In 1969 Exceptional Foresters received an opportunity to lease the old State Patrol Academy. A Public Assistance representative had approached Schreiber with a proposal to fund any people the Foresters took in from the larger institutions. At this time, the movement to shift people from the overcrowded larger institutions into smaller facilities was just beginning. Executive Director Schreiber was turning his attention to acquiring the old State Patrol Academy.
“By November, 1969, all phases of negotiations with the Patrol were resolved and the necessary arrangements concluded. Exceptional Foresters had a new home; one which finally suited their purposes.
This new facility provided the answer to many pressing problems: privacy for sleeping (only two to a room), recreation space, a private office for members of staff, and an apartment for the housemother.
Soon, more clients were coming in from Rainier School at Buckley and Lakeland Village in Spokane. Between the time the Foresters entered the new quarters in January, 1970 and March of the same year, the addition of ten residents had increased the clientele to 34. During this short period of time many of the pains associated with displacement and renewal were experienced. Offsetting this was a heady sense of hope and optimism for the future.
In March, Exceptional Foresters held an “open house” and dedication ceremony for the new facility. The program featured the residents’ choir, directed by Mrs. June Wright, and an old timers’ woodchopping and sawing exhibition. It was a unique ceremony and a fitting celebration of the Foresters’ new beginning.
The dedication ceremony acknowledged the hard work that John Schreiber had done in attaining this milestone for Exceptional Foresters, The April, 1970 issue of the W.A.R.C. newsletter described the ceremony: “The program ended with a dedication ceremony wherein Mr. Paul Conner, Representative of the 24th District; very ably dedicated the residents living quarters ‘Schreiber Hall.'” This is Exceptional Foresters by James H. Lindley