In the last days of the Poor Farm’s operation, it was a nursing home for Ottawa County’s elderly people. One resident’s belongings and records from this era were preserved. Because of the recentness of this era she is referred to as: L. Vader. Vader was not in any of the patient logs, presumably because she was admitted sometime in 1987, a year for which there are no extensive/detailed records. In the research process, she was first spotted in a photo showing her working at the country store in 1983. The next time, she appeared in a portrait in the 1987 photobook of the Poor Farm, renamed from that time as Community Haven. It is not clear why she was excluded from the 1985 and 1986 photobooks. Vader lived at Community Haven until her death in 1996. 

Vader is an example of the tenure and comfort that appeared to be typical of the Poor Farm. However, there were stressful and distressing moments. One time, she wrote a letter to the supervisors of the Poor Farm, complaining that the staff had repeatedly opened her mail before giving it to her. After an argument with staff members, it appeared that her room was searched. As she said, the letter in the records was a retyped version. There is no follow-up information about the response (if there was one) to Vader’s letter.

In Vader’s file, there are also cards and notes from her funeral. Vader passed away early in 1996. She was loved by many and clearly left a lasting impression on the staff and other residents of Community Haven. In her aforementioned letter, while written in complaint, Vader also wrote about how much she enjoyed living at Community Haven. She wrote that she had the option to go somewhere else but chose to stay at Community Haven. She was cared for in the final days of Community Haven, and is one of the last residents about whom we have found records. Her records are the clearest that exist today, showing the two sides of the Poor Farm. There were times when it might have fallen short, but it was not for a lack of effort. Vader lived there for twelve years.

Sources:
Ottawa County Family Independence Agency, Vader, L., 1941, 1990-1996, Box #2, H031513, Joint Archives of Holland