I-W MEM-O-RE at Middletown Conn
- Middletown, Ct , 1955
Middletown, Ct, 1955. Very good.. 32pp. Spiral bound small folio. Illustrated with numerous black-and-white photo reproductions. Minor wear. A remembrance book produced by a group of conscientious objectors (COs) who worked at the Connecticut State Hospital mental hospital instead of joining the armed forces. In the introduction, they wrote: “Though it is true we have not gone out of the battle fronts of war, we sincerely desire that we may have served our God and our nation well by enlisting in the battle against disease and suffering, in the name of Christ.”
Assistant Superintendent H.S. Whiting, M.D. commented in the booklet that the COs played an important role: “One of the most important, and perhaps least understood, elements in the treatment of mental patients is the role of interpersonal relations in this environment…The group for which this is written has, in my judgement, filled this role unusually well.”
The booklet includes biographies and photographs of the COs who served as psychiatric aides at the hospital. Several are pictured with their wives who served with them, and there are also photographs of 12 children born between 1952 and 1955, the years the unit served in Middletown. This booklet was originally owned by Landis E. Burkholder, whose name is written on the verso of the cover. At the time of his induction, he was a 21-year-old machine operator and member of the Indiantown Mennonite Church in Pennsylvania.
Throughout World War II, the Civilian Public Service (CPS) provided conscientious objectors an alternative to military service. It was disbanded in 1947 even though conscription continued until 1973. By the early 1950s a replacement program, 1-W service, was in place for conscientious objectors and mostly involved working in institutions such as hospitals.
The Connecticut State Hospital was founded in 1868 to treat the mentally insane. Now called the Connecticut Valley Hospital, it remains a state facility that specializes in the treatment of mental illness and addiction. A scarce publication; OCLC locates copies at Eastern Mennonite University and the Mennonite History Library in Indiana.
Assistant Superintendent H.S. Whiting, M.D. commented in the booklet that the COs played an important role: “One of the most important, and perhaps least understood, elements in the treatment of mental patients is the role of interpersonal relations in this environment…The group for which this is written has, in my judgement, filled this role unusually well.”
The booklet includes biographies and photographs of the COs who served as psychiatric aides at the hospital. Several are pictured with their wives who served with them, and there are also photographs of 12 children born between 1952 and 1955, the years the unit served in Middletown. This booklet was originally owned by Landis E. Burkholder, whose name is written on the verso of the cover. At the time of his induction, he was a 21-year-old machine operator and member of the Indiantown Mennonite Church in Pennsylvania.
Throughout World War II, the Civilian Public Service (CPS) provided conscientious objectors an alternative to military service. It was disbanded in 1947 even though conscription continued until 1973. By the early 1950s a replacement program, 1-W service, was in place for conscientious objectors and mostly involved working in institutions such as hospitals.
The Connecticut State Hospital was founded in 1868 to treat the mentally insane. Now called the Connecticut Valley Hospital, it remains a state facility that specializes in the treatment of mental illness and addiction. A scarce publication; OCLC locates copies at Eastern Mennonite University and the Mennonite History Library in Indiana.
Details
Title
I-W MEM-O-RE at Middletown Conn
Author
[Conscientious Objectors]. [Connecticut]
Condition
Very Good
Publisher
Middletown, Ct
Date
1955