The article in the Sun Journal about St. Joseph’s Orphanage in Lewiston (June 18) struck a nerve with our family and friends of St. Ann’s Orphanage in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Talk about brother and sister connections. We, too, were “cared for” by the Grey Nuns (Sisters of Charity). The article is a mirror image of what many endured at St. Ann’s.

My sister and I went on a mission in 2015 to find out about our temporary childhood home. Our suppressed memories were screaming to be heard.

As we endeavored to collect information, doors were not open to the subject. The History Museum of Worcester, Massachusetts, had no information about an institution that had been part of the community for more than 125 years. We collected snippets of information from organizations around Worcester.

We found people who were reaching out via the internet. They posted on blogs and anywhere they could shout out their frustrations. Rosie and I even took a trip to the Grey Nuns archives in Montreal, Canada, and collected many photos and historical information. We were not looking for restitution, we just wanted to know that what we thought was true was, indeed, true.

We took all this information and wrote a book called “The Ghosts of St. Ann’s Past — Stories of St. Ann’s Orphanage of Worcester, Ma.” You could change the name to “The Ghosts of St. Joseph’s Past” and see it as your story. The only difference was St. Ann’s housed about 250 children, both girls and boys.

Joseph Massie, Alachua, Florida

Rosalie Massie Blackburn, Gainsville, Florida