LilMtnCbn
07-04-2004, 08:28 AM
http://www.teamamberalert.net/news/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2409
Team Amber News: Taken from parents 50 years ago, siblings reunite with family
MI
Taken from parents 50 years ago, siblings reunite with family MI
When the 11 children of Franklin and Bernadette Burgess assembled to have
dinner together at a Montrose-area restaurant last month, there were the smiles
and laughter that typically go with family gatherings - but also plenty of
tears
For though they are all adults, ranging in age from 38 to 62, and all of them
were born in the Flint area, they had never assembled in one place. And the
oldest four siblings had not been together for more than 50 years.
"This was the first time all 11 of us were together," says Suzie Dunklee, 47,
of Montrose Township of the mid-June dinner held at The Greenery in Vienna
Township. "It was kind of emotional. There were a lot of tears. We waited so
long for this."
"It was just incredible," agrees sister Dawn Spicer, 41, who came back to the
Flint area from Texas, along with two other sisters, for the event. "The
emotion, the excitement of us all meeting together .... words can't even
explain it."
Back in 1949 or '50, the four oldest Burgess children - Christine, June, Eric
and Frank - were taken away from their parents by child welfare officials here.
The youngest, Frank, was not yet 2 years old.
"I come home from school that day and I could see police cars in front of the
house," remembers Christine Burgess, 62, of Flint. "Mom was holding Frankie in
her arms, and June and Eric were holding on to her legs."
Those four kids were pulled away from their mother, screaming, and taken into
foster care by social workers.
Why? At the time, family members say, their father, a World War II veteran, may
have been unemployed and they were living on Downey Street in Flint, in a
garage with a kerosene stove. Christine says her family believed a woman in the
neighborhood complained to authorities that the Burgess children weren't being
cared for properly. But she says that was not true.
Christine and other siblings say their father, a Flint man, had served in the
Army in Europe in World War II and that he talked of shooting a German soldier
in combat; that soldier turned out to have been a mere boy. (It's a matter of
historical record that the Germans put young teens into the army to fight.)
Their father was affected by this and other wartime experiences, and some say
he had a hard time keeping a job.
"I don't know how valid it was," says Spicer about the complaint that had led
to the removal of the first four children, "but back then, they didn't have the
means to fight for their custody."
What happened to those children? Eric, now 57, was eventually adopted and his
last name became Newton; his adoptive family moved to Florida. Frank or
"Frankie," as his siblings call him, was adopted by a local family named
Creamer; he is 55 and lives near Grand Rapids. Christine Burgess spent a few
years in foster care and was eventually placed with relatives up north. And
sister June was adopted by a Montrose family named Canfield; now she is June
Hall, 60, of Kalamazoo.
After those children were taken away, parents Franklin and Bernadette Burgess
had seven more children over the next 14 years. They are Joseph Burgess, 53, of
Bay City; Carlita White, 51, of Lewisville, Texas; Rodney Burgess, 49, of
Goshen, Ind.; Dunklee; Harry Burgess, 42, of Montrose Township; Spicer; and
Margaret DeFore, 38, who also lives in Texas.
Spicer and Dunklee say their family was poor as they grew up, but there was no
further action taken against their parents; they believe the removal of the
first four Burgess children was wrong and unfair. Their mother died in 1974 -
she was 53 - and their father died in 1985, just short of his 63rd birthday.
Not all links between the Burgess children were completely broken. When June
was a teenager living in Montrose, she managed to write to Christine. Christine
saw her family periodically when she was in foster care and then saw them
regularly when she was placed with relatives up north. She eventually came back
to live in Flint and so did June, for a time.
It was different with the older boys. There was a brief link to brother Frank
Creamer after more than 30 years; he'd been told that the Burgesses were his
biological family. In 1985, his sisters say, he contacted them and came to his
father's funeral. He and June exchanged calls and letters, but later lost track
of each other. The remaining brother, Eric, truly was lost to the others, who
had no idea what became of him.
It was June Hall's daughter who found the missing brothers by way of the
Internet this spring, determined to find them for the Burgess family reunion.
Because of June's previous contact with brother Frank, they knew his last name
was Creamer and were able to find his address in Belmont. He was, Hall says,
delighted to learn about the reunion, which was held in Flushing.
June's daughter also checked a Web site called adoption.com, where she found a
posting left by Eric Newton, who was looking for his biological family. He had
remembered over the years that he had a sister named June.
"When I called him, he said, 'Oh my God, you're my sister,' " Hall says, tears
coming to her eyes as she tells the story.
The Burgess children had their own tragedies and struggles over the years.
There were the sad and even terrible times in foster care for some, and
ambivalent feelings about missing family. But as each of them began to arrive
last month at The Greenery, for their "first-time reunion," the excitement
built. They did not, they say, talk about the bad times.
"Finally 10 of us were there, and we were waiting for Eric to arrive," says
June, crying as she tells the story. "And then Eric walked in."
"That," says Christine Burgess with a smile, "was a thrill and a half."
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
Team Amber News: Taken from parents 50 years ago, siblings reunite with family
MI
Taken from parents 50 years ago, siblings reunite with family MI
When the 11 children of Franklin and Bernadette Burgess assembled to have
dinner together at a Montrose-area restaurant last month, there were the smiles
and laughter that typically go with family gatherings - but also plenty of
tears
For though they are all adults, ranging in age from 38 to 62, and all of them
were born in the Flint area, they had never assembled in one place. And the
oldest four siblings had not been together for more than 50 years.
"This was the first time all 11 of us were together," says Suzie Dunklee, 47,
of Montrose Township of the mid-June dinner held at The Greenery in Vienna
Township. "It was kind of emotional. There were a lot of tears. We waited so
long for this."
"It was just incredible," agrees sister Dawn Spicer, 41, who came back to the
Flint area from Texas, along with two other sisters, for the event. "The
emotion, the excitement of us all meeting together .... words can't even
explain it."
Back in 1949 or '50, the four oldest Burgess children - Christine, June, Eric
and Frank - were taken away from their parents by child welfare officials here.
The youngest, Frank, was not yet 2 years old.
"I come home from school that day and I could see police cars in front of the
house," remembers Christine Burgess, 62, of Flint. "Mom was holding Frankie in
her arms, and June and Eric were holding on to her legs."
Those four kids were pulled away from their mother, screaming, and taken into
foster care by social workers.
Why? At the time, family members say, their father, a World War II veteran, may
have been unemployed and they were living on Downey Street in Flint, in a
garage with a kerosene stove. Christine says her family believed a woman in the
neighborhood complained to authorities that the Burgess children weren't being
cared for properly. But she says that was not true.
Christine and other siblings say their father, a Flint man, had served in the
Army in Europe in World War II and that he talked of shooting a German soldier
in combat; that soldier turned out to have been a mere boy. (It's a matter of
historical record that the Germans put young teens into the army to fight.)
Their father was affected by this and other wartime experiences, and some say
he had a hard time keeping a job.
"I don't know how valid it was," says Spicer about the complaint that had led
to the removal of the first four children, "but back then, they didn't have the
means to fight for their custody."
What happened to those children? Eric, now 57, was eventually adopted and his
last name became Newton; his adoptive family moved to Florida. Frank or
"Frankie," as his siblings call him, was adopted by a local family named
Creamer; he is 55 and lives near Grand Rapids. Christine Burgess spent a few
years in foster care and was eventually placed with relatives up north. And
sister June was adopted by a Montrose family named Canfield; now she is June
Hall, 60, of Kalamazoo.
After those children were taken away, parents Franklin and Bernadette Burgess
had seven more children over the next 14 years. They are Joseph Burgess, 53, of
Bay City; Carlita White, 51, of Lewisville, Texas; Rodney Burgess, 49, of
Goshen, Ind.; Dunklee; Harry Burgess, 42, of Montrose Township; Spicer; and
Margaret DeFore, 38, who also lives in Texas.
Spicer and Dunklee say their family was poor as they grew up, but there was no
further action taken against their parents; they believe the removal of the
first four Burgess children was wrong and unfair. Their mother died in 1974 -
she was 53 - and their father died in 1985, just short of his 63rd birthday.
Not all links between the Burgess children were completely broken. When June
was a teenager living in Montrose, she managed to write to Christine. Christine
saw her family periodically when she was in foster care and then saw them
regularly when she was placed with relatives up north. She eventually came back
to live in Flint and so did June, for a time.
It was different with the older boys. There was a brief link to brother Frank
Creamer after more than 30 years; he'd been told that the Burgesses were his
biological family. In 1985, his sisters say, he contacted them and came to his
father's funeral. He and June exchanged calls and letters, but later lost track
of each other. The remaining brother, Eric, truly was lost to the others, who
had no idea what became of him.
It was June Hall's daughter who found the missing brothers by way of the
Internet this spring, determined to find them for the Burgess family reunion.
Because of June's previous contact with brother Frank, they knew his last name
was Creamer and were able to find his address in Belmont. He was, Hall says,
delighted to learn about the reunion, which was held in Flushing.
June's daughter also checked a Web site called adoption.com, where she found a
posting left by Eric Newton, who was looking for his biological family. He had
remembered over the years that he had a sister named June.
"When I called him, he said, 'Oh my God, you're my sister,' " Hall says, tears
coming to her eyes as she tells the story.
The Burgess children had their own tragedies and struggles over the years.
There were the sad and even terrible times in foster care for some, and
ambivalent feelings about missing family. But as each of them began to arrive
last month at The Greenery, for their "first-time reunion," the excitement
built. They did not, they say, talk about the bad times.
"Finally 10 of us were there, and we were waiting for Eric to arrive," says
June, crying as she tells the story. "And then Eric walked in."
"That," says Christine Burgess with a smile, "was a thrill and a half."
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
