Narrow Rooms

Was this used as a BED room??

THIS ROOM WOULDN'T GIVE ME NITEMARES ALL THE TIME!!!!!!

Ug! Small tight places! I would of not done well here if I ha been placed here as a child. I think if I were emotionally unstable, for me, being placed in a small tight place would of upset me even more.

I'd get the illusion that the walls were closing in.. D:

ahhhhhhhh!

There is barely room for bed! I'm not claustrophobic, but this kind of room would certainly make me one!

claustraphobia.

so many children must have had it.

Went to visit my old high school in Leominster Ma. and took a tour around it. It's located in a nice neigbhorhood that surprised me that it had been left to decay and insult. I looked in a window and saw pitch black and the smell of decay and nastiness. The outside of building was in pretty good shape, but obviously the inside had been left to the pidgions and collasping floors and ceilings. I could tell it was a Leominster politcal thing, and the city didn't have balls to take and make it in something great and long lasting. I don't live in this city any longer and am totally disapointed in there lack of forethought to make this old school and permanent addition to a city that needs to perserve there old strucures and make them an attraction to coming generatioins. LOSERS:

This is a seclusion roon not a bedroom.
The kids used to put two hands against onside of the wall and two feet then shimmy all the way up to the top where the ceiling is and come down on a staff member when they open the door to look for the kid...boom its history if you dont know what to do!

On second look the seclusion room arent much bigger than this one..

This room is really small. And it is a mess. Is that an outlet on the wall?

jackpot!!! yes it's an outlet!!!, don't be dissapointed but it was a little office... maybe nothing more interesting to imagine here than an indifferent fat guard taking the nightshift watching Gilligan's Island on a diminute b&w TV set... look, the doorknob is not a secured one and there's a big ventilation mesh on the lower section that you can see through and a hole kid in seclusion could even go throught ... so the tormented little soul you're looking for was in the next room, where the oblong little windows lead... but something is interesting here... as a Mr. Mott fan, I like to think this might be the room where he put the flashlight to give us the great BEAM photo!!!

hey does anyone know how to get to this place from portland Maine????i need directions, also how is it getting into the building is it hard

I was IN THIS PLACE- In Jan-March of1986!! Wow, this is crazy to see these pics.

I don't remember this room specifically, but I do believe it was an office of sorts, or maybe for laundry. Also, I remember they did have some rooms that were used for keeping various types of "equipment" life restraints and there was a special "bed" if you will that had leather belt restraints on it that could be wheeled out and used at any time.

The room is not a seclusion room as GaeblerSchoolGirl claims, and you could not climb up the walls in seclusion to drop down on anyone.
I read your comments and I'm convinced you was never there, one way to prove it, describe the layout of the cafeteria and where was it?
Only someone who was really there would know the answer.

This room could be 2 things, 1). It could be the sub room coming off the office on D-Ward or E-Ward , with a door on the left just out of the picture that leads into the tv room.
Or 2). It is an observation room up on the 4th floor.
The 2 plug sockets lead me to think this was an observation room on the 4th floor.
I can only thank god that I was never part of the experiments that took place up there.

I was there 1985-1988 and I do not remember that room. JJMCK and John when were you guys there again?

A long time ago.
I've been just about everywhere in that place.
Both times I was there Mr. Heathwood was in charge. Again, not sure of the correct spelling.
I related my time of near escape from Ward B once, and I even managed to get to the basement once.

I do not remember him. but escape attempts I was always good at. We had this woman Mrs. Henderson who used to fall asleep during the nightshift sitting at the girls end, and I would take her keys and go for it. Always got far away from the building, but eventually got caught. Once make it all the way to Chicopee MA before getting caught.

Sitting at the girls end?
They used to sleep in front of the door, both night staff.
They must have changed that when me and another person on Ward D went down to the girls room. I relate that as well.

this room does not have room for a bed, hopefully they didn't make them sleep on the floor!

To John and GaeblerSchoolGirl:

I am going to oust myself and say that it was I who after the last people to have the privilege of on grounds alone, I did achieve it. Does anyone remember the teacher Mr. Derosiers (used to make wierd sounds with his hands and mouth...drops of water)? or when ward A (re)opened.

Achieved the privilege 15 years after the last one who took off while on grounds

Hey John Fuck Yourself ssshole i was there and i remember some of your shit too..I used to be one of the girls who slept at the edge of the door..But as i remember it wasnt trying to be with your lame ass.korea..How about titty twistin john fucking wayne..How are your balls nowadays....hahaha evil bitch i was you had it coming then and you deserve the recall now!

I personally didnt sleep on the floor. In the way that sleeping on the floor would be thought of ..I would fall aslepp sitting in the corner with my head in my folded arms .If I went to sleep..I spent alot of yrs having trouble sleeping,...At my home I & my sister were being attacked when we slept and the Gaebler added insult to injury

To answer was there 2 . I have had alot of trouble with names all my life and the name of the teacher you mention doesnt ring a bell to me..its been a long time and only people that were directly involved with me on ward E or elsewise i actually remember like Shauna was on ward A but i remember her because she was a good friend and i saw her alot. you know what i mean? I am told i have PTSD and that has alot to do with some of my recall of names. and some stuff that i would rather not think about..so i avoid ever thinking of it...Thats the truth

Just a mattress on the floor. I remember these rooms.

This near the laundry room

Gaebler school girl
I would like to find shawna from ward A. She was always a friend to me. I also was on ward A. I liked her a lot and was afraid of her boyfriend john. I remember when they broke up john told me he could hook me up with her, I told him I didn't even like her. I am happily married and have 3 kids but would like to know how she is doing and talk to her again

John
I think this near the laundry room on either E or D. There were painted over thin window were you could see into the big corner room near the bobblers

Hey, I am personally starting a new group in yahoo for former patients to openly discuss their time at Gaebler. Please feel free to come by and visit.


Group name: GCC2010
Group home page: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GCC2010
Group email: GCC2010@yahoogroups.com

To all:
The city of waltham is demolishing this place very soon, in prbably the next month. Right now they're appropriating the money.

I drove by the Gaebler the other day, and you know what? If I was a millionare, I would rehab the place, hire competent professionals, including art and music therapists, and make it the best healing center for children in the world!

Marie
If you ever want to see the place let me know. But do it soon. I just took a old friend there last monday. It was the first time I have seen her since living there. We had a good time. We remembered so much. We both played the piano and looked at our old classrooms. It was nice to see someone else had a good life after there. She was just like she was there just happier

@Boiler 1220-I'm glad to hear that some people are doing OK today after being there. It's interesting that all of you were like a family and bonded together through shared experiences. Just shows how strong the human spirit is, and how we can overcome the most distressing times.

Is anyone planning on visiting gaebler one last time? I'm really interested in seeing it and hearing stories about it before it's too late.

This was an observation room. Looks just like the one on ward C but I suppose they all were alike. The seclusion rooms were much shorter. Any of you that were there will remember narrow doors in the halls that were never opened. Staff would sit in those spaces and observe the kids through the narrow slots. I was told that this practice was stopped before my time there.(1965) but then ... they told us a lot of things, right

Belmonster
Contact me at 617-733-8597 I will be going there very soon

John, re: your post of 8-18-08

I remember Tom Heathwood. He was asst. to the head nurse on ward c when i was there. Gene Veloux was head nurse. Two years since your post I don't imagine you're likely to see this but if you do let me know the year you were there.

My name is Joseph Pimentel, I am leaving this comment because i slept in one of those rooms for a week when i was five years old before i was moved to the Cambridge children s unit in "1990" I am now 25 going on 26. I leave you my name in case you do not believe me and there are records somewhere to be found, if anyone truly cares.

This place is a place of terrible memory's for me, not just the feeling of abandonment a child feels when its locked up in strange place without it's mother or fathers care, but because there where things that happened that i can not fully explain.

For many years i thought something was after me stalking me.
as a child i could only describe the ghostly figure of the man as the baker. But it turns out more or less i was describing a orderly.
i was repeatedly attack by this man in my sleep if you can call it that. it was a feeling of awareness though, much like being awake sometimes i could swear i was. the feeling was terrible i can only describe it as sticking your head out of a moving car window and feeling the wind rush your face striped of all sound except the gusting wind and being unable to move a limb nor make a sound to cry for help.

I am not messing around nor am i some chicken shit. I am very large man who can hold his own very well and have many times in my life.

I want to know if anyone else ever took something unwanted home with them. this being has been in my life for 20 years now but i can longer see him i still occasionally have the dreams of being restrained.

Joseph
I am so sorry thst this place stayed with you for so long. I know of a lot of kids that left that place worse then when they went in. As for your time there, I was there at the same time. You were either on ward B or 2-EAST. Me and a few friends told eachother that we weren't gonna let them get to us, and we took everything as a big joke. It helped a lot while we were there. It also helped a lot in life. So nothing ever left there with me except lack of trust and love and other feelings that I guess "normal" people have

I have pictures of Gaebler on my facebook if you want to see them you have to add me as a friend, my name is Michelle Woods-Godfroy, I was at Gaebler from 82-84 and on Ward D, it was a nightmare to say the least, but, I did try to joke a lot to stop from being so scared, I met the best of friends there and promised myself that I would come out of there and make something of myself since the rest of the world had written me off including my mother, I didn't have a father, my mother was raped and kept me, I do have a stepfather now. I am happily married with 2 beautiful girls, I have the most loving caring husband in the world and I have had a hard life but, I am standing tall and never let them get the best of me....I hope that you are doing well, and sorry that you have such a bad memory of that place that it went with you wherever you went. The building is now gone, it was demolished a couple months ago, I live in Waltham and have ever since I was there and I took as many pictures and video's that I could during the process of it being taken down which is on my facebook. Boiler1220 is an amazing guy, he is sweet, funny and so good to be around, so glad that I met him, we should all get together sometime...

Joseph Pimental, I have pictures of Gaebler on my facebook if you want to see them you have to add me as a friend, my name is Michelle Woods-Godfroy, I was at Gaebler from 82-84 and on Ward D, it was a nightmare to say the least, but, I did try to joke a lot to stop from being so scared, I met the best of friends there and promised myself that I would come out of there and make something of myself since the rest of the world had written me off including my mother, I didn't have a father, my mother was raped and kept me, I do have a stepfather now. I am happily married with 2 beautiful girls, I have the most loving caring husband in the world and I have had a hard life but, I am standing tall and never let them get the best of me....I hope that you are doing well, and sorry that you have such a bad memory of that place that it went with you wherever you went. The building is now gone, it was demolished a couple months ago, I live in Waltham and have ever since I was there and I took as many pictures and video's that I could during the process of it being taken down which is on my facebook. Boiler1220 is an amazing guy, he is sweet, funny and so good to be around, so glad that I met him, we should all get together sometime...

Pookie
You made 2 mistakes 1 putting the name in the wrong place, and 2, angela has the best husband in the world. Lol lol

Boiler1220,
hello there my friend, yes, I know I made a mistake with the name and where I put it, thanks for letting me, I am such an ass, I keep screwing up on here, and yes Angela does have the best husband which is you, but, I too have the best husband, you are just a hoot and a half...miss you my friend...

Joseph pimentel;
your not crazy i know atleast 4 of us that have had extra friends as we call them from Gaebler. email or facebook me if you like.
shaunabassett@aol.com

I was there a very long time ago-1979 when I was 12 until 1983 & it was truly a nightmarish experience ! The cold in the winter,the heat in the summer, the fear, the unwanted attacks by the boys that were suppossed to stay on the other side of the ward etc...... but, I do have a few good memories. I was on ward E if my memory is correct. I remember staff members George Gallitano, Sean Cunningham, Marie ( the clicker ) Phil etc.... I sometimes wonder about certain kids that I was there with & wonder if they're okay these days-it took me a long time to shake that place. Is anyone friends with Lisa galloway, Francis Kidder or Karen DiPaolo ?