Belchertown

Belchertown PDF Author: Doris M. Dickinson
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 9780738589725
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 132

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Book Description
Belchertown, a photographic celebration of small-town life in western Massachusetts, depicts the story of the community from its settlement to the 1960s. An industrious group, Belchertown residents worked to establish shops, work fields, and manufacture carriages in the early years. The town was once known as the Detroit of the carriage industry. These labors and the benefits they generated are illustrated in this exciting new book. Despite changes in the transportation industry that made Belchertown increasingly accessible by trains and later by cars, residents succeeded in preserving the municipality's small-town character. Through the opening and the closing of the Belchertown State School and the creation of the Quabbin Reservoir, the town remained a comfortable haven from the hustle and bustle of city life. Residents enjoyed doing business in town, attending local schools, churches, and civic organizations, and gathering together for the celebrated Belchertown Fair. The 200 vintage images in this book, primarily selected from the extensive photograph collection housed at the Stone House Museum of the Belchertown Historical Association, depict the idyllic nature of life in Belchertown through the years.

Belchertown

Belchertown PDF Author: Doris M. Dickinson
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 9780738589725
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 132

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Book Description
Belchertown, a photographic celebration of small-town life in western Massachusetts, depicts the story of the community from its settlement to the 1960s. An industrious group, Belchertown residents worked to establish shops, work fields, and manufacture carriages in the early years. The town was once known as the Detroit of the carriage industry. These labors and the benefits they generated are illustrated in this exciting new book. Despite changes in the transportation industry that made Belchertown increasingly accessible by trains and later by cars, residents succeeded in preserving the municipality's small-town character. Through the opening and the closing of the Belchertown State School and the creation of the Quabbin Reservoir, the town remained a comfortable haven from the hustle and bustle of city life. Residents enjoyed doing business in town, attending local schools, churches, and civic organizations, and gathering together for the celebrated Belchertown Fair. The 200 vintage images in this book, primarily selected from the extensive photograph collection housed at the Stone House Museum of the Belchertown Historical Association, depict the idyllic nature of life in Belchertown through the years.

The Girls and Boys of Belchertown

The Girls and Boys of Belchertown PDF Author: Robert N. Hornick
Publisher: Univ of Massachusetts Press
ISBN: 155849944X
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 228

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Book Description
During much of the twentieth century, people labeled "feeble-minded," "mentally deficient," and "mentally retarded" were often confined in large, publicly funded, residential institutions located on the edges of small towns and villages some distance from major population centers. At the peak of their development in the late 1960s, these institutions--frequently called "schools" or "homes" --housed 190,000 men, women, and children in the United States. The Girls and Boys of Belchertown offers the first detailed history of an American public institution for intellectually disabled persons. Robert Hornick recounts the story of the Belchertown State School in Belchertown, Massachusetts, from its beginnings in the 1920s to its closure in the 1990s following a scandalous exposé and unprecedented court case that put the institution under direct supervision of a federal judge. He draws on personal interviews, private letters, and other unpublished sources as well as local newspapers, long out-of-print materials, and government reports to re-create what it was like to live and work at the school. More broadly, he gauges the impact of changing social attitudes toward intellectual disability and examines the relationship that developed over time between the school and the town where it was located. What emerges is a candid and complex portrait of the Belchertown State School that neither vilifies those in charge nor excuses the injustices perpetrated on its residents, but makes clear that despite the court-ordered reforms of its final decades, the institution needed to be closed.

You'll Like it Here

You'll Like it Here PDF Author: Ed Orzechowski
Publisher: Levellers Press
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 257

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Book Description


Belchertown State School

Belchertown State School PDF Author: Katherine Anderson
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 1467105015
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 128

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Book Description
In the first decade of the 20th century, the state of Massachusetts established itself as a leader in the education of individuals with disabilities. The third state school for the feebleminded was built in rural Belchertown, in the western part of the state. Opened in 1915, Belchertown State School would eventually encompass almost 900 acres of land and would become the largest employer in town. For nearly 60 years, the state school educated individuals with disabilities who were otherwise excluded from public education, training the "residents" to become independent members of their families and of society. The model was a success until reports of abuse and neglect began to surface, culminating in the landmark 1972 Ricci v. Greenblatt case, which ultimately led to the state school's closure in 1992. The state school's rich history, maintained and curated by the late Donald LaBrecque, chronicles the rise of special education and developmental services and the ultimate collapse of the state school system.

Historical Sketch of the Congregational Church in Belchertown, Mass

Historical Sketch of the Congregational Church in Belchertown, Mass PDF Author: Mark Doolittle
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Belchertown (Mass.)
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Book Description


Unsilenced: A Teacher's Year of Battles, Breakthroughs, and Life-Changing Lessons at Belchertown State School

Unsilenced: A Teacher's Year of Battles, Breakthroughs, and Life-Changing Lessons at Belchertown State School PDF Author: Howard C. Shane
Publisher: Brookes Publishing Company
ISBN: 9781681255156
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 254

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Book Description
The year is 1969, and fresh-out-of-college smart-aleck Howard Shane has just landed his first teaching job--at Belchertown State School, a bleak institution where people with disabilities endure endless days of silence, tedium, and neglect. Howard is stunned by the conditions at Belchertown and the challenges of his new job, but as he gets to know his diverse, endearing, and intelligent students, he becomes consumed with a mission: to unlock their communication skills and help them reach their full potential. Pitting his youthful idealism and passion against the rigidity of a rule-bound administrator, Howard battles his way to small joys and victories with his students--and, along the way, learns just as much as he teaches. A stirring and spellbinding memoir from internationally renowned AAC expert Howard Shane (Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School), Unsilenced is a candid look at a pivotal era in disability history and a deeply personal account of how all human beings can flourish when we care for each other and fight for change. Hear an Excerpt Read by Howard Shane, Ph.D.

Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of the State of Massachusetts

Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of the State of Massachusetts PDF Author: William Richard Cutter
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Genealogy
Languages : en
Pages : 944

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Book Description


Massachusetts Town Greens

Massachusetts Town Greens PDF Author: Eric Hurwitz
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1493019287
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 257

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Book Description
The state of Massachusetts still has and continues to celebrate its town or village greens. These greens date back to Colonial times where they served as the physical and spiritual centers for these early towns. Today many town greens continue to be the center of town events, fairs, and other gatherings. Massachusetts Town Greens explores the history of these remarkable greens and provide a guide to current events.

Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revoluntionary War

Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revoluntionary War PDF Author: Massachusetts. Office of the Secretary of State
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Digital images
Languages : en
Pages : 1000

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Book Description


Report

Report PDF Author: Massachusetts. Department of the State Auditor
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Finance
Languages : en
Pages : 722

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Book Description