Whither Fergus Falls' grand historic "Kirkbride?"

This would be a landmark in any community (images from Pinterest)

I feel for all local elected people who have to deal with the emotions around old buildings that have outlived their usefulness. We went through this in Morris with its old school, which sat there dormant and attracting bats for quite some time. In hindsight it should have been demolished sooner. Problem is, we get these starry-eyed dreamers out in the community, mostly older people who feel sentiments, and they try pulling every string to retain something old.
Didn't we have a "re-use committee" to try to extend the life of our old school? The re-use ideas tend to be out on the fringe in terms of their practicality. I smile as I remember one Morris resident suggesting the old hulk of a structure be turned into a "small business incubator." One imagines those little raptors cracking out of their eggs in "Jurassic Park." Cute, but look what happened.
Those poor elected folks must operate in the real world with real facts. I sense that a community controversy is building in Fergus Falls over the "Kirkbride." I attended the historical presentation there Friday night (7/6), a well-attended event overseen by the Otter Tail County Historical Society. I got a heads-up about this from Stephanie Gjere, Knute Nelson social worker and Fergus Falls resident. Thanks Stephanie. She sent me an email with an attachment that showed a newspaper article announcing the event.
 
Kids and their directness, and meanness?
I had never before seen the old state hospital in Fergus Falls. I was well familiar with it for a reason that is rather notorious: as a child I frolicked on the East Elementary playground in Morris, where the most standard teasing line, by far, was: "They're gonna send you to Fergus." The Fergus Falls facility dealt with mentally sick people, called "lunatics" in a less enlightened time. There was nothing enlightened about us kids out on the playground.
Fergus Falls appears to have a bigger issue with its Kirkbride than we had here in Morris with our old school. The architectural significance of the Kirkbride is much more far-reaching. Without a doubt it exudes grandeur when you view it from the outside. Just think of all the work that went into developing that place. Kudos were certainly in order for our society, for making sure the resources got provided for building and developing that place. It showed a gentle caring for a segment of our population that most people did not want to deal with.
Mr. Kirkbride himself presented a theme of how these handicapped people needed to be looked after "humanely." The goal was to try to make those people better and in some cases to even cure them. I gather that goal was mostly elusive for most patients/residents. The development of medications did more for those people than the original approaches. Shall we assume those people are in group home settings today? Nevertheless, the Kirkbride stands as a magnificent, visually overwhelming testament to the page our society turned in trying to care for those handicapped people.
Fergus Falls picked up a stigma reflected in the playground teasing, to be sure, although most people were smart enough to realize that Fergus Falls entailed a lot more than housing the "lunatics." It's just like St. Cloud State University has far more quality than suggested by the oft-circulated "party school" image. Alas, people gravitate toward stereotypes.
I'm very happy I attended the Friday event in Fergus Falls. I was somewhat surprised there was a charge of $6 for the tour, since it was a pretty informal tour of the outside only, and there was no announcement of the fee in the newspaper article. So, I thought that was a little untoward. I realized I could have easily sneaked into the group without paying but I would never do that.

Looks like an image from a fantastical movie

A very articulate guy named Chris handled the tour, using an effective mobile amplification system. It's really nice when sound systems work properly, eh? (Hint, hint to my church.)
As the tour closed, Chris introduced us to an older couple who were heads of the "Friends of the Kirkbride" group. It sounds like a group worthy of supporting. However, I find as I sift through recent news coverage, the preservationists are really just on one side of what could be a growing community controversy, and nobody likes these. It appears to be the flag-waving preservationists, tapping emotions in their arguments, versus the realists who have elected positions and must be responsible to the public. Here we go again. I even sensed that the Historical Society seems to have taken sides with the preservationists, and I'd consider that to be edgy.

Warts are seen up close
The Kirkbride is best appreciated by photos taken a block or two away. When you get close you notice the obvious aging and weathering, and I can just imagine how deteriorated and antiquated the interior space is. I guess local government doesn't allow tours inside anymore. I wonder if the building has bats. The pleas for re-use seem to be getting a little tired, IMHO.
There was an article in the Fergus Falls paper just on Friday about how an "eleventh hour" idea for preservation is being heard. If it's such a good or practical idea, why did we have to wait until the eleventh hour to hear about it? Oh my goodness, the new plea involves a "grant application." Pardon me for making a face about that.
The article reviewed a Monday Fergus Falls City Council meeting where an "unexpected conversation" about a "possible grant opportunity" developed. The discussion began through an open forum request. A spokesman said "a legacy grant had been identified through the Minnesota Historical Society which might be leveraged to bring educational and entrepreneurial developments to buildings on the former state hospital grounds." Sounds a little like bureaucratese, don't you think? Again I imagine those little raptors hatching out of eggs.
The speaker at the council meeting said there is no time to be lost in submitting the grant request - a deadline of July 13, sheesh. The speaker said that a formal statement of support was needed from the city council. The city administrator responded and said he had issues. I won't elaborate on this but you can surmise what's going on: a last-ditch Hail Mary by the sentimental folks and a response from those in position to have to do the responsible thing. It's kind of sad because such conflict can drive a wedge between various people in a community, people who would otherwise be agreeable with each other.

An inside view

The council was concerned that the grant application timeline was too tight and unreasonable. The grant advocate objected but was overruled, meaning that the council would delay further discussion until July 11, which would be right up to the wire of the deadline.
 
Stating my own assessment
I am far from being well-versed on all aspects of the Kirkbride's situation. I am relieved that I am not directly involved, or a Fergus Falls resident with well-known views on the subject. I was just a curiosity-seeker from Morris MN who had long heard about the state hospital and was fascinated to finally see it on Friday.
You want to know my take? Ahem, here it is: the "horseshoe"-shaped Kirkbride structure is nothing short of magnificent in its outward appearance. The Kirkbride is significant in what it represented in the development of care for the mentally disabled. But it was judged obsolete for these purposes some time ago. Society had moved on with new concepts for care of such folks.
Observe the Kirkbride up close and you see clearly it's dilapidated in many ways.
My suggestion is for a group of history enthusiasts to collect funds to produce a rich coffee table type of book that would be full of photos and stories about the Kirkbride. There are so many stories. Chris the tour guide just scratched the surface on Friday I'm sure. The book would serve as a precious time capsule for Fergus Falls, a community that is very much in the 21st Century. The Kirkbride is an anomaly. I simply think it's time for demolition.
I have written one previous blog post re. the Kirkbride, with lots of history in it, and I invite you to read that post with the link below. The post is on my alternate "I Love Morris" site. Thanks for reading. - B.W.
http://ilovemorris73.blogspot.com/2014/05/fergus-falls-has-quite-story-w-kirkbride.html

  

A family note re. Fergus Falls

Fergus Falls is a community very close to my heart. Through the last approximately four years of my mother's life, I took her there every three months for a routine health care appointment. Since I'm sure you're curious about what that health care issue was, I'll just tell you: Mom had a "pessary" (or vaginal implant) for dealing with organ prolapse, a common problem. She'd see her gynecologist at Lake Region Health Care periodically for the pessary to be cleaned and put back in.
Because these were not emergency trips, we enjoyed them very much, and all the people we got to know. I came to love Fergus Falls.
Prior to my Friday trip, I located the public swimming beach around Fergus Falls, on Pebble Lake, and I visited there with swim suit and lawn chair. A nice, relaxing place. I discovered Delagoon Park and the Central Lakes Trail, a big recreation-oriented area. All of this is just off Highway 59 as you enter Fergus Falls.
I would prefer going to Fergus Falls for our old reason, Mom's health, but Mom passed away in late April at the age of 93. She would have been 94 on June 8. We can try to deny that death will come but it's futile. I have had both parents die in their 90s in our home with me right by them, and I can assure you that death does come. Stephanie's Knute Nelson Hospice deals with that reality every day. Death is coming so let's just get the most we can out of each precious day of our lives.
I figure that the Kirkbride too is going to meet its end.
Oh, I also like Fergus Falls because it has a Burger King, something that Morris does not have! Fergus Falls has a lot.
- Brian Williams, morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com