Page A15 September 2024 US Cremation Equipment leads the way. It all comes down to… PERFORMANCE! www.uscremationequipment.com • info@uscremationequipment.com Service Performance · Rapid Response Times · Attentive to Your Needs · Experienced & Knowledgeable Equipment Performance · Low Cost Ef cient Operation · No Cool-Down Between Cases · Fast Processing Times · Longer Equipment Life · Obese Case Capacity · Fully Automated Controls Call 321.282.7357 We build the best and service the rest. Life Forest® to Honor Forgotten Remains of Oregon State Hospital Patient AUBURN,ME— Life Forest® Whistle Ridge recently honored the memory of William R. Harland, a patient who passed away at the Oregon State Hospital in 1939, with a special burial service on Tuesday, July 23, 2024. This poignant event was part of Life Forest’s ongoing mission to provide dignity and remembrance to every individual, regardless of their circumstances. In 2016, the family of Harland, a relative of one of the stewards of Life Forest Whistle Ridge, became aware of his unclaimed cremated remains found among over 3,500 sets at the Oregon State Hospital. Harland passed away in 1939, but for decades, his remains were lost to time and memory, hidden away in a corroded copper canister marked with the number 2322. The Oregon State Hospital, once a place of supposed care, became a symbol of neglect and forgotten lives. Thousands of patients’ cremated remains were stored in copper canisters, only to be discovered in various states of corrosion and disrepair decades later. These individuals, many of whom had no family to claim them, were left in a state of anonymity and abandonment. The discovery of these canisters exposed a dark chapter in the history of mental health care and the treatment of society’s most vulnerable members. The documentary “Library of Dust” sheds Continued on page A16
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