("Holt International Children's Services")
"I was jealous that they got attention and I felt left out. I eventually grew up and realized I had had a much easier life beginning than they did."
~Suzanne Holt Peterson
HOme LIfe
After the arrival of the adopted children, Holt family life changed.
"I was away at nursing school at the time, but came home as often as possible and helped when I could. My father had directly cared for them in Korea so they adjusted fairly well to our big home and family. We had planned for them so most things we needed were in place when they came. My sisters Wanda (20) and Barbara (17) helped a lot until they went to Korea the following year to help my father there. Then my mom hired a lovely Mennonite lady, and she was a wonderful help. Our home and yard were big and they loved playing with our dog and the other animals." (Holt, Molly)
"Part of the time, I was jealous, but with the adoption, many people came to see us wanting to adopt children, or to see these children. Most of the people in our small community knew our family and accepted these children. I am sure that there was some prejudice about their looks. They were part American in heritage. Korea was not going to accept them at that time." (Peterson)
"I had a wonderful childhood growing up with eight siblings close to my age (all adopted) and six biological siblings that my parents, Harry and Bertha Holt, had. They were 50 and 51 years old when they adopted us from the ages of 9 months to 2½ years. Because of the kids’ age difference, we referred to our large family as 'first family' for the biological ones and 'second family' for the adopted ones. But in the eyes of the public, we were all one large family. I never regretted coming from a large family because I always had someone to play with. Of the 14 children, nine were girls and five were boys." (Stampe)
"I was away at nursing school at the time, but came home as often as possible and helped when I could. My father had directly cared for them in Korea so they adjusted fairly well to our big home and family. We had planned for them so most things we needed were in place when they came. My sisters Wanda (20) and Barbara (17) helped a lot until they went to Korea the following year to help my father there. Then my mom hired a lovely Mennonite lady, and she was a wonderful help. Our home and yard were big and they loved playing with our dog and the other animals." (Holt, Molly)
"Part of the time, I was jealous, but with the adoption, many people came to see us wanting to adopt children, or to see these children. Most of the people in our small community knew our family and accepted these children. I am sure that there was some prejudice about their looks. They were part American in heritage. Korea was not going to accept them at that time." (Peterson)
"I had a wonderful childhood growing up with eight siblings close to my age (all adopted) and six biological siblings that my parents, Harry and Bertha Holt, had. They were 50 and 51 years old when they adopted us from the ages of 9 months to 2½ years. Because of the kids’ age difference, we referred to our large family as 'first family' for the biological ones and 'second family' for the adopted ones. But in the eyes of the public, we were all one large family. I never regretted coming from a large family because I always had someone to play with. Of the 14 children, nine were girls and five were boys." (Stampe)