For 73 years the Utah State Developmental Center has been caring for the state's most severely retarded and disabled residents. In a two-part series, the Deseret Morning News gives readers a look into the lives of the residents and workers who call "the Hill" home.

AMERICAN FORK — Roger Holden has two birthday cakes in front of him. One is decorated with a plastic circus train, the other with Thomas the Tank Engine. One of the many guests at the party points out the toy trains to Roger, and he unleashes one of his favorite phrases, "Whoo, whoo!"

The two candles on the cake are lighted, and everyone sings "Happy Birthday." Without prompting, Roger leans into the table and tilts his head to blow them out. He musters a deep breath and exhales. The flame on the 0 dies. He takes another breath and blows out the 5.

Norman Roger Holden has reached the big 5-0. And it's a big deal.

All his friends at the Utah State Developmental Center are there, and he has dozens. Some surround him in their wheelchairs, a few making involuntary sounds or jerky movements. Staff members mingle and snap Polaroids. The pile of gifts could fill the space under a Christmas tree.

Profoundly mentally retarded and suffering from cerebral palsy, Roger has lived at the center for 24 years. Prior to that, he lived in a state facility in California, in group homes and with his mother and sister until his mother's health started to deteriorate as a result of caring for him.

Roger is among 231 adults at the developmental center, which opened in 1931. The state-run program is part of the Division of Services for People with Disabilities. Residents having various forms of mental retardation and physical disabilities ranging from those who can do nothing for themselves to those who hold off-campus jobs.

When it was known as the American Fork Training School, it had as many as 1,100 residents, many of them children. An effort that began in the 1980s to move mentally challenged people into neighborhood group homes has decreased the center's numbers to the current population.

Over the years, the center's mission has changed, too.

Temporary stay

The center no longer offers general education. It provides a variety of services and treatment to help people reach their greatest potential, always emphasizing personal choice.

Individuals must meet certain criteria to be admitted, including financial need.

"It's not an open-door admission policy there," said George Kelner, director of the Division of Services for People with Disabilities. "It's pretty tight."

Because the state and the courts deem it a restrictive setting, a committee in the division considers other options such as a group home before placing a person in the center. The goal is to find the least restrictive environment possible. It only receives a few applications each year, and many placements now are deemed temporary to stabilize a medical or behavioral problem, Kelner said.