4,537 Comments for Pennhurst State School

A famous "Motts shot."
Well, actually they're all famous in each of their own way, but this is the kind where you capture so much in one single frame.
Once again, awesome angle! : )

How sad that those books are just laying and rotting, those are probably worth a fortune now. Such a shame to see any book just writhe away like that.

was there a little man behind the curtain?

Let me preface this entire statement by saying my first job "in the field" was back in 1983 in a group home set up for people returning to York Co from Pennhurst. I was outraged at the physical condition of the people I worked with. Most of the time spent was running Dr. appointments for what should have been taken care of years before. Most of the people were on some heavy duty medications that left them "manageable". I was also outraged that families didn't give a rat's a** about their own family members. Over the year's my opinion about Pennhurst and the families has changed. I've read a lot about Pennhurst, including Superintendent's reports. I've come to the conclusion that Pennhurst (as well as most human service state run agencies) was doomed from the start. It was supposed to be the grand experiment where people would learn to become self-sufficient. It actually opened before it was supposed to and most of the buildings were not even completed or built properly. Each superintendent's report had huge lists of what was needed to make things run properly and how much it would cost. The money never came from the state and Pennhurst went downhill each year. As the money got tight, the quality of the staff went downhill because of lack of proper training, inability to consistently attract the highest quality staff due to wages and increasing burnout due to longer hours and lack of support. I'm not saying that there were not good staff there. It's just that even the best of people make mistakes when they are tired or put into situations where there is no back-up or support. Add this to the fact that the mr field historically has not been the best at research in designing programs that work. I even got to the point that I understood the stressors placed on parents who placed their sons and daughters in instutions. The education system didn't have anything positive for the kids in those days. The medical profession put a ton of pressure on the parents that this was the best thing for the child and that anything else would be cruel and inhuman. The church even got into the act by saying that these kids were God's holy innocents and that they needed to be protected from the real world. I saw how much guilt the parent's had over allowing their kids to be placed there. Well folks the same thing is happening in the group home and "sheltered workshop" system now. The state in their infinate wisdom has fairly well frozen the funding (or has graciously alllowed a 2-3% increase in funding) to run programming all the while adding new unfunded mandates to suck the lifeblood from the organization. Turnover for all agencies is at the highest level it has ever seen. I believe I read somewhere the average employee left after 6 months. Yes, there were abuses at Pennhurst and yes, abuse is still going on in the mr field. People need to learn the lessons of Pennhurst and the lessons of the present system and grow. Sorry for the long rant.

You ran these cards through a machine called a language master. They are still in use

Whoa! I thought I would visit the little black sheep again. I didn't expect them to have gained such a "tail"! As a normal child I often created works of art to please, anger, excite, and awe others. Many had no particular meaning. Often they were "works of circumstance". If I was near a field of cows, maybe a drew a cow getting run over or flying or some other such nonsense. Maybe I just thought it would be funny. Often the simplist explanation is the best one. In this case here, we have the artist who has clearly explained the art work. Case closed. She had her experiences and others had different experiences. Some were abused, but most were not. You can't think of the past in terms of today. The ways of thinking and the information available always effects what happens in any time frame. Often it wasn't known that the things that were done were harmful. We have the benefit today of knowing so many more things then people used to.

Lol nice Van Gogo! ^_^ Yah i cant believe one lil pick got sooo much attention. I think if i had to choose though, i would agree with Lynne and BSmarcia. Yes . Great gallery by the way Motts! Kudos.

The history on this place was so sad motts. those links you gave us in the begining of the gallery were really informative and fasinating. Thanks.

the intricate detail on the column is very nice.

I would rather sleep on the floor then ever lay on that bed.

Yeah i live far away from it but gosh. its scares the crap out of me..I mean really the patient abuse and ehhh it sounds creepy...but has anyone ever been in there after it was closed down???

Oh Laura....I love you! You said that so well.

And what is with a 63 year old grafitti "artist"?

I doubt anyone would be impressed if someone walked into their home, picked up their tv and walked out with it. If they said to you "Sorry mate, thought the house was abandoned..." would you accept it? No.

These buildings still belong to people. As do the contents.

And grafitti sucks. The devil makes work for idle hands.

That's ARITHMETIC.

Wow! I stand by my asbestos remark.

And boy, it sure was lucky the designers jam-packed these hospitals with mountain loads of the right insurance; cause when you're thinking Snowstorm Asbestos*, you're thinking ahead, oh yeah!

*Snowstorm Asbestos Inc dose not guarantee authenticity where idiots apply.