I am working on the bibliography for a book I am writing with other Mac Hall survivors about the history of MacLaren Hall. It is a little daunting to be doing this research, since I have not seen photos of MacLaren Hall, nor visited the site, since I was held there in 1969, as an 8 year old child. Seeing some of the pictures of the site in the L.A. Times archives has been frightening, due to memories the images stir up. I remember the place well, even though I am now 48 years old with a 24 year old son of my own. When I began trying to understand my childhood, as an adult, I had to start with MacLaren Hall. What was that place? How did I get there? Where was it? What was its purpose? How long was it in operation? How many kids went through there, like me? Where are they now? All of these questions haunted me. As I do my research, I am finally getting answers. It has been very therapeutic, while also being emotionally challenging. I dedicate this webpage to my brothers and sisters who survived MacLaren Hall with me, that they may find some answers in this research I am doing now and that those answers can bring them some peace.

I have found certain books, such as Michel Foucault's "Madness and Civilization," and "Discipline and Punish" to be particularly relevant to the MacLaren Hall experience. Below I am listing some of the secondary sources I am using in my MacLaren Hall research, such as the Foucault books, and I am also listing a small sampling of primary sources as well. I have a huge collection of L.A. Times archive articles ranging from 1949 up to the 2000's in my research now, but I do not want to list them all here, and would rather wait until my work is published, where it will be included as a thorough bibliography. The first article I read about MacLaren Hall, was in 2003, written by Ed Hume entitled, "The Unwanted," and it reflected what I experienced there quite vividly and accurately, using many of the exact same adjectives I had used myself to describe it over the decades. As far as I know, I am the first person to ever do a research project focused on the history of MacLaren Hall. I say this because I have searched for this historical information for decades and experienced only a void.

You can also find an extensive bibliography in the footnote section of my article, "MacLaren Hall History: 1940's - 1970."

Primary Sources:

  • Los Angeles Times. (1949, July 2). Accused Father Says Relief Checks 'Invested' in Poker: Starved Baby's Parents Before Court in Death. Los Angeles Times (1886-Current File), p. 3. Retrieved March 12, 2009, from ProQuest Historical Newspapers Los Angeles Times (1881 - 1986) database. (Document ID: 418455301).
  • Los Angeles Times. (1951, October 20). Boy, 3, Left Alone by Death, Awaits Mother. Los Angeles Times (1886-Current File), p. A1. Retrieved March 12, 2009, from ProQuest Historical Newspapers Los Angeles Times (1881 - 1986) database. (Document ID: 425350451).
  • Los Angeles Times. (1959, July 26). Clothing Sought for Youth Hall. Los Angeles Times (1886-Current File), sg a14. Retrieved March 12, 2009, from ProQuest Historical Newspapers Los Angeles Times (1881 - 1986) database. (Document ID: 485288802).
  • Los Angeles Times. (1960, October 2). Nondelinquent Juveniles May Be Transferred to MacLaren Soon. Los Angeles Times (1886-Current File), sg 13. Retrieved March 12, 2009, from ProQuest Historical Newspapers Los Angeles Times (1881 - 1986) database. (Document ID: 478877052).
  • Gould, Charles. (1960, November 6). New MacLaren Hall to House Juvenile Wards: Sister Kenny Polio Hospital Being Converted by Probation Department. Los Angeles Times (1886-Current File), sg 1. Retrieved March 12, 2009, from ProQuest Historical Newspapers Los Angeles Times (1881 - 1986) database. (Document ID: 478967612).
  • Los Angeles Times. (1961, March 28). Dedication of Neglected Child Facility Held. Los Angeles Times (1886-Current File), p. b3. Retrieved March 12, 2009, from ProQuest Historical Newspapers Los Angeles Times (1881 - 1986) database. (Document ID: 447179232).
  • Los Angeles Times. (1962, March 23). Police Hunting Mother of Boy Found at Beach. Los Angeles Times (1886-Current File), p. a1. Retrieved March 12, 2009, from ProQuest Historical Newspapers Los Angeles Times (1881 - 1986) database. (Document ID: 454990172).
  • Los Angeles Times. (1962, August 5). Children at MacLaren to Have Parties. Los Angeles Times (1886-Current File), p. sg14. Retrieved March 12, 2009, from ProQuest Historical Newspapers Los Angeles Times (1881 - 1986) database. (Document ID: 484371542).
  • Los Angeles Times. (1962, September 20). Father Explains Why He Kept Girls Prisoners. Los Angeles Times (1886-Current File), p. 2. Retrieved March 12, 2009, from ProQuest Historical Newspapers Los Angeles Times (1881 - 1986) database. (Document ID: 454177352).
  • Trimborn, Harry. (1963, July 23). Girl, 3, Left in Hotel; Mother Faces Charge. Los Angeles Times (1886-Current File), p. 3. Retrieved March 18, 2009, from ProQuest Historical Newspapers Los Angeles Times (1881 - 1986) database. (Document ID: 470259802).
  • Los Angeles Times. (1964, June 3). Former Beauty Queen's Baby in Juvenile Hall: Leona Gage, Seeking Work in Arizona, Promises to Come Home, Care for Girl. Los Angeles Times (1886-Current File), p. a3. Retrieved March 21, 2009, from ProQuest Historical Newspapers Los Angeles Times (1881 - 1986) database. (Document ID: 469725302).
  • Los Angeles Times. (1964, August 3). Infant Girl Left in Auto in Church Lot. Los Angeles Times (1886-Current File), p. sg8. Retrieved March 21, 2009, from ProQuest Historical Newspapers Los Angeles Times (1881 - 1986) database. (Document ID: 477416662).
  • Los Angeles Times. (1964, December 10). Baby Found in Gutter; Mother Faces Charges. Los Angeles Times (1886-Current File), p. SG1. Retrieved March 21, 2009, from ProQuest Historical Newspapers Los Angeles Times (1881 - 1986) database. (Document ID: 472415392).
  • Los Angeles Times. (1965, July 7). Mother in Custody: 8 Hungry Children Left Alone at Home. Los Angeles Times (1886-Current File), p. 3. Retrieved March 22, 2009, from ProQuest Historical Newspapers Los Angeles Times (1881 - 1986) database. (Document ID: 484756042).
  • Grant, Gordon. (1966, March 24). New Juvenile Hall Jammed; 30 Children Sleep on Floor: Overcrowding Has Facility 'on the Ropes'. Los Angeles Times (1886-Current File), p. sf1. Retrieved March 24, 2009, from ProQuest Historical Newspapers Los Angeles Times (1881 - 1986) database. (Document ID: 496116392).
  • Einstoss, Ron. (1966, October 12).Mother and Boyfriend Held: Murder Charged in Case of Missing Girl, 4. Los Angeles Times (1886-Current File), p. 3. Retrieved March 24, 2009, from ProQuest Historical Newspapers Los Angeles Times (1881 - 1986) database. (Document ID: 485957762).
  • Davey, Paul N. (1966, November 22). Costs at MacLaren Hall. Los Angeles Times (1886-Current File), p. a4. Retrieved March 24, 2009, from ProQuest Historical Newspapers Los Angeles Times (1881 - 1986) database. (Document ID: 486274522).
  • Los Angeles Times. (1968, December 18). For $700: Hell's Angel, Girl Accused in Baby Sale. Los Angeles Times (1886-Current File), p. b3. Retrieved March 29, 2009, from ProQuest Historical Newspapers Los Angeles Times (1881 - 1986) database. (Document ID: 527803072).
  • Humes, Edward. (2003, August 11). The Unwanted. Los Angeles Magazine. Retrieved March 12, 2009. (http://www.edwardhumes.com/archives/00000014.shtml).

Secondary Sources

  • Geiser, Robert L. (1973). The Illusion of Caring: Children in Foster Care. Boston: Beacon Press.
  • Hacsi, Timothy A. (1997). Second Home: Orphan Asylums and Poor Families in America. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
  • Holt, Marilyn Irvin. (1992). The Orphan Trains. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press.
  • Foucault, Michel. (1965). Madness and Civilization. N.Y.: Random House Press. (This book was originally published in French in 1961.)
  • Foucault, Michel. (1979). Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. N.Y.: Vintage Press/Random House Press. (This book was originally published in French in 1975.)

MacLaren Hall Survivor Email List

letter addressed to kirsten anderberg at maclaren hall, postdated january 1969

You can join the MacLaren Hall Survivors Email List/Community by going to http://lists.riseup.net/www/info/machallsurvivors.

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