The Newark State School
The following is an excerpt from a 1963 brochure, "This is Newark State School." The 31-page booklet was prepared by members of the school's staff, and included information about various services and departments.
Little did Roderick Price know back in 1840, when he gave four acres of land for a Baptist College, that a little over a century later it would be a State institution of over four thousand patients and . . .
employees.
By 1888 a local editor could write, "In 1873, the institution on the hill was in name, though nothing else, a college waning and dying without endowment or support. Now on that hill is a young philanthropic institute, one of the most grand and useful in its aims of any State charity and giving promise of growing to immense proportions in the course of time." What a prophetic statement!
It was in 1853 that Dr. Wilbur, pioneer in this country, came from Massachusetts to New York State. He helped to have an act passed in the Legislature for the establishment of an institution exclusively for the feebleminded. The "Syracuse Idiot Asylum" (later "Custodial Asylum") thus came into being. The name "custodial" was given, because it was to protect the patients from society. Newark was an experimental branch of the Syracuse School.
Through the combined efforts of Dr. Wilbur and the head of the New York State Charities, the year 1885 saw Newark emerge as a separate institution, the "experiment" having been declared a success.
In 1890 there was a formal dedication ceremony to which the public was invited. The newly completed "Chapel" was filled to its capacity of 600, and the "Newark Custodial Asylum for Feebleminded Women of Child-bearing Age" became a reality.
Although a teacher had been added to the staff and academic subjects had become part of the program as early as 1894, it was not until 1910 that the patients had the benefit of psychiatric attention. Before that a staff physician provided adequate medical care. A careful physical and mental examination for all new admissions was stressed, exdeavoring as far as possible to find causes for the mental condition. "It is shortsighted from an economic standpoint to continue to care for the end products and not ascertain and eliminate the causes." This statement was made by the superintendent of the School in 1911.
In 1918, the Asylum was placed under the newly organized State Commission for Mental Defectives and the name was changed to "Newark State School for Mental Defectives." The next year commitments to the Institution by court order were made legal, instead of by application to city or county charity officials.
Previous to 1922, only women of child-bearing age were admitted. However, after experiencing the kind of behavior one would expect to be developed through the years of bad habits, it was felt that supervision of mental defectives should begin in childhood, and in 1922 admission was declared open to girls as young as five. Today, children under five may be admitted to the Institution if their staying at home is a hardship upon the family.
The School came under the jurisdiction of the Department of Mental Hygiene in 1927, after the general reorganization of State departments, and the name "Newark State School" was finally adopted.
From 1930 to 1938, many improvements and innovations were made, such as the establishment of boarding homes, child guidance clinics for the county, and the opening of the Boys' Division in 1932. The County Laboratory was established at this time with a licensed pathologist in attendance, now called Director of Clinical Laboratories. Prior to 1927, there was only one colony for the girls, at Geneseo; now there are also colonies at Lyons, Canandaigua, Newark and East Aurora, and three farm colonies for the boys.
In 1932, the position of Clinical Director was also initiated, which increased the facilities for clinical services and the follow-ups so necessary for patients in convalescent care. The Physical Therapy Department was established in 1933 and a separate unit for the care of cerebral palsy patients was opened in July 1934.
On December 17, 1950, the parents of patients at the School formed the "Sunshine League for Retarded Children of Western New York." A wholesome relationship developed between this group and the Staff of the School, which has been mutually beneficial in raising the morale of the parents and improving the care of the patients.
The first Instructor of Nursing took up her position at the School in 1951, and an orientation for attendants was inaugurated. Today this is termed the Standard Course for Attendants. In November 1961, a Work Simplification Program was added to the in-service training facilities, and in February 1962, a two-week course for the orientation of all the employees was started.
A full-time Roman Catholic Chaplain was appointed to Newark State School on May 3, 1954, and a Protestant Chaplain on February 17, 1957. It was about that time that the small Catholic Chapel was opened in the Moss Building.
Volunteer Services were introduced in the Fall of 1957. They have provided such valuable help in all areas within the Institution that a special supervisor was appointed in 1961 to coordinate the work of the volunteers throughout the School.
The "open door" policy was officially instituted in the Summer of 1958. The adolescent and young adult patients, in particular, have responded favorably to the trust thus placed in them.
In 1959, an Institution Education Director was appointed to supervise the total education and training program and to coordinate it with occupational therapy, recreation and industrial training. In the same year, the opening of a large new storehouse greatly facilitated the receiving, storing and issuing of supplies and foodstuffs for the now "full-grown" Institution.
The construction of an ample school building, complete with auditorium, worship facilities, bowling alleys and refreshment lounge was begun in 1962. This latest change on the School's horizon is also being followed by a new boiler-house and laundry.
Through the years, the population of this "little village" has steadily grown from its "asylum" days' capacity of under two hundred to over three thousand. Despite the fact that during 1960-61 many of our patients were transferred nearer their homes to the new Sampson Annex at Willard State Hospital and the recently opened J. N. Adam Division of Gowanda State Hospital, overcrowding here still remains a problem. The brick-and-mortar phase of the Institution's development has not been able to keep pace with the constantly increasing enrollment. Facilities, services and numbers of personnel, however, have expanded with the need, until now there is a veritable army of people employed in the care of Newark's patients.
In the succeeding pages, the role which these people play in managing the institution "on the hill" will be briefly unfolded. The ensuing details will show that the patients here are surrounded, not just by brick and mortar, not just by doors and windows, but by the love and labor of hundreds of wise and devoted men and women. This is the story of Newark State School: the story of the lives which are spent here - in need, and in dedication to that need: "This Is Newark State School."
Some Statistics - At the present writing, there are over thirty-six hundred patients listed on our books. Over four hundred of these are actually living "outside the wall" in five colonies, on three farms, in fifty-three family care homes, at ninety places of employment, and fifty-three of them in their own homes. During 1961 there were slightly more than two hundred and fifty admissions and not quite one hundred surcharges. In the meantime, there were under seventy deaths among our total population, but over five hundred of our patients were transferred to the newly opened centers at Sampson and Perrysburg.
Now that the new school at West Seneca has been opened, it is expected that the number of retarded being cared for by Newark State School will decline considerably since this will restrict our admission area and cause the transfer of more of our patients to the new institution nearer their homes.
Meanwhile, our present population is being cared for in thirty-two different wards at a total cost of over $5,000,000 per year. It is interesting to note that our food bill for the past year accounted for over half a million dollars of this. However, that amount includes $132,599.09 worth of food produced here on our own farms. Among our home products were 41,452 No. 10 can (gallons) of fruits and vegetables processed in our own canning factory and tons of meat and produce frozen and stored in our new storehouse. The fuel, light, power and water costs for the same yearly period added up to over $200,000, while household items, clothing and laundry expenses fell just short of that figure.
In addition to the large volume of produce from our farms, a vast array of articles made or manufactured by our patients was given an estimated value of $40,000. The School's Community Store, where patients and employees can purchase many personal items, as well as snack, reading, smoking materials, showed a profit for the year of over $8,000, which is used for entertainment and recreational purposes.
State Administration Building, Newark
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