HORIZONS A Newsletter for Families and Friends of Crotched Mountain Fall 2003 Vol. 3, No. 2 50 Year Anniversary Celebrated With Reunions, an Art Show, Open Houses Since first opening the doors of its rehabilitation center in 1953, Crotched Mountain has served thousands of children and adults with disabilities throughout New Hampshire and from as far away as Kuwait. Building on the Past “Our 50th anniversary is an opportunity to reflect upon the past so that we can act now to build an even better future,” comments Crotched Mountain president Donald Shumway. Shumway expects that visiting with former patients and students at reunion events will provide valuable insights into the organization and a better understanding of the impact that Crotched Mountain has had on their lives. Rather than holding a single reunion event, a series of activities is planned, directed towards specific groups of the diverse populations Crotched Mountain serves. The first was an open house to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the children’s murals painted by famed illustrators Elizabeth Orton Jones and Nora Spicer Unwin on Friday, August 22. Murals Draw Fifty Guests Fifty guests, including patients and students of Crotched Mountain from the 1950s and 60s, their families and friends, were welcomed by President Don Shumway. They enjoyed tours of Crotched Mountain, an art show by current students, videos of the facility then and now, and refreshments. “The murals have a special significance to people who came to Crotched Mountain in the 1950s,” said Michael Redmond, vice president for advancement, “several children were featured in the Helen Hayes film, created while the murals were being painted.” Brain Injury Awareness Day More than 150 people gathered on Sunday, September 14, when Crotched Mountain hosted its first annual Brain Injury Awareness Day 5K run, fun walk and barbecue to welcome former brain injury clients and their families. A field of 27 runners entered the 5K race with Nate Brescia taking first place (17:47) and Joseph Rogers and Paulette Bolton coming in second and third, with timing by the Monadnock Milers. Over $5,000 was raised to benefit the Brain Injury Center. On Saturday, October 11, Crotched Mountain held an all-class reunion for students from the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. Former WBZ weatherman Don Kent was honored on October 13 at the Crotched Mountain Board of Directors meeting with the President’s Award for his many years of support. For information about Crotched Mountain 50th Anniversary Events, contact Tracy Messer at (603) 547-3311,ext. 480. Pinwheels and Puppets Set the Graduation Stage for the Class of 2003 Crotched Mountain School Honors Seventeen Students Wearing traditional caps and gowns and marching to Pomp and Circumstance, the Crotched Mountain Class of 2003 gathered with their families, friends and staff to participate in “On Their Way” graduation exercises. An overflow crowd spilled from Carter Hall to Christine Hall and the Media Center where graduation was simulcast. Flowers were presented to each graduate’s family. In her Student Message, Aimee Belanger spoke of her five years at Crotched Mountain and her participation in activities ranging from softball to chorus to dance. She thanked “the many people who have helped me become the person I am today.” Celebrating the Spirit Parent and Crotched Mountain Board member Carol Michael applauded the spirit of the Class of 2003, handing out pinwheels to all the graduates. “The pinwheel represents the spirit of the individual–sometimes quiet, sometimes moving slowly and sometimes so fast it’s a blur of colors.” She noted that graduates have learned to live in community, to communicate with each other and now they move on to new challenges. “You’re not finished just because you’ve graduated,” she smiled. “Now you need to show us what you can do!” Principal’s Awards were presented by Archie Campbell to Cyndy Jean, described as “responsible, reliable, artistic, helpful to others, actress, singer, and team player,” who also earned an A+ in English at ConVal High School and to Cale Bullis, for his “unparalleled work ethic, common sense, athletic abilities, perseverance and teaching skills.” Graduating is a Team Effort In his congratulatory remarks, Edward “Ted” Leach, state representative, newspaperman and founder of the New England Marionette Theater, said that, “Change is the engine of life. There is a place for every one of us in the world. Some find it quickly, some embark on a life long quest.” He went on to demonstrate that we are all interdependent and that no man is an island, using puppet Ozzie the Ostrich to illustrate. He then presented each graduate with an Ozzie puppet, much to everyone’s delight. Principal Archie Campbell reminded the graduates that, “Each relationship you have with another, reflects the relationship you have with yourself.” The Crotched Mountain Chorus performed under the direction of Bonnie Arpin. The Invocation, Parting Regards and Benediction were offered by the Reverend Daniel Osgood, the Right Reverend Donald P. Hart and Sister Pauline LaFond. FROM THE PRESIDENT Raising the Treehouse When I talk about building an accessible treehouse, I get full-spectrum reactions, with one thing in common. Whether the response is “How wonderful!” or “You’re building a .. what!?” the reaction is passionate. And that’s how I feel about the treehouse. Passionate. When I first walked the Crotched Mountain campus a year ago and looked at the beautiful vantage point our location affords us, I began to think of all the possibilities and invited the Board of Directors and the staff to dream with me. One of the many wonderful ideas that are still materializing was the treehouse. As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Crotched Mountain, the treehouse has become a symbol of how we are looking at the next 50 years. From the top of the tree, you get a new perspective and that’s what we’re looking at...a whole new perspective on how people live and interact as community. This perspective is important, because the future of Crotched Mountain is the focus of intense strategic planning. We have engaged a team of some of the most experienced architects and engineers in the Northeast -visionaries and innovators-to help us. We are conducting a series of “charrettes”-planning sessions-involving our staff, our clients and their families, and community members in strategic initiatives that look at the whole mountain. We are also working with the Society for the Protection of NH Forests to complete an inventory of Crotched Mountain lands, ecosystems, facilities and infrastructures. This will lead to a Master Land Use Plan coordinated with larger neighboring communities. Crotched Mountain is critically examining the choices people with disabilities have for community living, both in programs we sponsor and those sponsored by others. The strategies we are mapping emphasize personal choice and relationships. We are exploring a co-housing residential model on or near the Crotched Mountain campus, workforce housing that features integrated communities and options such as foster care and life sharing. We are looking to create learning environments that address individual learning needs and learning styles, taking into consideration classrooms, common areas, meeting space, minimum reliance on elevators, and a variety of transportation, recreational and vocational opportunities. We are imagining a school where all students spend time in the community--at work sites, learning societal skills and integrating school and community. Our goal is to provide transitional services that are integrated throughout the student’s experience, supported by all staff, and planned with students and families to reflect personal choice, self advocacy and being part of a larger universe. Our broad strategic agenda includes building therapeutic family-centered partnerships between a prepared, proactive staff and informed motivated clients and families. All of our objectives encompass communication, collaboration, improvement and expansion. Communication among individuals, between departments and within local communities is a vital part of projecting who we are and what we do. Partnerships with community hospitals, medical schools and academic institutions will play as important a role as local cultural, educational, recreational and vocational programs. Long-term plans for improvement and expansion will take into consideration family-centered and life sharing models of care, new funding realities, changing admission patterns and emerging staffing patterns. None of these goals will be achieved overnight. All of them, however, will be revisited, retooled and refreshed as we develop our Master Plan. Steps are being taken, even now, to insure that the Master Plan will become a reality. In the meantime, we are creating a symbol of the next 50 years at Crotched Mountain. What better symbol than a treehouse that surpasses convention, changes “why” to “why not” and brings a new level of accessibility to everyone! And as we go to press, we would like to remember Governor Hugh Gregg (1917-2003) who dedicated much of his life toward improving the lives of people with disabilities and their families. Governor Gregg was the motivating force behind the establishment of the Harry Gregg Foundation, that has awarded over $1,180,000 in more than 3,000 grants to New Hampshire residents with disabilities. While the Foundation is named for his father, it is also a lasting tribute to Hugh Gregg, in recognition of his dedication to the organization and the people that it serves. Donald L. Shumway President and CEO A Tree House for All Children The wind brushes your face, so close you can hear it whisper. Then a great gust comes and the whole tree moves--you too! For a moment you’ve left solid ground behind. Until now, the feelings of pure joy associated with climbing a tree have been felt only by able children. Using a walker or a wheelchair precluded the experience of seeing the world from the treetops. Crotched Mountain is about to change all that. In collaboration with Forever Young Treehouses, Burlington, Vermont, we are building an accessible treehouse at our Greenfield, NH campus. Soon all children will be able to visit a special place in the woods, where imaginations soar- away from the limitations of an earthbound perspective. Constructing a 500 sq. ft. house in a living, moving organism, 20 feet off the ground is a complex and sensitive under-taking. Environmental, ecological, design and accessibility issues are being determined by architects, engineers and an arborist. Hardwood trees are usually selected for permanent treehouses because they often live for 100 years or more. Properly designed and constructed, a treehouse will not damage any tree. An elaborate ramp system that traverses a stonewall and winds upward through the trees will enable all children and their families to enjoy this living learning center. “Raising the Treehouse” will cost $100,000. If you are interested in joining the friends and families, the employees and the students of Crotched Mountain in supporting the treehouse, please contact Michael Redmond, Vice President for Advancement, 603-547-3311, ext. 404 for more information. Charrettes Enhance Strategic Planning Process We shape our buildings and forever after, they shape us.-Winston Churchill Thirty-nine Crotched Mountain stakeholders including senior management, board members, staff and friends participated in a charrette that began on Thursday evening, August 21, and continued through Friday, August 22. An architectural term, charrette refers to the consideration of all aspects of the problems, the goals and the questions as related to a particular space. In earlier times, a charrette was literally a cart on which an architectural student loaded all his drawings, references and tools to attend his final exams. The purpose of this charrette, and another to be held later this fall, is to extract as many ideas as possible about the present and future of the Crotched Mountain campus in order to begin shaping plans for immediate and long-range changes. A Hand-Picked Leadership Team Led by Bruce Coldham, an architect with significant experience in co-housing, school design and community building, the leadership team also included landscape architect Walter Cudnohufsky, and engineer Marc Rosenbaum, principal of Energysmiths, a firm that specializes in high performance building and design. “Our current buildings do not do justice to the work done by our staff,” said President Don Shumway in his introductory remarks. A safe, healthy and comfortable environment connects people to each other and to the land, observed Marc Rosenbaum, who also noted that people take care of buildings they love and that buildings can change the way people feel about themselves. Slides of spaces from California to Denmark were shown, illustrating public and private zones and common space and pointing out that the rich cultural spaces are on the edges of private/public zones, like porches, walkways and gardens. “Planning is a repetitive process,” according to Walter Cudnohufsky. “You must repeat and revisit, refresh and retool.” An exercise he led in associations people make with Crotched Mountain drew responses ranging from accessibility and nurturing support to a sense of belonging, transition, growth and change. Important questions facing Crotched Mountain were suggested by Board Chairman Gil Fuld, MD, who asked “Can we afford to do what we want to do? And can we afford not to?” “We face a number of choices,” said Don Shumway when the group reconvened the next day. "The buildings we have are not supportive of staff efforts." Favorite Places and a Wish List Participants cited the media center, the knoll and the waterfront as some of their favorite places on campus, adding the need for a Greek-style amphitheater, private cottages, more gathering spaces, a place for the entire Crotched Mountain community to congregate, inspirational space and “fabulous” bathrooms. Groups then focused on three specific locations: the school cafeteria, the courtyard and the Fox Meadow Lane peripheral area. The school cafeteria, while easily accessed by most students can be noisy and distracting. It might better serve students if it were a series of smaller, more diverse spaces. The courtyard area seemed to be “created by accident,” even though it has great views. It needs focus, playfulness and mystery…views that are partially screened from sight, hinting at what is to come. From the shade of a tree, another group observed that Fox Meadow had no gathering places and no transitional spaces. "You're either inside or you’re outside,” they concluded. Some natural pathways winding between buildings and shady spaces would be inviting. Problems, Questions and Goals The whole group then posed some hard questions. How can Crotched Mountain be more like a village? Does it need a center and village-sized buildings? Can we change parking areas and traffic flow to create better gathering spaces? Can we wrap and intersperse existing buildings with new, human-scale architecture? The ideas continued in smaller groups. How can we better move people from place to place, inside our buildings and outside? How can we create more choices for our residents? How can we provide safe, effective mobility choices at all scales for all people? Responses ranged from creating a community center with a variety of services including video rental, drycleaning pick up, and a post office, to creating an inn at Crotched Mountain for parents, destination visitors and private family visits. Adding an “inspirational” component to the strategic plan, building pedestrian and wheelchair pathways and creating a mixed used village connected to the environment were also suggested. Drawing on the Past to Create the Future This charrette is the beginning of a process that will be ongoing as we seek to enrich opportunities for recovery and learning beyond the rehab and school facilities, emphasizing that programs should drive architecture and that great ideas come from “creative tension.” Comments made by people returning to the mountain for the first of several 50th anniversary reunions validated the charrette. Former students remembered the hugs, the care they received here and the encouragement that they could go on to do great things. And they remembered the taste of warm chocolate chip cookies provided by co-founder Harriet Gregg. 240 Guests Enjoy Dining, Dancing and Socializing at Gala 2003 On a memorable evening in June, Crotched Mountain and Monadnock Community Hospital hosted 240 friends at Gala 2003. The event included a reception in Carter Hall, gourmet buffet dinner and dancing to the Tom LaMark Orchestra. Fleet, Income Research & Management, Frontier Capital Management Co., USI New England and many other sponsors helped make the event a success. Dr. Ward Stoops was honored at the event for his many years of service to Crotched Mountain and Monadnock Region residents. The Gala raised more than $37,000 to benefit the dental program at Crotched Mountain and oral health services through Monadnock Community Hospital. Golf Tournament Benefits Crotched Mountain School The Crotched Mountain Golf Classic hosted 114 golfers in July at Stonebridge Country Club in Goffstown. Organized by current and former parents of Crotched Mountain School students, the effort was led by David Barnes of Temple and Tom Gaul of Amherst, NH. The shotgun scramble format was won by Tim Allen, Butch Walker and NESN Sports’ Eric Frede. Participants enjoyed a reception following the event featuring a raffle and auction. Fleet, Global Interconnect and CIGNA Healthcare of NH led a host of sponsors for the event that raised more than $15,000 for Crotched Mountain School. WMUR-TV’s Chronicle Notes 50th Anniversary Watch for a series of Chronicle broadcasts highlighting Crotched Mountain School, the Media Center and other locations throughout the campus to be aired later this month on WMUR-TV. Integrated Dance Project Moves Toward Production Of “Masha and the Bear” Every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, students gather in the Crotched Mountain School gym to practice dance steps and wheelchair moves. Turning gracefully in place, students in wheelchairs pivot in unison and circle each other making tight, fluid turns in time to the music. Moving their arms and heads, tipping back on two wheels, they move to the music in circles, in lines, and individually, guided by Pat, Lisa and their aides. You can see the concentration in their faces and body language. And you can see they’re having fun! Student Response is Positive “This is what dance class is all about,” says Pat Martin, “having fun, learning new steps and moves, practicing together.” The kids are obviously having a blast. They rock their chairs and move them expertly together and apart. When asked if she was tired at the end of practice, one girl responded, “I’m exploding with happiness!” The Integrated Dance Project began when two Crotched Mountain staff members, who are also dance instructors, saw the display of student dance talent in last year’s holiday musical, The Night the Reindeer Rocked. They began holding regular practices and wrote to Danskin in New York for support. Danskin obliged with an array of brightly colored dance wear and an enthusiastic endorsement of Crotched Mountain’s efforts. Support is Sought Proposals have gone to regional and national foundations that support the arts and education for diverse populations. “We need portable mirrors and barres so that the kids can see what they’re doing,” said Lisa. Appropriate practice wear, dance shoes and one or more of the highly maneuverable wheelchairs, called court chairs, will make an enormous difference. The Integrated Dance Project hopes to hold dance workshops with guest instructors that will attract dancers from the larger community to join with Crotched Mountain students, bridging communications disorders and physical challenges through the language of dance. The Project also plans to take its dance students to professional performances so that they can experience the many styles of dance and learn more about choreography. Dance as Therapy Dance creates a mind/body connection with the added bonus of building the abilities to focus, count, memorize, listen, follow instructions, assemble sequences, improvise, release stress, burn calories and become self confident. Wheelchair dance, over the last two decades, has seen professional companies form in Atlanta, Cleveland and Oakland. World championships were first held in 1998, celebrating inspired performance, promoting health benefits and dramatically changing the way the public views people with disabilities. The Boy, the Bear and the Ballet The Integrated Dance Project at Crotched Mountain is also connected to a story that began 50 years ago when a boy named George Brady was born with spina bifida. George had successful surgery and physiotherapy and he learned very early how to compensate for his disability. At age nine, George recovered from spinal meningitis. Three years later he underwent additional successful surgery to remove a brain tumor. George played sports, was an altar boy and was president of his high school junior-year class. He was such a vibrant young man, active in his church and and his community, that few people even knew he had had any of these life-threatening illnesses. Then at age 16, George was rushed to Children’s Hospital with bulbar polio. He spent the next four years in an iron lung and the rest of his life using a respirator. Wheeling Through Life George finished high school at home. Using a wheelchair, George went to Boston University and graduated with a BA in political science. He then completed his MA in Russian, travelling to and from BU daily in his wheelchair, accompanied by his mother who also took notes for him. George became a professional translator and married his former nurse and friend of 12 years, Beverly Ann. Using his wheelchair, he and his wife traveled and enjoyed the Boston Symphony, Opera and Ballet. He coached a little league baseball team, “The Fryers.” During this time George also translated a Russian folk tale called Masha and the Bear. When George developed an inoperable heart condition in his late twenties, he told no one-not his wife or his parents or his four younger siblings. His life ended when he was 31, but he had lived it to the fullest, with a profession, an active social life, many friends, many accomplishments and an adoring family. The Crotched Mountain Connection George’s sister, Pat Brady Martin, remembers reading an article about the children of Crotched Mountain in the Sunday Parade magazine and wondering at the time if Crotched Mountain might help her brother. Little did she know she would one day work there. Today, Pat is technical assistant for Crotched Mountain’s SupportNet system and is a co-leader of the Integrated Dance Project with Lisa Moran. Pat is currently working on an adaptation of the folk tale, Masha and the Bear as a modern dance/ballet performance vehicle. The fact that George translated this story from the Russian, that he loved dance and ballet and that he lived his life in a wheelchair are all powerful motivators for Pat to lead the dance club and to create this performance in her brother’s memory. Looking ahead, Pat envisions taking the performance to area schools, next spring, to show what students from Crotched Mountain can accomplish! Ultimately, she and Lisa see the Integrated Dance Project as changing the way children in wheelchairs see themselves. Accessible Astronomy Cogswell Benevolent Trust Awards $15,000 Grant The naturally spectacular environment of our mountaintop location has been the focus of strategic planning efforts over the last several months, resulting in a series of “excitement projects” designed to offer more choice and variety to our residents. For the last two years an informal group of staff and students has been using some small telescopes and mounted binoculars for night viewing. Now, matched by a commitment of Crotched Mountain personnel including two amateur astronomers, science teacher Jean Polovchik, and the assistive technology unit, a $15,000 grant from the Cogswell Benevolent Trust has considerably “magnified” the possibilities. New 10" and 8" telescopes and four new high-powered binoculars are being combined with adaptive mounting equipment so that students in wheelchairs can view easily. “This is astronomy for everyone,” said club volunteer Grant Tankersley. Tracking software, cameras and electronic transmission devices will allow images to be transmitted from the telescopes to a large screen in Carter Hall so that students and adults who cannot manage the winter cold and snow will be able to view the swirling clouds of Jupiter, separation between the rings of Saturn, the red surface of Mars and its polar ice cap, and the craters of our own moon. “It looks like the Grand Canyon,” observed one enthusiastic student. Cogswell support includes funds for astronomy field trips for Crotched Mountain students to the Christa McAuliffe Planetarium and the Stellafane Astronomy Conference in Springfield VT. Fall Festival Hosts Families Students and their families enjoyed a daylong festival of events on Saturday,October 4, highlighted by open house at Crotched Mountain School, featuring an environmental fair, hayrides at Sunnyfield Farm, a student performance of “Project Rescue: Save the Planet” preceded by the integrated dance troupe, a reception for parents, the Fall Festival Dance and a barbecue cooked and served by Herb and Marge Simpson and Masonic volunteers. Do you know where your investments will be next year, five years or ten years from now? Crotched Mountain’s charitable gift annuity offers retirement income you can depend on. Tired of not knowing what your investments are going to do next? You can enjoy a steady, dependable, lifetime income when you have a Crotched Mountain Charitable Gift Annuity. Fixed rates of up to 11.5%*, income that is partially tax free, and an income tax charitable deduction, are yours, along with helping the children and adults with disabilities who are served by Crotched Mountain. Everyone benefits which is why charitable gift annuities are being given more consideration than ever before. If you are married, annuity payments can be made to the survivor. Contracts for one person enjoy higher rates. For a confidential, no-obligation illustration-tailored to your age and gift amount please contact Michael Redmond, Vice President for Advancement, Crotched Mountain Foundation, 1 Verney Drive,Greenfield, NH 03047, or call 603 547-3311, ext. 404. Rates depend on the age of the annuitant. A Charitable Gift Annuity with Crotched Mountain Foundation is not insurance under the laws of the State of New Hampshire, is not subject to regulation by the State of New Hampshire Insurance Department and is not protected by an insurance guarantee association. Crotched Mountain Athlete Honored by Special Olympics at Fenway Park Cale Bullis Receives Distinguished Service Award at Boston Red Sox Game By Tracy Messer (Fenway Park) Boston, MA On July 23, 2003, Special Olympics New Hampshire (SONH) Athlete Cale Bullis from Crotched Mountain Rehabilitation Center in Greenfield, NH, was honored with the Maxwell J. Schleifer Distinguished Service Award at the Second Annual Disability Awareness Night™ at Fenway Park. This event, hosted by the Boston Red Sox and Exceptional Parent (EP) Magazine, pays special tribute to the 54 million Americans with disabilities, their families and caregivers. Additional honorees in the pre-game ceremony included Special Olympics Founder Eunice Kennedy-Shriver and Travis Roy, a former hockey player at Boston University who has paraplegia. Cale Bullis has been a longtime participant of Special Olympics New Hampshire competing in snow shoeing, snowboarding, track & field and soccer. Cale represented Special Olympics Team USA-NH at the 2001 World Winter Games in Anchorage, Alaska. Competing in the Snowshoe events, Cale brought home a gold, two silver, and one bronze medal. Cale has recently expanded his role with Special Olympics by becoming a coach for the Crotched Mountain track & field team. Special Olympics of NH’s mission is to provide year round participation in sports training and athletic competition in a variety of well coached Olympic type sports for all individuals with mental challenges. Currently SONH provides services to over 2,500 citizens in New Hampshire. HORIZONS is published by the Office of Advancement, Crotched Mountain Foundation. For more information, please contact: Pat Whitney Director of Development Crotched Mountain Foundation One Verney Drive Greenfield, NH 03047 603-547-3311, ext. 471 patricia.whitney@crotchedmountain.org As a service to our readers, please write us at the above address if you wish to have your name removed from our mailing list for fundraising requests supporting Crotched Mountain. Visit www.crotchedmountain.org