Mar 1, 2010
What is a scarf?
A scarf is a handmade symbol of love. One person makes a scarf for another. It’s a gift of time, thoughtfulness, and dedication.
The combination of time, thoughtfulness, and dedication is a gift that could lift Topeka State Hospital out of dilapidation.
I’ve grown up visiting these grounds, exploring the fields, and admiring and photographing the buildings. Biddle is a particular favorite of mine. Its architecture is less prominent than that of Center Building, but it is a much larger building. It is built of red brick; solid, unchanging. Its grand windows bathe the interior halls in light.
What a fantastic place this could be: a learning center, full of classrooms; a retreat center, with conference halls and individual suites; even a busy office building on a magnificent campus.
Unfortunately, it hasn’t been maintained. This sturdy, 75-year-old mammoth has been all but abandoned.
It is an infantesimal step to tie a scarf around a tree in front of the building. It’s not a gift of money, or construction, or renovation labor. But it is a small gift of love. I love these buildings, and it pains my heart to see them waste.