Transcript: Muscatatuck Oral History - Sandra Blair

Muscatatuck State Developmental Center

Institutions

Family

"We loved him, but he needed things that we couldn’t give him." Sandra Blair's son Brian was seven when he went into Muscatatuck State School in the early 1960s. He was the second of six children and Sandra was also working outside the home. It was a long drive to Butlerville from Terre Haute. "I didn’t get to go as often as I would have wanted to because I had other family and I had to work." The family was reluctant to bring Brian home for visits "because we were afraid we’d undo the good that Muscatatuck had done."

As Brian got older, it was easier to leave him after visits. After one visit, "he just went right back and went to doing what he was doing, and he didn’t really care whether I was there or not." She realized that he thought of Muscatatuck as his home. Overall, she was pleased with his care, mentioning staff who showed him particular kindness. In 2005, when Sandra was interviewed in Terre Haute, Brian was 48 years old and living in a house owned by his sister. "He’s very happy."

Indiana Disability History Project

Center for Health Equity at the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community and Indiana Governor's Council for People with Disabilities

03-08-2005

Sandra Blair - Interviewee

Jane Harlan-Simmons - Interviewer

Maribeth Mooney - Interviewer

Peggy Holtz - Audio Editor

Copyright © 2019 The Trustees of Indiana University

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Indiana, Jennings County, Butlerville

Indiana, Vigo County, Terre Haute

1960-2005