Warwick mayors celebrate Trudeau Center’s 50 years

Posted 9/9/14

:“Climb every mountain, Ford every stream, Follow every rainbow…”

For an instant Friday night, it looked like former Mayor Eugene McCaffrey was going to lead a singalong. Had he chosen to do …

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Warwick mayors celebrate Trudeau Center’s 50 years

Posted

:“Climb every mountain, Ford every stream, Follow every rainbow…”

For an instant Friday night, it looked like former Mayor Eugene McCaffrey was going to lead a singalong. Had he chosen to do that, undoubtedly he would have an enthusiastic following at the J. Arthur Trudeau Memorial Center’s 50th Anniversary and Hall of Fame Gala at the Quidnesset Country Club.

The song embodies the relentless efforts of J. Arthur and his wife Evelyn Trudeau and those who took up the cause on behalf of what used to be called “the mentally retarded."

McCaffrey was one of eight Warwick mayors, and retired Superior Court Justice John E. Orton III, who was inducted into the Trudeau Hall of Fame.

Seven of the mayors highlighted the role the Trudeaus and the center played in changing attitudes about the retarded; creating services and passing legislation. Jacquelyn McDavid represented her father, the late Mayor Horace E. Hobbs.

“It was John Fogarty [the late Congressman] and Arthur who came up with the ideas that became the law,” said former Governor and Mayor Philip W. Noel. “They did so much for so many.”

McCaffrey noted how a core group, with the charismatic Arthur Trudeau as its leader, met at Club 400 in West Warwick to plan for the center that was built on the site of the former Warwick High School in Apponaug. The site became available after the school was destroyed by fire. McCaffrey said he was honored to pay tribute to Arthur and the parents of other special needs children who shared his dream that these children should have opportunities.

Former Mayor Joseph Walsh spoke of the “interconnectedness” of those in the room, and how that played such a significant role in all that has been accomplished. During his administration, from 1977 to 1984, the state was in the process of closing the Ladd School, where the mentally “retarded” were housed, and beginning to open the group homes that are now standard. Walsh was approached with the request for Warwick to host one of the first homes. Walsh named a committee to take on the task and selected the late Rep. Paul Sherlock and Senator Richard Patterson to head it up. Sherlock, an unwavering advocate for the disadvantaged, served on the Trudeau board; Patterson was the center’s director for 27 years.

The group home became a reality.

“[This] success is everybody’s success,” Walsh said.

Former Mayor Francis X. Flaherty called Warwick a better place because of the center and its staff, and the parents who make the center what it is. With a staff of nearly 1,000, the center serves 1,700 and operates 20 properties on a budget of $25 million.

Donald Trudeau said the center is the result of a dream his parents had and what their legacy has done for others.

“Look at those who have enjoyed a fuller and richer life,” he said.

Trudeau said it has been a community effort that all who helped made come true.

Monsignor Gerald O. Sabourin, who delivered the invocation and benediction, said the Trudeau family was on “an adventure” that started with the formation of the Parents Association for Retarded Children. That evolved into other groups but remained the nucleus to the center. After procurement of the site in Apponaug, the group moved ahead with the building. Fundraising lagged and construction slowed. When J. Arthur Trudeau died suddenly at the age of 53, the decision was made to dedicate the building to him and the capital campaign was successfully completed.

“Without the mayors, our success would not have been possible,” said executive director Donald Armstrong. He said Orton and Noel were friends with Trudeau and signed the center’s articles of incorporation.

Christopher Orton, who accepted the honor for his father, said his father knew from the beginning that the center was going to be a success.

Former Mayor Charles Donovan praised the center’s leadership and, in particular, Patterson who he worked with as a senator.

Governor and former Mayor Lincoln Chafee harkened back to the days when there were limited programs and facilities for the retarded. The choices then were to send children to the Ladd School or keep them at home, which was impossible for many to do. He said this was the case for Tom Stevens, featured in an emotional video clip about the center’s history, a close friend of the Chafees and member of the Trudeau board.

Mayor Scott Avedisian said the Trudeau Center has been family to him. He said he remembers volunteering with his family at the center as a child: “It was something you were expected to do,” he said.

He said the center is an example of how, working through the community, the community as a whole benefits.

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