Through a sea of Hoyleton Homecoming t-shirts, you could not help but smile at all the kids in our residential care playing games on the lawn in the fall sun. The littlest ones played with the water toys and beanbags, while the older ones tried mini golf and a baseball toss. When it was time for the barbecue lunch, you didn’t have to call the kids twice to come get a plate. Rev. Pamela Smith, pastor at Zion UCC in Hoyleton and Hoyleton Youth and Family Services Board member, gave the meal blessing before everyone dug in. The short program after lunch included words from Rev. Dr. Paul Schippel, past President of Hoyleton from 1978-1998. When Paul started, Hoyleton was at a low point of 11 children, but it didn’t stay there long. He recalled that first day of his tenure, the very first thing he had in his planner was a staff meeting at 9:15 am. “Because you don’t have a home without staff,” he noted. Paul went on to say, “Hoyleton has never been a lone ranger. We’ve always known the importance of working together with all groups to be successful.” Cleo Terry started with Hoyleton in January 1998, and she was here during a period of transition for the organization. “We had more children coming to us with emotional problems then,” Cleo said, which was coupled with low reimbursement from the state. Working with others, Hoyleton was able to raise the state allowances, which ultimately provided better care for our children. Cleo also praised Hoyleton employees noting, “it’s the staff who have been the backbone of the organization.” She concluded saying, “Hoyleton thrives year after year, decade after decade,” as our long history attests. Cleo is presently Special Assistant to the President at Hoyleton. Debbie Kleiboeker, former Vice President of the Children’s Home Foundation, talked about the incredible support Hoyleton has had through the years from our church neighbors. “Our churches always have lifted up the ministry of Hoyleton,” she said.
When we had a fire and the children lived in tents on the lawn, our churches were there.” She described how congregations would, “bring bushels of apples and potatoes because they cared about the kids at Hoyleton. Debbie summed up her feelings of Hoyleton by saying, “Hoyleton is in our hearts.” Rev. Ken Kramer, Jr. gave a moving history of his father Ken Sr.’s time at Hoyleton. Ken Jr.’s grandmother died at an early age, leaving his grandfather Raymond with three little children, in an era when men just didn’t raise children. Ken Jr. says the Kramers were never church people. They didn’t believe church was important to anyone, except for Raymond’s wife who was a Baptist. At her death, Raymond asked a local Baptist minister to bury his wife, and the minister said it would cost $10. That was a staggering sum of money in 1934 for a man who was out of work in the Depression. Raymond talked to the pastor at St. Peter’s Evangelical Church in Centralia, who said he would do the burial for free. He also helped Raymond get Ken Sr. and his brother and sister into the children’s home at Hoyleton. At Hoyleton Ken Sr. got plenty of exposure to a spiritual life through the meal time prayers and scripture readings of Papa Hotz. Ken Jr. said his father kept the tradition of reading scripture at every meal all while he was growing up too. Ken Sr. went
with the other kids to Zion UCC (then Evangelical and Reformed) down the street, and often went home with congregation members for Sunday dinner after worship. It took ten years but after Raymond got back on his feet and remarried, he came to get the children and bring them home. Ken Sr’s time at Hoyleton influenced him so much, he was called to ministry. When Ken Jr. was growing up, his father was pastor at Addieville UCC. He recalls how his father would ask the 400 members of the congregation to bring donations for
the kids at Hoyleton, and the food and clothing would fill the front of the sanctuary. He described how it would take several pickup trucks to bring the mountain of donations to the school late in the evening on the night before Thanksgiving. What a sight that must have been for the kids the next morning. 2012 • Fall
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