In 1976 the dream to support children with severe to profound disabilities in Jefferson County began. Philip Hockensmith, the son of Dana & Sue Hockensmith was the inspiration for what is today the Pony Bird Home.

Philip, the first of the Hockensmith’s three children, was born while his parents were working on their undergraduate degrees at the University of Missouri in Columbia. Philip was diagnosed at the age of a year and a half with CMV (cytomegalovirus). The virus left him blind, deaf and severely physically and mentally disabled. Philip lived the first three years of his life with his parents in Columbia but eventually his parents made the difficult decision to place him in a facility not too far away in Sedalia.

The couple’s careers brought them to Jefferson County. Once in Jefferson County the couple resided in DeSoto. They missed Philip and yearned to have him closer to home. The Hockensmith’s discovered that funding was available for a group home for the mentally disabled. With the help of Jefferson County Association of Retarded Citizens (JCARC) the group applied to the government for a grant to help cover the costs of building a facility in Jefferson County. Sue Hockensmith soon became President of the JCARC and the couple helped guide the crib care home project.

A $31,760 federal grant to establish a residential home in Jefferson County for profound mentally & physically handicapped children was awarded to the JCARC in 1976. The grant was the largest awarded in the June 1976 session by the Division of Mental Retardation-Developmental Disabilities, which administered grant programs in Missouri. The association’s application was one of few to receive full funding.

The grant was the first awarded to Jefferson County under the program to aid the handicapped. It was also the first grant in Missouri for the type of residential home proposed by the JCARC.

Once the federal funding was in place the JCARC had the task of raising $25,000 to meet the requirements of the matching grant. Many different fundraisers were held to raise the money and the entire community became involved. Once funding was in place many different options and avenues were explored including buying an existing home to renovate, building a home, looking for a director, and hiring staff.

After looking at many options the JCARC decided to build a home to specifically meet the needs of the children they would support. The JCARC began working to secure land. Land was later donated in Mapaville which is the site of the campus still today. Once the details such as the land, selection of a director, and developing blue prints were in place, the home began to take shape.

The Crib Care facility would become home for ten severely mentally and physically disabled children. The home was first established to support children who could sleep in cribs. The home would take care of all their needs including feeding, clothing, bathing, therapy, and programming.

However this facility would be unique unlike any other facility. It would be a home not an institution or hospital. The home was filled with bright colors, lots of windows, and was fit just right for the children it would support. The staff did not wear uniforms but comfortable everyday clothing. These elements are still present today.

The Crib Care facility was named Pony Bird. Nancy Bridwell, who had donated her services as interior designer suggested the name from a 2 nd grade reader series from the McMillan Reading Program that her daughter was reading in school at the time. The book entitled Pony Bird was about a boy who was taken by a magical winged Pegasus to a special place called Pony Bird city.

The community gathered around to help with the final touches before opening this new home for special children. Friends and church members painted enlargements from the pictures of the book for decorations for the walls. Ladies from St. Andrew’s United Methodist Church quilted a beautiful Pegasus blanket which would become a fixture in the home and is still hanging today. In June of 1977 the home opened its arms to 10 very special children. Philip was given the honor of being the first official resident of the Pony Bird home.

Once the home opened a Board of Directors was formed. Sue Hockensmith served as the first Board President and Irene Steinbach was named the first director of Pony Bird. The home which opened on June 13, 1977 first employed twelve full-time staff and additional staff for education and therapy. In 1980 the Board expanded from six members to ten members. Rita Fears became the second director of Pony Bird in 1981. Rita served as the director until 1986.

The crib care facility expanded for the first time in 1982 accepting to support six more individuals. Dr. Terry Coleman was president of the Board of Directors during the expansion. The 2,556 sq. ft. addition was estimated at a cost $125,000 by the engineer. The project was completed for $75,000 because contractor and board member Cliff Lane of C.E. Lane Construction donated much of the work. Over 200 people celebrated the completed project at an open house December 12, 1982.

Linda Dallas, a Registered Nurse also began working at Pony Bird in 1982. She soon became the nursing supervisor and in 1986 became the director of Pony Bird and today serves as the executive director.

The “We’re Growing Up” adult expansion began in 1989. The new expansion cost $500,000. The adult expansion would allow Pony Bird to support twelve adult individuals with severe to profound disabilities. The expansion included six bedrooms, two large bathrooms, a whirlpool room, a large recreation/common room, kitchen and dining room, and a private living room for families to visit. With the expansion the Pony Bird staff began to grow as well.

In 1997 Pony Bird celebrate a very exciting and happy 20 th Anniversary. During the 20 th Anniversary Celebration the two homes took on new names to honor those who had made a tremendous impact and commitment to Pony Bird. The “Crib Care” home was officially named the Hockensmith Home after co-founders, board members, and longtime supporters Dana & Sue Hockensmith. The “ Adult Building” was renamed the McKim home in honor of longtime and dedicated employee Betty McKim. Betty was one of the first employees of Pony Bird and is still with Pony Bird today.

In 1998 there was once again the need for expansion. A home was constructed to support six additional individuals. The home was named the Lane Home in honor of Cliff and Shelia Lane for their dedication and commitment to Pony Bird through building many of the expansions at reduced rates, representing Pony Bird in the community and Cliff’s service to the board of directors.

The Lane home included six private bedrooms, a recreation room, bathroom/whirlpool room, stimulation room, dining room, kitchen, and outdoor patio area. The lower level of the home was administrative offices for a short time. Soon this area was converted to be a home for six additional individuals including the same amenities of the upper Lane home. Today the Lane home supports twelve individuals with severe to profound disabilities.

Pony Bird serves the Missouri Department of Mental Health’s Region Eleven, which includes St. Louis City, St. Louis, St. Charles and Jefferson Counties. Pony Bird is more than a residential learning facility. The services Pony Bird provides also benefit members of our community who are severely disabled. Pony Bird operates a year-round school for children with profound to severe physical and mental disabilities. When individuals reach the age of twenty-one, Pony Bird provides adult-day programming services which includes physical, occupational, and speech therapy, as well as recreational activities and community integration. Recreational activities and community integration are also provided to all individuals that Pony Bird supports. Overnight and day respite care is available to families in the community who have a family member with special needs. Pony Bird provides a staff to client ratio of one to three.

Today Pony Bird is home to fifty-nine children and adults with severe to profound mental and physical disabilities. Five of the ten children who came to call Pony Bird home still reside at Pony Bird. Pony Bird employs nearly 100 full-time staff and nearly 40 part-time staff. Our one home campus has expanded to six homes located in Mapaville and DeSoto, Missouri.

Pony Bird was and still is a special place for the wonderful individuals with severe to profound mental and physical disabilities.

At the age of 29 Philip died on August 25 th 2001. Though he never uttered a word Philip taught everyone who ever met him volumes about the true meaning of caring, understanding, patience, and love. Philip and others we have lost are now Pony Bird’s guardian angels looking over our wonderful “Family of Special Ones”. Because of Philip’s inspiration, Pony Bird has continued to grow, and the dream of supporting children with severe disabilities has expanded.