Evening star., 1940-02-11
Blue Palms. District Home for Aged Was Regarded
Other Cities
Sought Help
In Own Plans
Superintendent
Resourcefulness '-r
Still Recalled
By Johs Claeeft Proctor

Aged and Infirm, though unques-
tionably made In the loftiest of
spirit and good intention, perhaps,
after all, can only refer to a pres
ent-day condition, for the institu-
ton at Blue Plains, some IS years
ago, was q model of its kind. Hardly
had the main building been COM
pleted when other cities were send
ing their representatives here to
study what we had been doing,
and the comments made by those
who then inspected the plant were
so unanimously favorable that the
commissioners of charities, in their
report for 1908, had this to say:
This institution has just COM
pleted its second year. It has been
visited by many persons from other
communities and its plan has been
favorably commented upon. Its de-
sign has been studied by public Of
ficials from several places, who are
planning new institutions for similar
work, and the board has had fire.
quent requests for copies Of the
plans" The report went on to say
that the ample sun parlors afforded
comfortable lounging rooms, so it
was mot necessary for any inmates,
except those actually sick, to oc-
cupy the sleeping quarters In the
daytime"
Provision was made in this initial
building for 260 aged guests, and
special accommodations were pro-
vided so that a man and his wife
might be received in the institution
without being separated. About this
time the name of the home was
changed to its present form, the
name almshouse or poorhouse not
proving agreeable to the Board of
Charities, which in 1908 included
John Joy Edison, Dr. George M.
Kober, Myer Cohen, George Will
liam Cook and George E. Hamilton.
Need of Buildings.
The main building. which was the
first erected, cost $125 900, the appro-
priation being made by Congress,
the District, of course, paying its
share, which today would be about
seven-eighths of the entire cost.
Naturally, other buildings were in
dispensable, but apparently Congress
did not see the necessity for erecting
them at this time. However, when
William j. Fay was appointed super
intendent of the home. about 1908,
he realized something must be done
Immediately along this line. How he
took hold of the situation and OBJ
tained the necessary results with a
very limited outlay was told by The
Star in its issue of January II, 1914,
where it was said:
I'm just half dozen years Fay,
who has earned the title of the
wizard builder has established
record that is unique, and the Won
der Of economists and sociologists
the country over. Without help from
Congress. he has provided the Blue
Plains home with improvements
worth easily $4,000. While the usual
Federal contributions have been
made for upkeep, the superintend-
ent's efforts to make the institution
a credit to the community have Gre
ated assets of considerably greater
value than the total amount appro-
priated for Improvements.
'He has donated to the equipment
OF the plant, as result of his in
genious management, buildings worth
$4,000 and installed heating sys-
tenn, including an engine room and
boilers, at a saving of approximately
$4,000. His latest accomplishment
in the line of saving money to the
Government was the manipulation
Of an appropriation of $1,000 so that
1t was made completely to cover the
cost Of the dredging of a channel
1000 feet long, extending from deep
water In the Potomac River. to a
point well within the reservation, the
building of wharf along this water
way and the reclamation of 10 acres
Of land.
90" = In one corner of the reser-
vation is workyard which contains
never less than 100000 feet of lum-
ber taken from wrecked school,
houses, bridges and other public
structures. From this mass of un-
related material there has sprung
up, as If by magic, a workshop, store
house, piggery and chicken house,
which cost the District nothing, and
two barns that were put up for less
than half the expense that ordi-
narily would have been incurred"
Mr.. Fay was well equipped with
knowledge for his position, especial
ly in the construction line, since be-
fore taking up these duties, he was
an inspector in the Office of the
municipal architect. And so, to
quote The Star again, when Mr..
Fay looked over the big reservation,
south of the Capitol, on the Poto-
mac River, where 300 or more of
Washington's aged and infirm are
cared for, his first discovery was
that outside of the dormitories, the
only equipment consisted of a dis
reputable frame building used as
stable"
Overcame Obstacles.
This particular superintendent
knew how to overcome obstacles, and
after every big fire in. the District
he could be seen examining the ruins
to see what usable building material
could be salvaged, and hardly before
the smoke had cleared away he had
obtained large quantities of material
without cost.
In this way, in addition to accom-
plishing the things mentioned, he
erected a building for the storage of
potatoes. Also, without funds other
than an amount sufficient to buy
cement, and using the regular labor
ers, he soon had completed a mod
ern cement piggery 30 by 100 feet,
large enough for 125 animals, as well
As chicken house 18 feet wide by
100 feet long.
BY this time Congress awoke to
the necessity of appropriating $4,000
for a much-needed dairy barn and
5000 for a stable Finding these
amounts entirely insufficient, Mr.
Fay, with his usual ingenuity
q t1orx, 1r,ortI, mn o,,J -