The Abandoned: Dammasch Hospital

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Daddy is Going Home

Dad loved The Abandoned. He watched over it for years, often taking his exercise there (with permission from the owners and caretaker, of course). I can still see him with his cane, walking slowly along the road--with that funny little smile on his face as he did.

Daddy doesn't have long in this world. The last time I was at the hospital with Mom, we passed the time by going through Daddy pictures on my computer.

Dad was always full of fun and just a tad dramatic--as you can see by this hilarious photo taken many years ago during a family camping trip.

Here's another. Dad worked many many years at Dammasch State Hospital as an aide two. One of the interesting things I remember as a child, was when a patient would escape from the hospital they would often come to our house, asking to use the phone. Sometimes they would be spotted walking along the road and a car would be sent out to pick them up. Dad was usually one of the aids who went out to find patients. This happened quite a bit. For Christmas one year, our brother Dow had a tee shirt made for Dad--it said Dammasch Escapee on the front. Dad loved that t-shirt.

This is one of a set of unexpectedly poignant photos. I didn't even know they were in my files until I clicked on them...Mom and I both gasped. The pictures were taken last August. I don't even remember taking them.

This is the one which caught our hearts the most. Daddy's empty chair. Daddy is not coming home. He is at the VA hospital now, getting ready to slip into heaven. Very soon he will be free of the brace around his neck and from the chair where he sat for so long. He will be able to walk, run, jump and fly. He will see his Beloved Savior, his Mom, friends, his sisters and brothers again.

Dad had to wear a brace day and night, because of a broken neck from an accident almost four years ago. He hated wearing that brace. I think it would make Daddy smile to know we kids are planning on taking that brace home and blowing it up, out behind Grammie's old house. Silly, I know--but I do think he would grin over the thought of all of us gathering to blow up that brace.

Thank you for your prayers for our dear family. God bless you all.

UPDATE: Dad passed away this evening at 5:45 p.m. Though we are happy he is free from pain and is in heaven, we will all miss him more than I can put into words.

The Abandoned

Years ago, I dedicated this blog to The Abandoned, a huge complex of abandoned buildings in rural Oregon.

Surrounded by wetlands and old growth timber, The Callahan Center was built in the 1970's by the State of Oregon as a rehabilitation center for people recovering from injuries on the job.

In 1992, the property was bought by a mega church. However, the Living Enrichment Center closed in 2004, amidst financial scandal and the property was abandoned.

The buildings stood empty for many years. Over that span the property was vandalized and looted. Yet the beauty of its rare architecture shone through the shambles of abuse and disrepair.

In the summer of 2013, the complex was completely demolished. We were all sad to see the buildings go, but because of trespassers and vandals, it was necessary to take them down.

The area where The Abandoned once stood is filled with $500,000 mushroom houses (homes built so fast they pop up like mushrooms) built on postage stamp lots. There are sidewalks and tall lamps where I once watched the foxes of the field leaping above the grass, hunting rodents.

The surrounding woodlands still survive. It is my prayer the wetlands and forests with their pristine creeks, native trees and flowers, as well as the wildlife which shelter there, will be protected.