Disability Advocates Protest Waltham Light Show, Citing History

WALTHAM, MA —A coalition of disability rights advocates from across commonwealth protested outside Waltham City Hall with a message for the mayor and the Waltham Lions Club Friday: Don't use the city-owned Fernald property for a holiday light show.

Some 1,500 people across the commonwealth have petitioned city hall and earlier this month, advocates called the city's approval of the Lion's holiday fundraiser event on the property "disturbing" and "inappropriate," given its history.

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.

After standing outside city hall, a caravan of cars then drove to the old Fernald Center on Trapelo Road, for a moment of silence.

The Fernald was a state institution where thousands of disabled people were raped, abused and ultimately died, advocates argue.

"Hosting a holiday light show here ignores the fact that the people who lived at the Fernald School were denied holidays with their families and loved ones for generations," the advocates wrote.

A spokesperson for the effort said their calls have gone unanswered by both the city and the Lions.

"I love Waltham and I believe that the Lions Club generally does very good work but, for the life of me, I don't understand why Mayor McCarthy and Lions Club leadership won't meet with disability rights advocates to listen to our reasons why we believe so strongly that it is completely inappropriate to hold a holiday event on the grounds of a state institution that has a documented history of abusing and torturing those that were social throwaways and were incarcerated for a lifetime," said Former state commissioner for the Mass Rehabilitation Commission Charlie Carr who lived for five years at Middlesex County Hospital.

Carr, who is a signatory to the letter and co-organizer of the petition, said he believes in the philanthropic mission of the Lions Club but doesn't support this decision.

"I still want to love Waltham and believe in the work that the Lions Club does, but they have to find an appropriate venue to have this event," he said.

Advocates say they will continue to protest until the mayor meets with them and moves the event. In its place, they called on the city to fulfill promises to create a memorial to deceased former residents along with a disability history museum at the site, both of which have stalled.

Those protesting the light show said they reached out to the city to encourage the Lions to have the light show elsewhere, but said the city dismissed requests to find an alternative.

"It's a drive-thru Holiday light display for children of all ages in a Pandemic," said McCarthy in an email to Patch.

Marissa Sweazy a spokesperson for Fiesta Shows, which is the company that has partnered with the Lions for the past few years for its annual carnival fundraiser, said they are aware of the pushback but says the fundraiser will bring value to the community.

The light show, which is scheduled to begin Nov. 27 and last through Jan. 3 is being conducted as an annual fundraiser by the Lions. The Waltham Lions are a civic club with a goal to raise funds and serve the community. They offer several grants to community members, most recently helped the Boys & Girls Club of Waltham construct barriers so that children could have remote class there.

"We completely understand that this is a very sensitive topic," she said. "But it's important for us to offer it."

At least a handful of people with direct ties to the center in its later years say they will be going to the light show, regardless.

Dorothy Rouleau of Lexington, said her sister Margaret, who was born in 1927 with what was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and scoliosis, lived at the center for decades until the center closed in 2014. Rouleau said the center was horrible and her sister was among those who suffered before the 1970s when a judge ordered the facility to turn around.

"Everything changed," she said. And the facility became an example of what a center should be.

Rouleau said she and other guardians fought to keep the center open because of that, and that turnaround is a legacy that should be lauded. Read more: Letter: Focus On What The Fernald Became, Not What It Was

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.