Sonoma Valley community to honor SDC

Three events are planned to honor the closing of the Sonoma Developmental Center, a cornerstone of Eldridge for 127 years.|

As the closing of the Sonoma Developmental Center, a cornerstone of Eldridge for 127 years, draws near, the Sonoma Valley community has planned three events honoring the history and legacy of the facility.

Under the theme “Protecting What We Love,” the Parent Hospital Association, Glen Ellen Forum, Sonoma Land Trust and the Eldridge Portraits Project are sponsoring a photo gallery on Arnold Drive in Glen Ellen running Oct. 27 through Nov. 4; the center’s final Halloween parade Oct. 31; and a farewell celebration Nov. 3.

The center once accommodated almost 1,200 clients with severe intellectual disabilities, dwindling to around 149 this February, and was for many years the largest employer in the Valley. It is slated to close at the end of the year.

“Such a critical event as this closure must be given the respect it deserves, and not simply erased and quickly forgotten. We must honor the past if we are to move on,” said Kathleen Miller, co-chair of the Parent Hospital Association, in a statement.

Miller added, “Our most critical task is to continue our advocacy to protect what we love – the people and the land.”

Through the SDC Coalition, chaired by Sonoma County District 1 Supervisor Susan Gorin, Miller’s group and the three others are calling for the preservation of the center’s 700 acres of open space lands.

Starting Oct. 27, Arnold Drive through Glen Ellen will feature a series of images of residents of the center and their families taken by Joseph Garappolo and Christian Pease, the photographers who founded the photography studio Light At 11B. The exhibition will run through Nov. 4.

The center’s final Halloween parade is slated to take place starting at 10:30 a.m. on Harney Circle at the center’s campus at 15000 Arnold Drive in Eldridge. Community groups are scheduled to participate with floats in honor of employees of the center who are expected to be furloughed Dec. 31. The event is open to the public.

On Nov. 3, a thank-you and farewell celebration is planned at the Hanna Boys Center, 17000 Arnold Drive in Sonoma. The event is scheduled for 3 to 6 p.m., with a brief program at 4 p.m. The Eldridge Portraits Project compilation will also be featured at the event. To register in advance, visit EventBrite.

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