07/22/2025
A Living Archive and a Parking Lot Full of Chickens
By Michaela Proffitt, Library Manager
During a recent visit with one of our hospital clients, I had the unexpected pleasure of meeting a remarkable employee—possibly the longest-tenured team member in the entire facility.
Not only was he born in the very hospital he now works in, but he also began his career there at just 18 years old. Over the years, he’s become the go-to person for just about everything: advice, building quirks, institutional memory—you name it. He even knows things about the building that have never been written down.
Our conversation took a fun turn as he started sharing some of the more entertaining moments from his years on the job. One story, in particular, had me laughing: years ago, someone with a truckload of chickens stopped in the hospital parking lot... and all the chickens escaped.
Chaos broke out as feathers flew, and no one knew how to catch them. But this employee wasn’t fazed—he calmly instructed everyone on how to “put a chicken to sleep”: gently tuck its head under its wing and lay it down. Apparently, it works like a charm.
So there they were, rounding up runaway chickens and gently putting them to sleep in the middle of the parking lot until they could be returned to the truck.
It was a moment of light-heartedness that reminded me just how valuable these stories are—not just for entertainment, but for preserving the rich, lived history of a place. At AerieHub, we aim to make sure facility knowledge isn’t lost to time, and it’s just as meaningful when those memorable moments aren’t lost either.
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Video Credit: Claire Pfeiffer, Library Manager.
Acting credit: Hennifer Lopez (aka HayLo), Hennifer Coolidge, and Henny Ortega—Claire’s backyard chickens and unofficial Aerie mascots. Yes, they’re paid in mealworms.
