The boys in the neighborhood gave the place its nickname. They would catcall to the big-bellied girls who looked like they were hiding a watermelon under their dress, so they became known as the girls of Watermelon Hill.

Ann Fessler's book, The Girls Who Went Away got the ball rolling, and the stories just keep on surfacing. Stories like this one. I have talked to many birth moms who had the maternity home "experience". Fake wedding rings and false names were all part of it. This story mentions young pregnant women scrubbing floors on their knees. Heard that too, apparently some of the "homes" were none too "homey". I wonder, do women ever scrub floors on their knees any more?

One birth mom I know has talked about being told at the home about the name that was "assigned" to her. She was one of the few young women brave enough to refuse to go along with all the rules. In no time flat, she told the reigning nun that she was not using an alias, and she didn't.

It strikes me how few young mothers were rebellious in those days. Most simply did exactly as they were told, and were terrified to "rock the boat". Even when they were told that they could not see their babies even once because "it was better that way", many young moms were too beaten down to protest.

How strong are most young women in their teens or early twenties though? Throw in an unplanned pregnancy, mess with their hormones and what do you get? Vulnerable easy pickings. Amazing, but they will believe nearly anything anyone tells them.

A few months ago, a birth mom friend of mine was talking about her experience at a "wage home". She was sent there to wait out the last few months of her unwed teen pregnancy eons ago. No scrubbing the floors though. Guess what they had her doing? She took care of the family's three children!

I pointed out the irony to her of the whole idea. Let's see, she was good enough to take care of someone else's three little ones. She was old enough and capable enough to do that. Yet, she was not deemed ready or able to be able to parent her own child. "Hmmm," she said, "you're right, I never thought of that."

"I always wanted to find him. It was like a big, dark hole that I carried around in my life."

Not having your child around - not knowing where or how they are - it hardly ever does feel right. It does feel like a hole - in your heart.