‘I remember the totem pole at the top of the drive’

To the editor:

I am currently a full-time student completing my last quarter at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash. My major is Social Justice. In addition, I am preparing to enter the Masters in Public Administration Graduate Program in the fall of 2014.

This pursuit finds me writing a statement of purpose. As such, I have been taken back many years to my own youth. I’ve thought about places I’ve been and experiences I’ve lived.

In doing my research, I discovered your article titled “Researchers seek public’s help with Alcantra Armory history,” and that you may be interested in finding children who were placed there. I was one of these children and I lived on the property for nearly four years.

I remember working in the potato field, I remember playing basketball for the facility, I remember many of the counselors and other boys’ names, and I remember the totem pole at the top of the drive mentioned in your article.

During my stay there we, as a pastime, carved numerous wordings and pictures on numerous objects on the property, including trees, furniture and walls. We were juveniles. My number was 716. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

Gary Richardson

Shelton, Wash.