Ethics and Orphans: The Monster Study,” Mercury News, June 11, 2001, front section.

  *24 Jim Dyer, “Ethics and Orphans: The Monster Study,” Mercury News, June 14, 2001, front section.

  *25 nbcnews.com/​id/​20327467/​ns/​health-health_care/​t/iowa-pay-subjects-k-stuttering-study/​#.XAGKBy2ZP-Y, accessed November 30, 2018.

  advance man: A person who plasters circus billboards in advance of the circus’s arrival.

  backyard: The area of the circus where the performers and working men live and props and costumes are kept. Backstage in the circus.

  baggage stock: Horses used for hauling.

  big top: The main performing tent.

  boiling up: Washing clothes and taking baths.

  boss canvas man: The man in charge of setting up the circus tents and taking them down.

  bull: An elephant.

  bull girl: A girl who works with elephants.

  bull hand: A person who works with elephants.

  candy butcher: A person who works at a concession stand.

  cook tent: The tent where meals are made and eaten.

  first-of-May: A worker new to the circus. (Named after the time of the year when new circus workers generally arrive.)

  fixer: A member of the circus whose job it is to make financial amends for any damage caused by a circus performer.

  grind: The spiel or polished talk of a person who stands outside the circus trying to get new customers to buy tickets.

  John Robinson: The code word for “danger” in the circus. (Not a universal term.)

  jump: The move from one stand or circus location to another.

  liberty horse: A riderless horse trained to perform by verbal commands.

  outside talker: A person who stands outside the circus trying to get new customers to pay the admission fee and go inside.

  pie car: The cooking or dining car on a circus train.

  red-lighting: The practice of throwing a circus worker or performer off the train for bad behavior.

  ring stock: Performing horses.

  roustabout: A circus workman or laborer.

  route card: The card that shows the schedule of cities or towns (known as stands) where a circus will perform.

  sawdust in your shoes: A person who has sawdust in their shoes loves the circus so much she or he wants to join it.

  spec: The giant opening pageant of a circus.

  stand: A city or town where the circus performs.

  target girl: A lady the knife thrower uses as a target for his knives. Knives are generally thrown around the target girl’s body.

  tenting work: Putting up or taking down circus tents.

  winter quarters: The place where the circus stays off season to regroup and retrain.

  Orphan Eleven would not be the book you hold in your hands if not for the many skilled readers who offered their time and thoughtful comments on draft after draft after draft.

  A huge thank you to McKenzie Beery, Sarah Gerton, Elizabeth Harding, Lisa Leach, Sarah Little, Alyssa Maria Mignone, Lee Uniacke, Kristin Schulz, Shaughnessy Miller, and Erica Stone.

  I would like to thank the Circus Historical Society and the many fine circus historians who encouraged and inspired me. Thank you to the Robert L. Parkinson Library and Research Center in Baraboo, Wisconsin, for allowing me access to your incredible archives, and to Katie Reinhardt at the Richardson-Sloane Special Collections Center of the Davenport Public Library for helping me find information about the Soldiers’ Orphans’ Home.

  My critique group was instrumental in helping me with this book. Their encouragement and early love of Dilly (“When is Dilly coming back? We need more Dilly”) made me realize the power of this character.
Thank you, Elizabeth Partridge, Diane Frasier, Marissa Moss, Pamela S. Turner, Eleanor Vincent, and most especially Emily Polsby.

  Thank you to Iacopo Bruno for creating a cover I absolutely adore and to Leslie Mechanic, who knew he was the right artist for this book.

  Thank you to my conscientious copyediting team, Alison Kolani, Colleen Fellingham, and Annette Szlachta-McGinn. And thank you to my publicist, Emily Bamford, who does a great job getting the word out about my books.

  A gigantic thanks to my editors, Wendy Lamb and Dana Carey. Wendy’s comments on an early draft changed the course of this book in dramatic and affecting ways. Her perceptions about the deeper themes helped me to understand and shape what I’d written. And Dana’s attention to pacing and her kid-friendly focus made every chapter more fun. Thank you, Wendy Lamb Books, for taking such tender care of Orphan Eleven.

  GENNIFER CHOLDENKO is the author of the Newbery Honor–winning New York Times bestseller Al Capone Does My Shirts and the wildly popular Al Capone Shines My Shoes, Al Capone Does My Homework, and Al Capone Throws Me a Curve. She also wrote One-Third Nerd, Chasing Secrets, and a bunch of other wacky books about dinosaurs and stuff. She grew up in Los Angeles, but she lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she spends most of her time thinking about elephants.

  gennifercholdenko.com

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