Plummer changes times, not mission

When Caroline Plummer died in 1854, the popular Salem philanthropist and socialite bequeathed about $26,000 for the founding of a reform school for wayward local boys.

The school was incorporated by the Legislature the next year, and in 1870, with the help of additional funds, the Plummer Farm School of Reform opened its doors in a newly built three-story building on Salem's Winter Island.

A century and a half later, the institution founded through Plummer's vision continues to operate at the same spot.

The Plummer Home for Boys, as it is now known, was set to mark the 150th year of its incorporation with a ceremony yesterday. Plummer officials planned to unveil a plaque honoring Caroline Plummer for her founding bequest.

The Plummer has evolved significantly since its start as a reform school in a farm setting. No longer even a school, it has also long since ceased to operate a farm -- though it does maintain a vegetable garden. Today, it is a group home that provides a supportive living environment for up to 16 boys aged 13 to 17. Currently there are 12 residents.

''It's had to change, as the social service delivery system has changed and as the way we as a society and a community approach children [has changed]," Plummer's board chairwoman Nicole McLaughlin said.

But with the change, there have been some constants. The Plummer continues to occupy the same wood-framed building, located on 19 acres facing Salem Harbor. And its founding commitment to provide support to troubled teenage boys remains, even if the nature of those services has changed.

The boys that come to Plummer all have experienced a ''disruption of their life circumstances," due to such factors as poverty, domestic abuse, or parental substance abuse, said Art DeMauro, Plummer's interim executive director.

''Our primary goal is to help the youngster to be as stable as possible," he said.

The boys typically spend about a year at the home. During that time, they attend public school -- usually in Salem. At the home, they receive around-the-clock supervision by residential counselors, and the regular services of mental health clinicians.

Within the house are staff offices, bedrooms, and common areas, including a dining room, a kitchen, a game room, and a living room.

Rick Cormier arrived at the Plummer at age 12, eight years after he and his sister were removed from their Webster home by the state due to neglect by their parents. In the intervening years, Cormier had bounced around among a number of foster and preadoptive homes, and a state facility.

Drawn to the Plummer by its beautiful ocean scenery, Cormier was placed in the home in 1985 and ending up staying seven years. Now 32, married with two children, and employed as a service and sales representative for an Ipswich firm, Cormier looks back fondly on his Plummer years.

''I was probably not heading on the right track before the Plummer Home. I think the Plummer Home picked me up, cleaned me off, and pointed me in the right direction," he said.

Seeing other Plummer boys doing well -- including one who was attending college -- ''opened my eyes that I could succeed," Cormier recalled. And he said Plummer's staff ''guided me and helped me in any way they could."

Local historian Jim McAllister said the Plummer Farm School of Reform was one of a number of such charitable organizations that sprang up at that time in Salem. Drawn by the city's mills, immigrants were arriving in large numbers. And as the population grew, so did social needs, he said.

The Plummer Home has faced challenges in recent years, including a financial crunch brought about by a period of relatively low state funding, staff turnover, and an aging building.

But Plummer officials believe the financial picture is improving, and observe that staff comings and goings are a reality of the field.

McLaughlin said the organization's goal is to make the 150th anniversary year a time of renewal. While celebrating its history, the Plummer also plans to raise funds to meet future needs, including work on its building and possibly initiation of new programs.