For 11 years at the State Public School, Harvey Ronglien Ward lived among energetic children who came from all over the state, of every race, color, and creed, with new children arriving as others were placed out and leaving after days, months, or many years. Taken in from poverty, he was housed, clothed, fed, and educated there, and during childhood he accepted the school as a fulfilling home. As an adult, he concluded that although the institution made children physically strong, its size and environment left many emotionally deficient through minimal individual attention and a lack of appreciation, recognition, and love, leaving lifelong scars for many. At the same time, he remembered lasting friendships, regarded the other children as his brothers and sisters, and saw their shared camaraderie as rooted in enduring the experience together. He believed the legacy of the State Public School for Dependent and Neglected children was the lesson that a large institutional environment is not conducive to raising emotionally healthy children, even as it remained his home and a source of identity and pride.