The Stetson Home for Boys was a residence where I misspent some of my youth. Founded in 1899, by Henry Augustus Pevear, this place began as an orphanage. It supported itself as a commercial dairy farm wherein each of its residents was required to work to support the institution. The boys living there were essentially indentured servants who were provided food and beds for farm work, which was exempt from child labor laws. During its early history, this institution maintained a primary school for training its residents. Secondary schooling was not required in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts at the time of its founding. Once Massachusetts required school attendance up to sixteen years of age, residents requiring secondary education attended the Barre, Massachusetts High School. Notwithstanding its lack of educational facilities at the time, i.e., classes only to the 8th grade, the Stetson Home for Boys became known as the Stetson School, which continues today. However, nowadays it is a residential school for male sexual deviates.
Read about my stay at this institutional foster home in my book,
Abominable Firebug.
http://www.AbominableFirebug.com
No comments:
Post a Comment