Hi People,
Recently I had the opportunity to sit in on a discussing panel for the documentary I had the pleasure to be involved with called “In the Shadow of Fairview.” On March 14, a group of over 100 people gathered to watch about an hour of the documentary on Zoom and asked questions about my experience living in the institution. This has led me to recall many of the practices and experiences I endured during those times. During my stay at Fairview, I was often referred to as a “feeble minded” individual and so were many others that stayed at Fairview.
Fairview had no differentiation between neuro and physical disabilities and no special supports for either of these conditions. The people that spent time in the institution were just that, people. They were people and there were people who loved them, even though they were left there. It was a world hidden from society for nearly 100 years. I was overjoyed when that place shutdown. The state was governed by John Kitzhaber when the hospital closed its doors for the last time. He even gave a formal apology regarding the eugenics practices that took place during most of the hospital’s operating years.
Every person there received vasectomies against their will. This was the only option out of there facility at the time. An article on OregonLive.com called “Erasing Fairview’s Horrors” states that residents of the hospital were referred to as inmates and we were treated as such.
My last visit to Fairview was about 8 years ago, and it looked like a ghost town. Abandoned buildings, overgrowth of grass, boarded up windows, and no running electricity. It looked like something out of “The Walking Dead.” There is still a plaque at the campus that reads “Oregon Home of the Feeble Minded.”
All this to say, I’m happy with the progress we have made in society with helping those in need. I still feel we have much further to go but hopefully going forward we’ll leave the past right where it is … in the past. On another note, I’m am happy to be back bringing my stories to you all. I apologize for the delay but more stories are coming so hold on to your seats because we will be bringing some hot topics to discuss.
Happy to be back,
Laddie Read (aka Paul Harvey Jr.)
About the Author: As a boy, Laddie Read lived in the now closed Fairview Training Center in Salem, Oregon. He left when he was nineteen. He has been a part of the Community Vision family for 15 years and currently lives independently. He is a great self-advocate and involved in a number of advocacy groups.
The documentary Laddie references is called “In the Shadow of Fairview.” You can learn more about it and watch the documentary in its entirety on OPB.
