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The Children of Scattergood

Scattergood Children

Children at Scattergood posing for a picture

Everyone who made their way to Scattergood had to adjust to a new way of life, including the children. At any given time there were only a few children living at Scattergood. Many of the children arrived with a sibling whom they could play with. For the others, it was very rare to play with another child of a similar age.

There was little interaction with local children, since Scattergood was several miles outside the town of West Branch. Pierre Shostal, who was a child while at Scattergood, noted that "part of the problem, I think, was distance . . . The other children, I assumed, had their playmates and friends that stayed together, whereas we stayed in this rather separate world."

As an institution designed to integrate refugees into society, isolation could be a detrimental factor. Instead of feeling included in their new community, some of the children felt left out. When these children grew up, many split their time between America and their countries of birth.