Dionne Quints & J&K+8
November 29, 2007 by Tracee Sioux
Filed under Parenting
I saw this documentary about the Dionne Quintuplets and thought there were some relevant similarities between them and one of Discovery’s reality shows, Jon & Kate plus 8.
According to The Free Dictionary:
The Dionne Sisters were born in 1934, and were the first quintuplets ever to survive their infancy. The odds were one in 57 million.
Two days after Annette Lillianne Marie, Cécile Marie Emilda, Emilie Marie Jeanne, Marie Reina Alma Dionne, and Yvonne Edouilda Marie were born in a Canadian village their father, Oliva, was approached by fair exhibitors.
Reluctantly, after speaking to his wife, Elzire, he signed a contract. Already the parents of five children, he made a deal with the Century of Progress Exposition, a World’s Fair being held in Chicago, to use the money to feed and clothe his family.
Public outcry over this apparent exploitation of Oliva and Elzire’s newborns led swiftly to widespead condemnation of the parents, particularly Oliva. Soon, the Ontario government interfered. The custody of the five babies was withdrawn from their parents by the Ontario government, originally for a guardianship of two years. Ironically, although the children were removed from their parents’ legal custody to protect them from exploitation and to ensure their survival into healthy toddlers, the government quickly realized the massive interest in Cecile, Annette, Marie, Yvonne, and Emilie, and proceeded to exploit them for financial gain. The girls were made the wards of the provincial crown until they reached the age of 18.
Across the road from their birthplace, the Dafoe Hospital and Nursery was built for only the five girls and their caregivers to live in. The observation gallery, where thousands of people watched from meshed screens as the children played twice a day, became part of “Quintland,” a theme-park like atmosphere showcasing and selling Quintuplet merchandise.
Approximately 6,000 people per day visited the observation gallery to view the Dionne sisters. Close to three million people walked through the gallery between 1936 and 1943[2]. In 1934, the quintuplets brought in about $1 million, and they attracted in total about $51 million of tourist revenue to Ontario. Quintland became Ontario’s biggest tourist attraction of the era, at the time surpassing Niagara Falls.
It’s so much easier to indulge our voyeuristic impulses by watching Jon & Kate plus 8 from our own living rooms, don’t you think?
Thanks TLC.
Those poor quints spent most of their adult lives in law suits against the government of Ontario trying to get some of the money they earned. The only relationships they seemed able to maintain were with each other and their lives, except for the one who became a nun, seemed pretty darn miserable. I hope J&K know the downside.
You’re missing the truly unique part – all 5 girls were identical. That’s never happened before or since.
For sure it was unique. I’m not sure I knew they were identical.
i never got to know them but i and related to them and i really wish i could of meet them
well they are really kool.
they are also very pretty 5 girls and thar mom and dad were very poor so the could not really take care for all 5 of them cuz they had alot more kids at home and thar dad wus also not really nice to the 5 of them so the r alot difrent from j&k.
Yeah John and Kate’s kids are pretty well rounded. They try not to let the media effect their kids so I think they’ll be just fine; unlike the Dionne girls.
I saw a documentry on Quintland and the tv movie about them several years ago. I never made the connection between the Dionnes and Jon and Kate’s kids.
I have quints myself and I have read the dione story and I know someone who is still in contact with the survivng Diones and He goes around the country doing talks on them. I would never subject my children to the media like Jon and Kate. It really does affect children to always be in the spot light. I have 3 older children and I see how the media and well wishers ignore them and that causes a wedge between siblings. We fight hard for a normal family life. All my children are special. Singletins or multiples we are still just one family. Jon and Kate use thier children for free products and trips and financial security shame on them! Think about it would you like always having the world in on your greatest family moments? The children have no choice everything from thier first poop is recorded for the world to see. I do see therpy in thier future.
There is no comparison between the quints’ treatment in the 1930-40s and today’s “8″. These quints were conceived NATURALLY unlike the “8″. These quints were born in a log cabin, no doctor present (just one midwife) and the nurses came later. These one pound plus quints were born, bundled, and laid on the floor near the smoky fireplace kept burning. They were laid on the floor to die–unlike the “8″ in a bit more modern setup.
The tragedy was the Canadian government and the division between french and english speaking. Once the quints lived, they learned english only. Their family of 7 spoke only french. After the government made their money (and their father), the government was finished with them and the quints were sent to live with their biological family who they didn’t know and couldn’t speak to (this was around age 10). Residual checks were sent to their father and used on even more family born after the quints. So, this sad, dark tale, is unbelievably true. The quints had a family who hated their celebrity, but they benefited from that very thing, along with the government.
Thank goodness J&K plus 8 are including the twin girls, conceived with fertility drugs with their famous siblings, conceived with fertility drugs.
Does anyone remember the NJ family with 5 or 6 quints from the 60s and 70s? We only saw them once a year in a woman’s magazine. The father of this famous multiple family committed suicide. I can’t remember their names. I believe the magazine was “McCalls”.