I was a teenager when my mother told me about Baby Charley. He was found in the backseat of a car outside the all-boys Catholic high school in Butte, Montana in 1954. Boys rushed him to the nearby rectory, but a priest directed them to reroute to St. James Hospital, two-and-a-half blocks away.
The story was shared in newspapers around the state.
My mom, newly married and unbeknownst at the time, newly pregnant, was preparing for the oncoming nurses when she heard pounding on the alleyway door. She asked a janitor to open it. “Petrified” boys passed the baby to the janitor, who quickly handed the baby to her.
“Baby Charley” as he was named, was at St. James for about two months, according to my mom. “Everybody loved him—the priests and nuns and doctors—and lots of boys would come in and talk to him and play with him. He was well taken care of.”
She dressed him the morning he was scheduled to leave with his adoptive parents. Mom had a meeting though, so was sad she did not meet the couple when they arrived to take Baby Charley home.
When I was eight, we relocated from Missoula to Butte and moved into my mom’s cousin’s home across from St. James Hospital. The hospital was boarded up by then, replaced by a new building a few blocks away. I traipsed past the old hospital’s alleyway door thousands of times in the ensuing years, walking to and from church and school. The all-boys’ high school became mine, having transitioned to coed in the 1960’s. After learning about Baby Charley, I often imagined the boys’ angst as they rushed to the rectory, then hurried to the nearest hospital door they could find.
Mom repeated the story throughout the years, the last time in early 2020 as we visited in her independent living apartment. “He was inside a paper bag, dressed and wrapped in a blanket. He had a sugar tit in his mouth, and he had beautiful red hair…” She paused. “I hope he’s doing okay.”
“I bet he is,” I said, studying the black and white photograph featuring Baby Charley and my twenty-three-year-old mother. Clad in her white cap and starched nurse’s uniform, she’s smiling at Charley, whose tiny fingers are curled around her finger.
The photo, which Mom kept in her cedar chest, was taken for a follow-up news article. “Picture no. 3; 2 col Sun; bottom, pg. 4;” was scribbled across its back. But instead of publishing the photograph of Baby Charley and my mother, the newspaper published a photo of him and a nursing supervisor instead.
My mom passed away on March 18, 2023. Two days ago, I washed the linens that had cocooned her, and my sister and me, during Mom’s final hours. I also laundered a pair of plush throws. The blankets rushed memories of Mom and I snuggled under them during our fourteen weeks together after she broke her pelvis in October 2020. Swathed in comfort and warmth, we’d watch “Jeopardy” and “Wheel of Fortune.” We’d reminisce too, and sometimes when dementia took hold, she’d ask, “Where’s the baby?”
A childbirth educator and decades-long nurse, mother of eight, grandmother of fourteen and great-grandmother of twelve, Mom could have been referring to a number of babies. But during those weeks I hunkered in Assisted Living with her, she often lived in the past.
On this Mother’s Day I wonder, as I have before, if the infant Mom worried about was Baby Charley. My years of teaching Lamaze classes and working as an OB nurse, coupled with the creation of characters for my novel Perimenopausal Women with Power Tools, colored my emotions as I contemplated Baby Charley’s birth and his birth mother’s courage, strength, heartache and love.
Mom’s plush throws are washed and tucked away. I imagine gifting one blanket to Charley. If his birth mother is still alive, I imagine gifting her the other. Full circle from the young nurse who welcomed and loved Baby Charley nearly sixty-nine years ago.
Thanks, Karen. A beautiful tribute to my good friend, Kaye! Think of her often. The last 2 of a gang of friends from Missoula. Who would have ever guessed that she and I-would outlast everyone else.
You and my mom were such good friends, Shirley! I have fond memories of the Missoula gang’s gatherings at our house and yours and points in between.
And yes, had folks been placing bets back then, I think it’s fair to say you and Kay might not have been front runners in the longevity category. Grateful for your long lives though.
Love to you, Shirley on this Mother’s Day! You and Kay and my Mom…..BEST MOMS EVER!!!
Agreed, Mona!
What a poignant story. Your mom lived such a full life. How lucky were the people she touched by her kind and gentle ways. I’m sure this first Mother’s Day was a bit hard. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks, Kathy. Finishing this post on my first Mother’s Day without my mom softened the pangs of missing her. I am comforted knowing she’s at peace.
Thanks, Karen. What a great daughter you were to your Mother. I think about you guys often. Love, shirley
Thanks again, Shirley. Love to you too.
Imagine the fear that Charlie’s mother felt, leaving her infant behind just hours after giving birth! Hopefully she saw his picture in the paper being lovingly tended by your mom and it gave her some peace and hope for his future!!
What a sweet story! Your mom loved and nurtured so many children during her full life, she certainly impacted this “kid”!!
Indeed, Ame. Fear and an untold number of other emotions…I do hope Charlie’s birth mother found peace and hope. I neglected to mention Mom’s role in nurturing our friends. She delighted in welcoming y’all in!
Sweet story, Karen.
Charlie had a lot of love from the start. I expect that he thrived because of those first weeks of love from your Mom. A poignant day with such memories. Blessings.
Well said in every regard, Connie. Thank you.
What a lovely tribute to your mother on this first Mother’s Day without her. Thank you so much, Karen for sharing her story with us.
Thanks, Fran. I treasure the myriad of memories of my sweet mom. She was a gem.
Karen, what a wonderful daughter you were to your Mother. Your mom and dad were the shining light for parents. We were all so lucky to have had them in our lives.
Thanks for your tender words, Shirley. Looking back, I can see how my parents were shining lights for you all. They loved every minute our families spent together!
Such a beautiful, poignant story
Thanks, Jan. Mom held Baby Charlie in her heart for years.
Oh Karen, how wonderful to share this memory. Sweet Kay continues to inspire us, through your beautiful testimony. Wouldn’t it be a joy to find an update on little Charlie! God placed that little babe exactly where he was meant to be on that day and we are still sharing this story decades later. Thankful for your Mom and thankful for you💕
Sweet Kay was truly an inspiration, Bev. I share your hope that Charlie’s story will come full circle.
Karen, thank you for sharing this sweet story. I hope other “baby Charlie’s” have the good fortune of being cared for by someone as loving as your mother. ❤️
Thanks, Clare. I hope the same as well. I’m grateful for laws that provide for safe places for babies like Charlie to land.
What a story, Karen! Sent chills down my spine. The picture of your Mom and Charlie is so sweet. I hope that Charlie someday knows of the nurse holding him in his infancy. Keep searching. He is out there probably searching himself.
Thanks, Mona. I hope Charlie learns about that sweet nurse too.
What a gentle story. That little hand wrapped around fingers grasping for connection and hope! Gah! Had to laugh when the priest shooed the boys away toward the hospital not wanting any responsibility for a BABY! The boys returning to check in on “their charge “ is my favorite bit. Would love to hear their telling of this tale! Lastly, Kay’s sweet smile captured so perfectly here was a trademark she shared generously her entire life. This Mother’s Day tribute is a gem, Karen. Thank you for knowing the importance of this story and sharing it!
Oh, Mary Anne, your description of the photo, including my mom’s sweet smile, melted my heart. Thank you.💕
Such a heart-warming story and written so well. Your mom was sweet and she sure raised an amazing daughter. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you, Karen. I’m so glad you got to know my sweet mom!
Karen !
What a beautiful and touching story of your sweet mom and baby Charlie !! I love the precious photo ! Thank you so much for sharing it ! She sounded like such a sweet and loving person ! And how lucky she was to have you in her life !
Thanks, Raelynn. I love that precious photo too…it embodies my mom’s kindness and love.
Karen, Thank you for sharing your mother’s loving kindness and caring with all of us. It is a perfect Mother’s Day story and makes me imagine my own special mother at that time in her life. That is a such a gift.
Again, thank you so much. Nadine
Thank you, Nadine. Your words remind me of your joy when you’ve shared stories about your mom. Special indeed.