WALTHAM, MA — Disability advocates angry that the city allowed the Lions civic club to host a light show at the old city-owned property where the ruins of the Fernald School sit, are vowing to continue their fight.
Dozens showed up Friday outside the property holding signs like "shine a light on disability rights," as cars rolled into the light show, which the Lions Club is sponsoring to raise funds to donate back to causes within Waltham.
"A holiday light show supported by the City of Waltham will further erase the memory of the abuse meted out on persons with disabilities and the civil rights movement that closed this institution," said activist Chris Hoeh in a statement. "We will continue, the question is how."
The Walter E. Fernald Developmental Center, originally called the Experimental School for Teaching and Training Idiotic Children, was a state institution that came to Waltham in the late 1800s. It grew to include 72 buildings on 196 acres. It later came out that for decades children housed there were neglected and abused, prompting its closure. Later the center transitioned into a center for mentally disabled adults and in the 1970s a judge ordered significant changes, turning the facility around to the praise of advocates, before it eventually closed for good in 2014.
But despite that turnaround, Fernald was a state institution where thousands of disabled people were raped, abused and ultimately died, advocates argue, and say that needs to be addressed before festive activities continue on the property.
"We respect that the Lions need to fundraise, but the use of this site, this way, cannot happen year after year," said Hoeh. "We need a museum acknowledging the history of the site, remembrance of how fragile the rights, the dignity of persons with disabilities always is, and to value the ongoing struggle being waged by activists to protect the dignity of the disabled."
Three years ago a group of high school students who researched the site asked that the tragic history would be represented on the property. They said they were promised it would be. But they haven't seen any evidence of that happening.
"No formal plan for museum has been established," said Zachary Sherman who was one of those students. But he said the mayor hasn't responded to a petition or the protest at city hall.
He called the use of the property for a light show "unconscionable."
During the past two years, the Lions club has hosted a carnival on the property, without a complaint, said Mayor Jeannette McCarthy.
"It's a drive-thru Holiday light display for children of all ages in a pandemic," she said. "The Lions have done a great job, and held a carnival there for two years and not a peep. It's important to remember the past but also to move on."
McCarthy said she's hoping in the next few months the city council committee tasked with coming up with ways to best use the property will see some movement.
A petition has garnered more than 2,000 signatures from advocates around the state.
"The focus at the former Fernald should be disability rights, not holiday lights," said Boston Center for Independent Living, director Bill Henning who is a signature. "Advocates have noted that Waltham is a city with many beautiful landscapes, all of which could be repurposed for a holiday light show."
Still, several people have applauded the mayor and the Lions for bringing the show to town, and say the last 40 years at the Fernald Center are worthy of celebration for the turning point they represented in disability rights.
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Jenna Fisher is a news reporter for Patch. Got a tip? She can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna). Have a something you'd like posted on the Patch? Here's how.
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