MAINE-L Archives

Archiver > MAINE > 2007-10 > 1193151911


From: "Kay Stanton" <>
Subject: Re: [MAINE] Fernald School in Waltham (FERNALD)
Date: Tue, 23 Oct 2007 11:05:11 -0400
References: <1374861.1193143287827.JavaMail.root@elwamui-hound.atl.sa.earthlink.net>


----- Original Message -----
From: "Kathy MacDonald" <>
To: <>
Sent: Tuesday, October 23, 2007 8:41 AM
Subject: Re: [MAINE] Fernald School in Waltham (FERNALD)


> Hi Betty,
> The Walter Fernald State School has been operated for more than a hundred
> years by the Mass. Dept. of Mental Retardation. As you have noted, at one
> time they took people of all ages with all levels of cognitive
> disabilities. For several decades they have no longer accepted children.
> A small group of residents remain at the Fernald School. They are all
> older adults who would be described as profoundly retarded. There is
> currently a legal fight between some state officails who want to close the
> Fernald School down and the families of the remaining residents who argue
> that this is the only home many of the residents have ever known and that
> it should remain open.
>
> Of course, in the past, children were sometimes left at the Fernald school
> even though they may not have been been cognitively impaired. In some
> cases, their parents couldn't care for them, the children had behavior
> management problems, or a child was left there with a sibling who was
> mentally retarded. I'm a social worker who works with elders who have
> disabilities in Boston. I have worked with several people who had these
> experiences. In the 1940s and 1950s, unethical experiments were sometimes
> done on the disabled people who lived there and legal cases were brought
> because of this. This has been widely reported in the press in the Boston
> area. If you are interested, I'm sure that you can find a lot of
> information on line regarding the Fernald School.
>
> Kathy
> -----Original Message-----
>>From: Betty <>
>>Sent: Oct 23, 2007 7:38 AM
>>To: , ,
>>
>>Subject: [MAINE] Fernald School in Waltham (FERNALD)
>>
>>Hello,
>>
>>I just went to look up the maiden name of one of my aunts, LOVE, and
>>discovered a girl in the 1900 Census at "The Massachusetts School for
>>the
>>Feeble-Minded." At the top of the list is Walter FERNALD and his wife,
>>Katherine, and 3 children.
>>
>>There seems to be almost 20 census pages for the people residing at this
>>school. And, even though it is named a school, there are people
>>there -
>>of all ages.
>>
>>The 1910 census shows Walter FERNALD as 51 and being born in Maine, as did
>>his parents. In 1920, he is still there with his wife, Kate, and one
>>daughter.
>>
>>Wow, even though this name is hardly ever mentioned on the Lists, it is
>>a
>>popular name in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts.
>>
>>I just checked the FERNALD List and Boards and was surprised to find out
>>that the "Fernald School" is not mentioned in the archives.
>>
>>I just went to this web page and found out the school was originally
>>started
>>by Samuel Gridley HOWE in 1848:
>>
>>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_E._Fernald_State_School
>>
>>I just saw that the "school" took in special-needs children / adults for
>>over 100 years.
>>
>>I'm curious about the origin of the FERNALD name.
>>
>>Betty (near Lowell, MA)
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>Remember to check the archives of all the Lists and Boards for your
>>surnames
>>and place-names.
>>And, please remember to check the on-line auctions for for your surnames
>>and
>>place-names.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>
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