Shpunt Donation May Anchor Permanent Exhibit At Municipal Center

By John Voket

An aerial photo of the Fairfield Hills Hospital in full operation on a crisp autumn day in 1985 will become the likely centerpiece of a permanent exhibit that First Selectman Pat Llodra hopes will “pay tribute to the valuable purpose the hospital served for years before Fairfield Hills became our campus.”

Mrs Llodra took delivery of the donated framed photograph, the gift of Sandy Hook residents Sue and James Shpunt, earlier this week and said the minute she opened it she got the idea that part of the main hallway at the former Bridgeport Hall dining facility would be perfect for an exhibit dedicated to the origins of Fairfield Hills.

The 1985 flyover photo was originally taken by a photographer and friend of Ernest Fenn, Jr, the former chief of maintenance at the state hospital complex. The photographer then gave the photo to the facility’s maintenance crew, which included Mr Shpunt.

The image was later framed and presented as a retirement gift for Mr Fenn when he left Fairfield Hills for a state consulting job. Mrs Llodra said that when Mr Fenn died, the photo was given to Mr Shpunt, who in turn presented it to the town to decorate the new Municipal Center.

According to the Mr Shpunt, Mr Fenn was the longest serving employee at the state psychiatric hospital, where he worked for 55 years. Mrs Llodra said having the photo anchor a growing permanent exhibit was an extremely appropriate use for the striking image.

Mrs Llodra said the idea about somehow commemorating the past use of the campus originally came to her on the campaign trail this summer, when questions about the future use of Fairfield Hills brought forth many stories about residents or their family members who also worked at the sprawling hospital site.

“A number of our current town employees also used to work here when it was owned by the state,” Mrs Llodra said. The first selectman said there is no telling where the initiative of establishing some kind of exhibit could go, suggesting that many residents are in possession of other memorabilia and countless stories about the facility when it was still fully occupied and under the operation of the state.

The town also acquired a significant number of items from the various buildings on the campus that were removed from buildings prior to mothballing or ahead of likely demolition, which could also find a home in the exhibit.