Chapter 3 -- Growing Pains

The test, I say again and again,

of any civilization is the measure of consideration and care which it gives to its weakest members.

-- Pearl S. Buck

The Companion

When Exceptional Foresters made the decision to move from the original concept of complete economic self-reliance into a tract with the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation, it began a process of inevitable expansion. Within a few years, the program had jumped from serving 5 men to 16 men. This growth, however, did not occur in a vacuum. The era following World War II, and especially the mid-60s period, was a time of rapid expansion within the whole economy. Keeping pace with this growth was the rise of Big Government and the Great Society programs. The large amounts of federal money and the pressures of expansion helped create an atmosphere conducive to experimentation with new concepts of serving the needs of the Developmentally Disabled.

Randy Chapman, One of the original Foresters

In 1969, Exceptional Foresters received an opportunity to lease the old State Patrol Academy. A Public Assistance representative had approached Exceptional Foresters with a proposal to fund any people the Foresters took in from the larger institutions. At this time, the movement to shift people from the overcrowded large institutions into smaller facilities was just beginning. Not only was this an affirmation of the Foresters' original concept of maintaining smaller regional centers, it was also an opportunity to improve the living quarters for the clients. Until the Foresters leased the State Patrol Academy, the level of housing had been less than satisfactory. In the early days of the program the old Navy barracks had served purposes well enough, but as the numbers increased, so did the need for a larger, more permanent facility. The original five Foresters and a handful of others lived in the Navy barracks until April 1969, when they moved into two steel-insulated buildings. Until these buildings were constructed, there simply wasn't room for the extra people who were coming in from other areas of the state. The overflow had to be housed in boarding rooms in town. The boarding rooms were depressingly inadequate so Exceptional Foresters was eager to establish larger living facilities at the base. The Foresters had no control over the boarding houses because clients living there were receiving funds from a Public Assistance grant. This unhappy situation was finally resolved when, with the aid of hundreds of volunteer hours, the two steel-insulated buildings were completed. Although conditions were not ideal, the clients were now living together under one roof. One of the buildings served as a kitchen/recreation room while the other provided sleeping quarters, dormitory style. As of May 7, 1969, a total of 24 clients were enrolled on a 24-hour, 7-day basis with a staff of 9 members. It was quite a menagerie when the whole crew got together in the evening! Obviously, the Foresters would have to expand again.

Large Need Requires Inevitable Expansion . . .