The Minnesota State School
By Barek Halfhand

Minnesota is a beautiful state and “Land of a Thousand Lake” is not only a catchy license plate an apt geographical description …the tall pines and white barked birches begin to flank the roadway the farther north past the Twin cities you may venture … trekking towards central state you may even see signs for like “Fargo 170 Miles” and if your are traveling with someone as predictably corny as myself you would likely be subjected to a fusillade of movie lines from “Fargo” replete with exaggerated accents and faux colloquialisms (although I have to admit my Jerry Lundegaard is uncanny) ….

The history Of the Minnesota State School is both complex and intriguing …and while it has in the past been my purview to prattle on about such minutia I felt it would be best to leave that narrative to Harvey Ronglien who, as a ward of the state and a “State School Kid” from 1932 through 1945 has become the site’s unofficial spokesperson (a quick search of his name will yield a wealth of info)…he is also the voice of the “Outdoor Audio tour broadcasted by way of several “audio station transmitters and headphones that you can request in the main office (I’m guessing)…

While the School wasn’t the exclusive reason I was in the area, I have been told not to miss this visit if I was ever close …I was not disappointed …

Built in post-Civil War era 1886. The original title for the institution was; The Minnesota State School for Dependent and Neglected Children…this facility closed in 1970 and become home to The Owatonna city offices , a community college satellite campus, a child care program and of course the museum…in the far back corner of the lot is a small cemetery …

Being a lifelong Chicagoan I found it odd that I was not only able to wonder in and out of the main the main building museum unchallenged but was actually treated to a tour of one of the dorm buildings that skirt the west side by a delightfully charming, grandmother type lady …such a refreshing change from being curtly challenged by some snobbish curator with nasally voice who seemed just indignant that I would actually have the unmitigated gall to come inside to inquire about a formal tour (cough-Peabody Estate-cough )…

The sheer enormity of the gothic mansion style main building is awe inspiring on its own but I especially impressed with the “19th Century Norman Romaneque” architectural styling I immediately identified …Okay, it says that on one of the placards but in simple layperson’s terms; “it was pretty cool”…

While this was not necessarily a home for wayward or incorrigibly delinquent children like “Boy’s Town” there was in fact a designated dorm for behaviorally challenged lads (or “bad boys” in pre-political correct dialect)…from what I have gleaned from the tour guide and my own extended research; some of the matron charged collectively with the children’s care could have made Father Flanagan look like a push-over…oddly one of the museum visitors entering the front door while I exited looked suspiciously like Mickey Rooney….

Beyond the undulating hills of the administration building and outlying dorms, in the farthest corner of the property; lies small fenced cemetery dotted with tiny markers … over 30 children died under State guardianship during a 59 year period and 198 are buried there (according to the placard posted at the entrance) …the average age of death was for years old and there were of course a myriad of causes but perhaps the most troubling noted was “Marasmus”; clinically defined as “ a wasting away and emaciation of an infant for no apparent reason” it is evidently referred to as “a failure to thrive due to lack of love” ( see photo # 100_4060) …

I was the camera’s sole visitor that afternoon save for a stout, ruddy complexioned, woman with short cropped curly blond hair …she seemed to be walking from plot to plot addressing each occupant individually like an overzealous playground monitor or an obsequious nanny …I couldn’t make out what she was saying but the tone was definitely one of admonition …I was sure I got a secured a covert photo of this woman but she didn’t appear in any of the shots I later uploaded to my overburdened laptop…

The entire site is definitely an active location but the sensations were fleeting and nondescript…with the exception of the giggling I heard over me banging my shin on one of the wooden benches in the dorm basement while taking pictures ….

Here’s the Youtube video:

Here are the (compressed to 1MB) photos…some have been slightly sharpened or color enhanced….b

http://s790.photobucket.com/albums/yy188/TheNotoriousMrhalfhand/The%20Minnesota%20State%20School%20And%20More/

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