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With An Eye to the Future

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Historical Photographs

Photo Album: 1930s

Five girls, all with disabilities, hold their dolls and host a tea party with a small Christmas tree in the background.
Christmas was the perfect time to host a tea party at the Gillette State Hospital for Crippled Children, 1930.
A man holding a violin bow is happily directing a young group of musicians while the adults in the room plug their ears.
Musician Buddy Fisher directed some young band members when he visited Gillette's in 1930.
A man raises a large flag as many children try to help and salute at the same time. Many of the children are using wheelchairs, crutches, and braces for support as they stand on the lawn of a new building.
In 1931, the flag was raised at the opening ceremony of the Lindsay School for Crippled Children in St. Paul. For more information, see the Access Press article on the Lindsay School, by Luther Granquist.
An adult male holding a conductor's baton stands among three teenagers in wheelchairs as the two boys and one girl play orchestra instruments.
Students in music project, with instructor Elmer Clingman, at Michael Dowling School, 1936.
A smiling nurse in a white uniform helps a boy of about 8 maneuver the hallways in a tall, wooden walker with wheels.
A student learned to get around Lindsay School in a walker, 1936. The school was so named because part of the funding was donated by Mary Helen Lindsay from the Weyerhaeuser forest products family.
Thirteen 3 to 4 year old boys sit in a small room playing games. None are smiling and most are wearing casts or braces of some kind.
Convalescent ward at Gillette State Hospital, 1937.
Seven young teens stand with crutches or sit in wheelchairs as they anticipate blowing out six large burning candles.
Students celebrated the 6th anniversary of the Mary Helen Lindsay School in 1937.
Teenagers read, paint, or do crafts in a basement room containing a table, a workbench, and a hospital bed.
Boys and girls stayed busy with activities at the Shriners Hospital in 1938. The Shriners Hospitals for Children – Twin Cities opened its doors in 1923.
A smiling, curly-haired girl approximately 6 years old lays on her stomach on a therapy table while she receives therapy on her legs.
A girl received therapy at Michael Dowling School for Crippled Children, Minneapolis, 1938.
Eight children between the ages of 4 and 7 smile into the camera. Seven of the eight are African-American, and none appear to have any developmental disabilities.
The St. Paul Society for the Hard-of-Hearing worked with pre-school children in 1938. The St. Paul Society for the Hard-of-Hearing was formed when the St. Paul League for the Hard-of-Hearing joined forces with the Lip Readers Guild. For more, see the Historical Note by the MHS.
The leader of the Zuhrah Shriners is wearing the official red headgear of the Shriners, which is called a fez. He is kneeling amongst a large group of young boys and girls, in front of a big Christmas tree. Santa stands behind him, holding a girl with a cast on her leg.
The Zuhrah Shrine Potentate kneels among a group of children at Christmas time, 1939, at Shriners Hospital. In the 1930s, the average length of a patient's stay was 1 – 2 years.
1930s