Inspired by our namesake, Dr. Anne Carlsen, we are continuing her life’s work of helping others enjoy greater independence and quality of life. Born without forearms or lower legs, Dr. Anne refused to let her physical impairments prevent her from living life to its fullest. She served as teacher, administrator and mentor for the Center, touching many lives with her compassion, courage and determination. Her spirit of hope lives on today as we remain dedicated to “Nurturing abilities. Changing lives.” The following is a timeline of key events and milestones that have taken place in our 70 years of existence.
1922:The Evangelical Good Samaritan Society was granted state licensure of incorporation for a fee of $5.
1923: The first Good Samaritan Society home was opened in Arthur, N.D. with 13 residents.
1932: A former Presbyterian college in Fargo, N.D., was offered to the Good Samaritan Society for the Crippled Children’s School. Lelend Burgum was superintendent.
1938: Rev. W.B. Schoenbohm joined the Good Samaritan Society as superintendent. Anne Carlsen, a quadruple congenital amputee, joined the staff as a high school teacher.
1940: Lutheran Hospitals and Homes Society purchased the Crippled Children’s School and moved it to Jamestown, N.D. Construction began in the fall at Horseshoe Park on six acres purchased for $450.
1941: Despite inclement weather, nearly 1,000 people gathered Sept. 21 to help dedicate the new school. The original building cost $58,000 to construct and was paid for entirely with private donations. It opened its doors to 18 students on Sept. 22. The School included two modern classrooms, a craft room, library, therapy room, dining hall, recreation room, and dormitory for 35 children.
1943: A new sunroom was dedicated Sept. 5.
1946: Anne Carlsen earned her master’s degree in education from Colorado State University in Greeley.
The School purchased additional acreage to the east and west of the school.
1948: Anne Carlsen was named the school principal. The School purchased additional acreage to the northwest.
1949: The Easter Seal Wing, dedicated May 29, included three classrooms, rooms for occupational therapy, physical therapy, hydrotherapy, speech correction, storage, exercise, and a dormitory for 32 boys. Additional remodeling provided a junior high school room, a staff dining room and additional medical isolation facilities.
Anne Carlsen completed the doctoral program at the University of Minnesota and was named child guidance director of the School.
A summer session called the Cerebral Palsy Training Program and Parents Conference was started in cooperation with the N.D. Easter Seals Society.
1953: Two classrooms and a laundry unit were added to the growing facility. The School’s enrollment climbed to 59.
A postgraduate business education course started to offer young people with special needs a chance to prepare for office jobs. It was discontinued in 1968 when two commercial colleges in the state were on ground level and accessible to those with disabilities.
1955: Students of the high school and commercial department started the first all-school yearbook, the Island Echo.
1958: A Ford Foundation grant for $33,200 and Hill-Burton Funds approved by the N.D. State Health Planning Commission provided money for construction of the industrial arts department, homemaking department, and new kitchen and dining room facilities.
1962: The new occupational therapy department and all-purpose auditorium/gymnasium, with a seating capacity of 400, was dedicated in May. The auditorium included a permanent, handicap-accessible stage area.
1965: A new heating plant, physical therapy department and speech therapy department with a special classroom for the hearing impaired were added.
1966: North Dakota Governor William Guy honored Dr. Anne Carlsen with North Dakota’s highest honor, the Theodore Roosevelt Roughrider Award. The award is given to persons who have brought credit to the state by achieving national recognition in their fields of endeavor.
1968: The new limb and brace department was constructed. A vocational evaluation program, sponsored jointly by the School and the Vocational Rehabilitation Division, started and continued through 1973. The prevocational classroom for students not academically inclined but able to benefit from further practical training and therapy, was kept as part of the program.
1971: The Crippled Children School dedicated a new modular dormitory designed to house 32 students. Thousands of gifts, matched by a 46 percent grant from Hill-Burton Construction Funds, supported the project.
1975: Dr. Anne Carlsen was inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame at Fullerton (Calif.) College.
1976: A second modular dormitory was added.
1980: The name of the school was changed to Anne Carlsen School, in honor of Dr. Anne Carlsen who had served as teacher, principal and administrator for more than four decades.
1981: Dr. Anne Carlsen retired from her administrative position and took a part-time consulting job with the School. She continued to maintain office hours and serve as a consultant and mentor to staff and students until the time of her death.
Dr. Anne received the W. Clement Stone Foundation Endow-a-Dream Award, given each year to honor an individual who has used a positive mental attitude to overcome adversity and make contributions to the betterment of humanity. A check for $50,000 was given to the School for its endowment fund.
Henry Edwards was named the school’s administrator.
1983: An extensive remodeling project updated the staff and student dining areas, hallways and one dormitory.
President Ronald Reagan appointed Dr. Anne Carlsen vice-chair of the President’s Committee on Employing the Handicapped.
1984: The focus of the Center’s programs expanded to include young people with severe multiple disabilities.
1985: The therapeutic swimming pool and whirlpool were completed so students could begin benefiting from physical, recreational and social therapy. The pool floor can be raised and lowered to any water depth between zero and five feet.
A statue of Dr. Anne Carlsen and a child was dedicated at the front entrance of the school.
1986: The School’s program was expanded to include services and placement for children with autism.
1987: A Communication and Mobility Assessments program began. As part of the program, a team of therapists evaluates children within and outside the School to recommend more appropriate communication and mobility programming.
1988: Anne Carlsen School was licensed as an Intermediate Care Facility for the Mentally Retarded.
The local Head Start program relocated in the school building, giving young children with and without special needs a chance to interact with each other.
The Community Integration and Vocational Development Program began providing young adults with disabilities valuable work experiences as trainees in local businesses.
1990: Michael J. Numrich was named Administrator.
The Kids First program began offering evaluations and treatment for children, birth to six years of age, in Jamestown and the surrounding areas.
The Advanced Care Unit opened, providing state-of-the-art medical care and skilled personnel for medically fragile youngsters.
Dr. Anne Carlsen received the L.B. Hartz Professional Achievement Award from Minnesota State University Moorhead and the Judge Henry and Helen T. Graven Award for Outstanding Christian Lay Work from Wartburg College, Waverly, Iowa.
1991: The School celebrated its golden anniversary with a year-long series of events, including a staff-alumni reunion and celebration banquet.
The program offering daily living skills and vocational experience for young adults with disabilities was named Transitional Services.
1992: The School’s education services received accreditation as an elementary school from the prestigious accrediting agency, North Central Association.
Fundraising began for the Resource Center, a regional focus of information training and equipment for children with special needs and their families.
The Store Room opened its doors with consigned crafts and goodies. Kids gained work experience there before they moved to jobs in the community.
Dr. Anne Carlsen was chosen as one of 22 North Dakotans to serve on Governor-elect Ed Schafer’s transition team and she was named Psychologist of the Year by the North Dakota Psychological Association.
The School received a President’s Grant from Lutheran Health Systems to develop and put in place a system of providing rehabilitation services to children from all Lutheran Health Systems facilities throughout the nation.
1993: The name of the school was changed to Anne Carlsen Center for Children to better reflect its broader scope of services.
1995: Dr. Anne Carlsen and the Center celebrated her 80th birthday. Contributions honoring her totaled more than $25,000 and helped purchase a handicapped-accessible van.
1997: Mike Gillen was named administrator.
The Center began a five-year renovation project to enable it to better meet the needs of its children.
1999: The Nature Trail’s bridge was completed, thanks to Eagle Scout John Goetz who constructed the bridge as part of his scouting project.
Dan Howell was named administrator.
The Guest House, which serves as a home-away-from-home for visiting families, was re-sided.
2000: The Center’s parent company, Lutheran Health Systems, merged with Samaritan Health System of Phoenix, Ariz. to create Banner Health System.
2001: The Center celebrated its 60th anniversary with a number of events including: a ribbon-cutting ceremony which culminated a five-year, $1.6 million remodeling project, an alumni reunion where over 70 graduates of the Center gathered, and a gala event highlighted with a benefit concert by acclaimed pianist Lorie Line and her Pop Chamber Orchestra. Over 1,500 people attended the performance which raised more than $20,000 for Center programs.
The Council on Quality and Leadership in Supports for People with Disabilities gave the Center its highest accreditation rating – three year with distinction. Less than 10 percent of organizations accredited by The Council receive this grade.
2002: The Center’s namesake, Dr. Anne Carlsen, passed away on Dec. 22.
2003: On July 1, the Center became an independently-owned organization operated by a governing board of directors.
Construction began on a residential expansion and remodeling, adding three residential cottages to the campus and remodeling the existing dorm area, increasing the Advanced Care Unit from six to 16 beds.
2004: In July, 16 students moved into new homes located just yards from the main campus when two of three houses were completed in the first phase of a major remodeling and expansion project designed to enhance the living environment to better meet the needs of today’s residents.
2006: The Chaplaincy Program is created, as Pastor JoAnne Moeller is available to students, their families and Center staff for all spiritual needs.
2008: The name of the Center is changed to the Anne Carlsen Center, to better reflect the wide variety of ages the Center serves.
The Center expands its community-based services, offering more supports in more parts of the state. As part of the expansion, the Center begins to serve individuals over the age of 21.
Medically-fragile students are allowed to continue residing at the Center following graduation.
In April, the Center holds the first of four major autism-related conferences in 2008. ACC invites nationally-recognized speakers to educate families and professionals from across the state.
The Solarium project is completed, thanks to the generosity of ACC donors. The new structure, complete with features like non-slip floors, full-spectrum growth lights, and radiant floor heating, expands the gardening program to year-round. Students grow vegetables and flowers from seed for their gardens.
The Sunroom, built in 1943, undergoes a major renovation. New ceramic tile, cabinets, furniture and appliances have made this space more comfortable and convenient for home economics class, Girl Scouts and family visits.
Dr. Anne Carlsen’s legacy is celebrated in ACC’s new logo. The logo incorporates the authentic signature of the Center’s namesake, as well as a redesigned butterfly.
ACC opens a Community Services office in Grand Forks and begins providing In-Home Supports and Personal and Community (Day) Supports to individuals and families in Northeast North Dakota.
ACC launches the “Accessing the Artist Within” project as a means to encourage the use of assistive technology in the creation of art, music or video. Many of the created pieces of art are showcased at Closing the Gap, an international technology conference held in October in Minneapolis.
The Fargo Community Services office is opened and begins serving clients in Southeast North Dakota.
Otter Tail Power Company celebrates its centennial with a “Pay It Forward” event at the ACC Jamestown Campus. Otter Tail plants 100 trees on the ACC campus and helps the ACC celebrate and showcase the solarium’s role in nurturing students’ vocational, educational, emotional, and physical development. Otter Tail contributed financial support and technical advice toward the construction of the solarium project.
2010:Eric Monson is named Chief Executive Officer.
ACC initiates management of four offices (Fargo, Grand Forks, Devils Lake, Jamestown) in the state’s KIDS Infant Development Program.
2011: ACC assumed operations of four offices of the state’s KIDS Infant Development Program (Fargo, Grand Forks, Devils Lake, Jamestown).
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