Pine Ridge Apartments

History of the building

The Pidge Ridge building has a colorful and fascinating history: originally constructed in 1944 as an orphanage and physical rehabilitation center for child refugees during World War Two, Pine Ridge helped to place over four hundred children with loving families over more than two decades. Through the support of caring nurses and physicians, the orphanage was transformed from a dreary institution to a place of hope and light. The Orphaned Children’s Band was a frequent feature of many town parades and events during this time.

In 1967, Pine Ridge reopened as an amputee hospital for injured veterans returning from the Vietnam Conflict. Many young men were able to recuperate from their physical, emotional, and psychological wounds while exploring the nearby grounds. One particular group of vets facing difficult injuries created a kite-fighting club, which soon became a much beloved town pastime. Often there would be crowds of onlookers who would gather on the west lawn to watch young men on crutches and in wheelchairs with their kites performing dazzling maneuvers high up in the sky.

The building was then converted into apartments in 1983. With the boom of industrial and manufacturing work throughout the 1980s, Pine Ridge became a bustling building and lovely home for families, young couples, and a number of retirees.

The building’s most recognizable and longest resident was the “bird lady,” Ms. Ada Givens. Ada was a former nurse who originally worked at Pine Ridge when it was an orphanage. Nurse Ada was much loved among the orphans for her ability to mimic a number of elaborate bird whistles. Some stories even suggest her ability to communicate with a number of bird species, even describing how she would summon birds to the orphanage’s window.

Later Ada’s son Dale spent several months recuperating at Pine Ridge in 1973 after losing the use of both his legs in the war.

With her son, Ada returned as a resident to Pine Ridge in 1985 after the building opened as apartments. Ada would often sit on the side lawn with Dale and hand out balloons to the children and impress all passing by with her incredible chirps and whistles. Many photos have been taken of birds completely surrounding Ada, nesting on her shoulders and head. Unfortunately, Ada passed away in 2001, but made the unpredictable move of renting out her third floor west apartment as a bird hospital for the next two decades, which her son Dale dutifully ran until 2021. The third floor west apartment has since remained vacant in Ada and Dale’s memory and a number of Pine Ridge residents have noted birds of all shapes and sizes can often be heard singing throughout the day well into the evening from nearby electrical lines and fire escape.