History Note
Rufus
Alexander
by Luther Granquist
In his short story, Rufus
at the Door, Jon Hassler, the Minnesota writer who died last month,
described a common event of the 1940s, a high school field trip to
a Minnesota state hospital. Hassler told this story from the point
of view of a boy shocked by what he saw as the teacher led them through
the wards pointing out the “morons,” “imbeciles,” and “idiots.” Before
the class could go to lunch, the teacher required them to name a “moron” in
their own home town.
The boy knew it was Rufus Alexander. Rufus’s elderly mother
would bring him downtown on Saturday afternoons and leave him at
the grocery store the boy’s dad ran. Rufus did not talk, just
stood at the door grinning as if he was very content. But, the boy
and his dad doubted Rufus felt much or understood anything.
Hassler told how the boy learned
otherwise. Rufus’s mother
died, and his brothers had him committed to the state hospital. A
year or so later, the boy saw him on another field trip to the state
hospital. Rufus looked older and had no smile. Their eyes met as
Rufus stood at the door to watch the class leave. The boy grasped
that Rufus recognized him, knew where he was from, and yearned to
leave with him. In ten short pages, Hassler captured the attitudes
and beliefs of the time and showed that those attitudes and beliefs
could change. ![]()
The History Note is a monthly column sponsored by the
Minnesota Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities,
www.mnddc.org or www.mncdd.org and www.partnersinpolicymaking.com
