Preface
In 1947, four young brothers, Gilmer, Graham, Jerry, and Sam Murdock, were placed in the care of the Children’s Home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina – a privately funded Methodist home for children. Our older brothers had been away at war, and our mom had just died giving birth to her twelfth child, a son, who was adopted by an uncle in Iowa. Placing us in the Children’s Home was not an easy decision for our father, or our older brothers and sister, as was the case for many parents who found it necessary to place their children into the care of the Home. In the twelve years during which we were residents at the Home, we did not lose contact with our family. They visited regularly, and we spent our summer vacations with them. We are blessed to have had the opportunity to be members of the Children’s Home family.
Many people considered this an orphanage when, in spirit, it was quite the contrary. Children, whose parents struggled to make ends meet but who were loving and sensible and had strong Christian beliefs, were the proud residents of the Home – a place where adventures were the norm and dreams were made into reality.
Few, if any, of us who grew up at the Children’s Home doubt that we were blessed. Not only did we receive a great education and developed many good and lasting friendships, we also received all the love, clothes, food, shelter, and care that anyone could hope for. We were taught the value of hard work, honesty, trust, and faith in Christ, and were instilled with a quiet determination to stand shoulder to shoulder with others in need. This “wealth” has lasted us a lifetime and has been passed to following generations.
It might seem odd to an outsider that the Children’s Home boys and girls firmly believed there were many people less fortunate than we were. But, regardless of social, political, or financial status, we recognized that everyone did not possess the “wealth” we possessed. The net of it all was the miracle of discovering the meaning of true happiness at an early age and holding onto this throughout our lives – knowledge that “ownership” does not constitute “happiness.”
The Children’s Home, a charge of the Methodist of the Western North Carolina Conference, was supported in greatest part financially through private donations, and in part by the work of the residents of the Home. All the buildings at the Home were named after philanthropic benefactors, gracious people who cared for children. Major contributions over the years also came from countless five-cent contributions, straight from the soul of people who themselves were desperately struggling to make ends meet for their families.
This is a measure of the strength of our country and embodies the spirit of what made us a great nation. We are an excellent study in what could be accomplished for children through a well-managed, disciplined, and caring environment, peppered with hard work, hard play, and delivering a solid education to each child. Our mentors and teachers were very special people. They were our guides through each stage of our growth......
