Chip Turner

During the years the Weston State Hospital stood empty, it was not completely abandoned. The Weston Revitalization Committee and the Weston Hospital Task Force worked hard to keep it from deteriorating. However, there were also community volunteers who gave their time to help out.

Chip Turner is a glassblower in Weston. Chip helped out with preservation efforts a few years ago. When the preservation group hosted car shows, park festivals, and other events, Chip and his family would make glass balls and donate them to be sold at the events. One time Chip, his dad, and some others went over there to clear brush and hauled it away up the hill behind the hospital. The water fountain in the front was also in need of great repair. "It was literally a swamp. It was just mud." Chip and the other volunteers shoveled the mud out, cleaned it up, and filled it with water. They fixed it so that water once again shot out of the top.

Click here to listen to Chip.

Like the other citizens of Weston, Chip is proud of the hospital and wants it to be restored to good condition. "t is listed on one of the sites on Save America's Treasures. It's a beautiful place."

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