Comments

Lynne, nah these things were pretty corroded into place...

Lynne, above the hook was... uh, more industrial stuff! I really don't remember and I think if I did I wouldn't know what it was...

The boiler in the pic appears to be a newer model than the ones available during the buildings initial use.

Yes! the Titanic did use a version of a Scotch Marine.

Uh, Ratio? I worked in group homes in Pennsylvania for years, and we were NOT ALLOWED to be abusive in any way. We had inspections and coordinators, and someone was always "Popping In". We couldn't even look at our clients cross-eyed (slight exaggeration there). You could get fired in an instant, not to mention there was the threat of prosecution. Have you worked for the State recently (in the past 15 years?). The guidelines are pretty darned strict now.

It is all in your head.

Hey! I was just looking for that same picture to show Bob! Great minds do think alike!

Closeby there are other comments on this site from people who also worked at Pennhurst and claimed it wasn't all that bad. Maybe the word 'worked' is important here. it would be interesting to know the truth about the place but if a court case and God-only knows how many testimonies couldn't uncover it, maybe it will never be fully known.

The thought that some of the people in the place were 'fully-functioning' is very scary and depressing - even if it was the happiest institution on earth surely they shouldn't have been there! But I've heard it was once not so difficult to get a badly-behaved child or an oddball teenager sent to one of these places.

Perhaps this place should not be bulldozed for a parking lot or a Walmart, but be opened to the public as a museum and memorial, a reminder of terrible times past. And maybe, as Lynne has said, a section on modern standards of care and techniques should be included - to make it clear that this place represents a period in history and not the way things are done now... but also as a warning as to the results of a lack of funding and unhealthy social attitudes towards those who are different and feared.

Looks like a person in a red t-shirt clear across the other side of that room with his back to the camera to me. Definitely one of Motts's people, he just won't admit it, coz he knows how much this is driving everyone up a wall. Come on, bud. It's been two months now since all these comments started. What gives?

Yep, we've been through a lot. Gallows humor is our way of coping with some of the sadness and pain. Keeps the nightmares away. Oh! How we sometimes NEED to laugh at funerals, too.

Clown masks? Why clown masks? Clowns are creepy enough as it is. Creepy clown masks in a creepy place...

Tom: Most boiler operators were trained in the services, mainly the Navy and Coast Guard.
I'll take a gander that the chief engineer was an old salty and was probably stationed aboard the ship in the photo

I adore this photo!

A "water tube boiler" setup to run on fuel oil.

The most nibbles, Hehe.


I like this new guy Bob, I do, yes I do.

Heh, well to be honest the laundry buildings / areas are usually extremely boring places, and I'd rather not risk being arrested just to see an empty laundry room!

But if you absolutely must see one, there's one here http://www.opacity.us/image2671.htm and only because it has a cool ironer left!