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    The Boys in the Bunkhouse: Servitude and Salvation in the Heartland
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    The Boys in the Bunkhouse: Servitude and Salvation in the Heartland
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    The Boys in the Bunkhouse: Servitude and Salvation in the Heartland
    Ebook355 pages5 hours

    The Boys in the Bunkhouse: Servitude and Salvation in the Heartland

    By Dan Barry

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    About this ebook

    With this Dickensian tale from America’s heartland, New York Times writer and columnist Dan Barry tells the harrowing yet uplifting story of the exploitation and abuse of a resilient group of men with intellectual disability, and the heroic efforts of those who helped them to find justice and reclaim their lives.

    In the tiny Iowa farm town of Atalissa, dozens of men, all with intellectual disability and all from Texas, lived in an old schoolhouse. Before dawn each morning, they were bussed to a nearby processing plant, where they eviscerated turkeys in return for food, lodging, and $65 a month. They lived in near servitude for more than thirty years, enduring increasing neglect, exploitation, and physical and emotional abuse—until state social workers, local journalists, and one tenacious labor lawyer helped these men achieve freedom.

    Drawing on exhaustive interviews, Dan Barry dives deeply into the lives of the men, recording their memories of suffering, loneliness and fleeting joy, as well as the undying hope they maintained despite their traumatic circumstances. Barry explores how a small Iowa town remained oblivious to the plight of these men, analyzes the many causes for such profound and chronic negligence, and lays out the impact of the men’s dramatic court case, which has spurred advocates—including President Obama—to push for just pay and improved working conditions for people living with disabilities.

    A luminous work of social justice, told with compassion and compelling detail, The Boys in the Bunkhouse is more than just inspired storytelling. It is a clarion call for a vigilance that ensures inclusion and dignity for all.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateMay 17, 2016
    ISBN9780062372154
    Author

    Dan Barry

    Daniel T. Barry (M.D., Ph.D.) is a former NASA astronaut who was a crew member aboard the Space Shuttles Discovery and Endeavor. He logged more than 734 hours in space, including four spacewalks totaling 25 hours and 53 minutes. He holds a BS degree in electrical engineering from Cornell University; a master’s of engineering degree and a master of arts degree in electrical engineering/computer science from Princeton University; a doctorate in electrical engineering/computer science from Princeton University; and a doctorate in medicine from the University of Miami in 1982. Organizations to which he belongs include the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), the American Association of Electrodiagnostic Medicine (AAEM), the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (AAPMR), the Association of Academic Physiatrists (AAP), and the Association of Space Explorers. He holds five patents, has written 50 articles in scientific journals, and has served on two scientific journal editorial boards. Dr. Barry retired from NASA in April 2005 to start his own company, Denbar Robotics, where he currently builds robots. Dr. Barry currently lives in South Hadley, MA.

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    Reviews for The Boys in the Bunkhouse

    4/5

    22 ratings6 reviews

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    • 4/5
      An unbelievable true story, told in a way that gives equal attention to the big picture and to the individuals.
    • 3/5
      5552. The Boys in the Bunkhouse Servitude and Salvation in the Heartland, by Dan Barry (read 16 Apr 2018) This book tells of a group of intellectually challenged men who were in state care in Your reviewTexas when a guy offered to take them from the Texas institutional care and have them work for him processing turkeys in Altalissa, Iowa. They lived in an old schoolhouse in Altalissa and were kept in servitude and often mistreated. Their wages were below the normal minimum wage . The employer made a lot of money and believed he was doing the state of Texas a lot of good because the state did not have to take care of the"boys." The town of Altalissa treasured the men but paid little attention to the conditions of their housing and their working conditions. This went on for many years till a Des Moines Register wrote expository articles and got a good social worker to work on the situation and to get the men out of the bunkhouse. Eventually a diligent attorney with the EEOC brought suit in behalf of the men in Federal Court which was tried before a jury and Judge Charles Wolle. Somehow the plaintiff's lawyer overcame the many problems in the case and got the evidence in without any of the men testifying and the jury returned a verdict in the millions of dollars--which verdict was cut by the court so that each of the 'boys' would be awarded $50,000--which judgment was not easy to collect. It is quite a story but I would have liked to know a lot more about the trial and the legal problems related thereto. I can understand Texas welcoming not having to care for these men but someone should have paid more attention to how they were treated, obviously.
    • 4/5
      In the spirit of full disclosure, I used to live in Iowa. When I was quite young, before the interstate highway took away the bulk of the U.S. Highway 6 traffic, I rode through the town with the "bunkhouse" in trips between Iowa and Illinois, though I can't say I remember Altalissa. In any event, it would have been before the "boys" showed up. Later, as an adult I attended school and worked about a half hour drive north. I visited West Liberty where the "boys" worked, though I couldn't say I remember turkey processing going on. I also went to school very near where several of the boys ended up after they gained their "freedom". I guess I should also say, for the record, that I worked for the State of Iowa on more than one occasion. Having said all that, this book starts out very dramatically, ends reasonably positively, given its subject matter, and in between, the author shows what excellent journalism is all about, providing texture and nuance without once holding back, just letting it all come out naturally. This may explain why a book that I would never describe as melodramatic, did, on several occasions, bring spontaneous tears to my eyes. It was as if a science teacher had just taken one innocuous liquid, mixed it with another one, added the slightest dash of another commonplace powder and PUFF!, instant emotion exploding from the realized deep humanity that had just been revealed. I watched a New York Times vignette film about the book's subject, and it didn't even come close to capturing all that is inside the book. Whatever your preconceived notions going in, I'm betting you'll find more than you expect.
    • 5/5
      You wouldn't think that 19th century slavery would still exist in 21st century America, but these intellectually challenged “boys” were essentially slaves, victims of human trafficking. For decades. And this book tells their heartbreaking story.These young men, teenagers, eventually old men, fell through the cracks and were rented out to the Louis Rich turkey processing plant by Henry's Turkey Service, sent from Texas to Iowa. They were badly treated and grossly underpaid for horrible, physically damaging work, as they were working in an abusive industry, hanging, killing, gutting, or artificially inseminating turkeys. And the companies involved made boatloads of money while these men lived in squalor.Perhaps there really were good intentions initially, with profit thrown in as a plus – I don't know. But whatever the intentions, things went south, and very badly.I have nothing but contempt for those who abuse and take advantage of the vulnerable. I have special contempt for the Neubauers, who both physically and psychologically abused their charges while they were supposed to be caring for them, supervising them.There were brave whistle blowers starting back in the '70s and for years after. And they were ignored. The state of Iowa, even after all this came to light, didn't really seem to give a flip.There was so, so much incredible injustice. Some really bad guys, some really good ones, and much too much turning a blind eye.The book was well written. I thought it could have used a little judicious editing, because it did seem somewhat drawn out. And the author occasionally went on tangents that didn't really add to the story. I really didn't care to learn about the founding father of Atalissa. Despite that, this is a fascinating story, but be prepared to have your heart broken for these men.
    • 3/5
      This is an interesting enough story, but I don't think it really does justice to what these poor men went through.
    • 4/5
      It's hard to separate the story from the writing. I feel like if you say the book wasn't 5 stars then the story isn't important. I can't believe that this was all happening for so many years with so many clueless people, or people willing to look the other way. At the same time, they author cycled around many times to tell the same thing. We are our brothers keepers, let us never forget.