Archival Pennhurst Images

Picking Peas, 1918 Trustees Report
Picking Peas, 1918 Trustees Report
None of the "patients" who were doing all of this manual labor were paid a penny. It was "training," training for a lifestyle that was rapidly disappearing and for jobs that no longer existed in the "real world."
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John5/22/2018
They were simply slave labor, unpaid and exploited by the institution that was abusing them and others. Your comments trying to justify this are ignorant. Please educate yourselves on this shameful period before commenting further. Occupational therapy??? Really?
amanda2/28/2014
Honestly, that field working was a way of life for a long time, everyone did it to eat, didn't make us slaves. That was a blessing to them guys out there, they were away from poop covered floors, fully dressed, and not being attacked at that moment by other patients. Farming was the way we all ate..
PattyAnn12/9/2013
These jobs didn't exist in the real world? It's almost a century later and I want to know how does fruit and vegetables get from the plant to your table?
Robert12/2/2012
Free labor..no doubt, but I agree it probably gave them a small feeling of worth. What a despairing existence.
Jackie11/5/2012
This was considered occupational therapy and was actually of great importance in 1918. There were those that were not severely disabled therefore, I am sure they preferred being in an open field, in the sun and fresh air doing something that made them feel human. It wasn't slavery, it was life then
Shelly11/5/2011
Training? They were simply being used as slaves!!
Andrew12/11/2010
Actually, it was a kind of therapy. They were kept occupied, and it made them feel important. The raised morale meant a lot to them. Unfortunately, this program was stopped by Kennedy.
TIANA9/12/2010
Training?? they were never released, almost all patients died in that institution, it was jus free help, and someone to get the job done...very sad