Remembering With Dignity

September 27, 2009

Church Services Sponsored by the

Disabilities Working Group

At the time of its use, the Rochester State Hospital Cemetery was the resting place for people with disabilities who died at the State Hospital. The Rochester State Hospital- which was also known at one time as the Second Minnesota Hospital for the Insane, became home to a lot of people who would not be hospitalized today, for conditions that might relate to depression, alcoholism, Downs Syndrome and even menopause. The cemetery was tucked away in the woods, the whereabouts not well known.  It was not a place people talked about and certainly not a place where people visited. 

In a quiet field near the west entrance of Quarry Hill Park, just north of the former State Hospital, 2,019 residents of the State Hospital were laid to rest between 1886 and 1965 in unmarked graves or graves only indicated by numbers stamped into concrete markers molded from coffee cans. After the hospital closure in 1982 a portion of the state hospital land was acquired by the city of Rochester and is now Quarry Hill Nature Center. When the city became responsible for mowing the old cemetery grounds, the cement grave markers reeked havoc on their mowers and many of the markers were thrown into the nearby woods. Many of us have only known of this field and hillside park as an area where visitors have hiked, played Frisbee and gone sledding.

Join us this morning to hear the words of guest speaker Beth Thompson from the Rochester State Hospital Cemetery Recognition Group. She has many stories to share through her ongoing research into the lives of the state hospital residents and the involvement of community citizens dedicated to honor them.  The mission of RSHCRG is to make the cemetery a sanctuary place where each resident will be respectfully identified with a named headstone, to remember this part of our community’s history and learn from the injustices of the past.

Names on the graves are a fitting tribute to those who came before us. Our challenge for the future is to ensure that society embraces people with disabilities as equal partners, with rights and responsibilities, receiving services in the community, the decision makers of their lives.  A great beginning is to start a discussion with your family based on today’s service about the inherent worth and dignity of every person. (Please see the Venture article about our RE projects this month surrounding the monthly theme of Dignity.)

We will Share the Plate this month with the Rochester State Hospital Cemetery Recognition Group to assist their ongoing efforts.