From Warren Gohl

I  act in collaboration with the 13th Heritage Foundation which represents the 12 Alaskan Native Corporations in the lower 48 States and Hawaii. The foundation has initiated a  project:  ”The Search”. This project has as its sole purpose  the discovery of the grave sites of  22 Alaskan Natives  sent to the Federal prison at McNeil Island, Pierce County, Washington between 1872 and 1951 (dates approximate), where they passed away  while serving their Federal prison sentences. Their passing at McNeil Island prison has been  confirmed through record reserarch at the National Archives, Sand Point, Seattle in 2011. However, their McNeil Island gravesite locations remain unknown in spite of considerable inquiry to agencies of the State of Washington who assumed control of the former Federal prison and co-located properties on McNeil Island following closure of the Federal prison in 1981. The 13th Heritage Foundation seeks the physical  location of the Alaskan Native grave sites in question so as to begin closure to the Alaskan Native families who lost track of their loved ones upon their incarceration under Federal custody and subsequent demise. Any guidance, assistance, advice, etc. you may provide is of great importance, no matter how seemingly insignificant.

By Steve B.

During my stay, both drugs and EST were used. I was not treated with EST, only drugs, among which I am sure there were anti-depressants and tranquilizers. There were perhaps six or seven teens in my ward and one or two of them were administered EST. Memory tells me that most EST-treated patients were in the older population. On my ward, meds were kept in a locked chest located on the wall near the aides’ station. These were carefully measured and administered by the aides themselves. Mine were in powder format, mixed with orange juice for tolerable palatability.

Dr. Roy Moss, in “talk therapy” individual sessions, addressed my problems, but I was never given a diagnosis or nomenclature for those problems. Perhaps my parents were given a technical-medical name for what was ailing me, but they never mentioned it and I never inquired.

Hindsight tells me there were probably well over a hundred patients during the period of my stay, but these were scattered among different wards/dorms, and I never witnessed a mass-gathering of patients, so this is only my best guess.

There were many native Alaskans at Morningside during my stay. Again, since I have no real grasp on the total population, I can’t accurately say how many their numbers were. But I would run across them “all the time”, especially in larger gatherings such as daily cafeteria meals, so I would guess that they were still constituting a substantial portion of the general population. Most of these were older males (didn’t notice many, if any, females), and other than the normal courtesies, unfortunately, I didn’t converse with them – so I can’t relate anything regarding the frequency and/or process of returning them to Alaska. One exception was the only teen Alaskan I knew, who was an affable sort except when his anger management issues would trigger outbursts. However, I didn’t learn anything from him pertaining to native American life in Alaska. On my ward there was also a Native American named Reggie Hunt, but if I’m not mistaken, he was from Central (Warm Springs Reservation?) or Eastern Oregon, not Alaska. My first experience of Alaskan culture came in the hospital’s main office, where my parents brought me to be admitted. The walls were hung with all kinds of native crafts, a lot of masks and suchlike.

The aides were exceptional – reasonable, responsible, and approachable, some with wild senses of humor, which of course, immensely helped patients during their (in many cases) involuntary “incarceration”. The aides never abused anyone and were extremely helpful in all ways. Discipline was maintained, but I believe always in tandem with communication with the doctors – i.e., no unilateral, “fascistic” decisions were made by the aides. One punitive measure I recall was being “put on restriction”, which meant isolation from the rest of the community in the ward. Such patients would be permitted to attend the school, but were not allowed to return to the ward except at night for head-count and sleep. I recall one incident in which I was the only “innocent party” – and all the rest of the teens were put on restriction. It was a strange but exciting feeling for me to have my freedom, limited though it was, while all my peers were on off-ward restriction.

Again, I observed no abuse from “the powers that be”. However, kids being kids/people being people, there were strong rumors circulating on our ward of some teen sexual activity, but only between patients, never between staff and patients.

The quality of life at Morningside was as good as could be imagined, “considering the circumstances”. Movies were arranged, trips to local swimming pools, bowling alleys, etc. There was a rec room which included a piano; there was a “snack and fun” center with vending machines, a little shop, a small lounge, and other amenities. The school was well maintained and the teachers were quite sharp. I’m sure there was homework, but I don’t recall doing any on the ward.

Apparently Morningside would on occasion coordinate with outside physicians and/or medical training programs. One day I was asked to be interviewed by a visiting psychiatrist, to which I readily agreed. He asked the usual questions. I presume whatever data he obtained went into some institution’s records, but I can’t recall what clinic or hospital this particular doctor represented.

In addition to individual psychotherapy, there was group therapy for us (we?) teens. In his interview, Dr. Moss mentioned that this was fun but the whole teen group workshop/program eventually withered because aide staffing was insufficient to manage “difficult” teens. In addition to Dr. Moss, sometimes at group therapy, there was a woman therapist, a “Dr. Kelley” who would sit at the table with us and, like Dr. Moss, ask questions/lead discussions/prompt thinking.

I recognized a couple of other doctors around the place – by face, but I don’t think I knew their names. I think I do recall occasionally seeing Dr. Hutchens when he would be walking on the grounds.

The cafeteria was pretty amazing in terms of variety and abundance of food. Also in its attention to the exacting filling of special diet orders from the doctors. My tendency to weight-gain finally resulted in Dr. Moss directing diet orders to the kitchen. The outcome of this was taking all my meals in a special annex to the cafeteria, which was called “the Diet Kitchen”. This was efficient but unpleasant, first because the food was “dietary” and because it separated me from my peers who would of course be eating in the regular cafeteria.

Also there was a craft shop with saws, lathes, etc. Doctors would frequently assign patients a carpentry project, and that’s how I’m familiar with the shop. I remember a milk vending machine there that dispensed the most refreshing, ice-cold milk in small cartons.

The hospital also had a newsletter that probably came out once a month or maybe every two weeks. It kept us up on new and leaving patients, current patients (hobbies, aspirations), etc., had a cartoon, jokes, etc. I don’t recall the name of the newsletter.

The ward and its separate shower room and lavatory were kept spotlessly clean. I believe that the aides were hands-on responsible for these tasks.

Well, that’s about all I can remember – I hope it’s of interest and of use to you. Please feel free to ask any more questions.

By Marylou Elton

Dr. Henry Waldo Coe saw himself in the role of a father figure – a man who was firm but willing to give a patient a hand up or a second chance.  Morningside did not offer “treatment” but Coe was proud the hospital offered a safe place to eat, sleep, and possibly pass the time at some chores while recovering from whatever symptoms had induced fellow Alaskans to call for the individual’s commitment.  There were several times he petitioned the Interior Department to allow a patient to be reinstated if, after discharge, they were not able to make their way in the world or if the “symptoms” came back.

Many of the battles he waged with Congress and the Interior Department were to increase funding that would eventually impact his own bottom line (especially during World War I when the cost of goods rose dramatically).  But some of the skirmishes he entered into with the bureaucracy were strictly on behalf of the patients.

A true example of this was his pursuit of whiskey for his patients during Prohibition in the 1920’s.  In late January of 1920, Coe was notified that whiskey impounded due to Prohibition could be made available to his patients at Morningside if he would contact the U.S. Attorney in Oregon to apply to the courts for the necessary order.  Coe immediately gave a positive reply, noting “a few ounces of spirits for some of these old Alaskans at times is really a life-saving substance”.

The process dragged on for several months. Coe made contact with U.S. Assistant AG Austin Flagel, in Oregon, who at first said all that was needed was a request from Interior to release 50 gallons of whiskey to Coe as an agent of the department.  By the end of May, after numerous letters between all parties, Coe was disappointed to receive a letter from Flagel saying the deal was off since the state laws of Oregon prohibited the use of intoxicating liquor for any purposes.  Flagel suggested the Interior Department should ask for the liquor to be turned over directly to the department, rather than Coe.

Coe traveled in Europe that summer, but did not give up the quest.  In mid-October of 1920, the Acting Secretary of Interior, Alexander Vogelsang, provided the proper request to Lester Humphrey, Flagel’s boss, for the liquor to be turned over to the department to be disposed of how they might see fit.  Vogelsand also directed Coe to keep the liquor under lock and key and to include usage data in the monthly reports.

A week later, Flagel wrote back saying the request could not be complied with.   Since Flagel’s suggestion in May that Interior should ask for the liquor directly, the War Department had made proper application for the liquor and all they had available had been turned over to them.  Nothing was left.

Coe did not let it rest.  He agitated for action from the department with a letter to Acting Secretary Vogelsang pointing out “that Mr. Flagel has turned (about 1000 gallons) of liquor over to the War Department, and while he is willing to accept the receipt for the liquor from the War Department he is unwilling to do so for the Interior Department”.  “So far as I know”, he continued, “there is nothing in the Oregon law or any other law which manifests any disposition to discriminate between the different departments of the government.”

The Interior files include two more letters on the subject.   A December 11, 1920, letter, from Johnson Smith, the Federal Prohibition Director, authorizing Dr. Coe to accept and transfer liquor on behalf of the Interior Department; and a January 1, 1921, letter from Dr. Coe to Acting Secretary Vogelsang, notifying him that 200 gallons of whiskey had been turned over to him as an agent for Interior, with 185 gallons being kept under lock and key and an initial 15 gallons “released to the institution, was in the process of employment”.

You may view the letters actually copied from the files of the Interior Department here: 091520 Letter (9).  103120 Letter (9). 121120 Letter (10).

A few days before she left Morningside, Dr. Henry Coe, the president of the Sanitarium Company, informed the Department of the Interior of her release. In the letter, he described her as, “strong, vigorous, active, cleanly, and the most capable Eskimo woman I ever saw.” He goes on to say that she will be leaving with a baby named Mary McLoshkin (apparently born at Morningside?) who she adopted. You can read the discharge letter (27) here.

Coe notes that Katharine was in a photo with him and a Department of the Interior inspector (above, from the Library of Congress). He also wrote that she made fine baskets. I believe that this is a photo of one of her baskets. The caption under the 1916 photo (from the National Archives II) reads, “Made by an Alaska Native who was returned by Morningside to the island of Attu, 4000 miles distant.”

Dr. Coe ends the letter with, “I am going to write up her story, one of these days. It is stranger than fiction.” I wish he had. I’ve checked many sources but can find nothing on Katharine after her discharge from Morningside. Please leave a comment if you know more about her or her family.

Walter Clark (right), Alaska’s first territorial governor, went to Morningside and spent 4 days “investigating  conditions at the asylum”, where he conferred with Edward Dixon, the Department of the Interior inspector who also conducted the 1909 inspection.

The following documents detail the complaint and investigation.

Von Kowski Complaint: September 21, 9122 (0), Governor Clark Letter: December 11, 1911 (68), Dixon Inspection Report: December 29, 1911 (83)

I met with Mary, the archivist for Greenwood Hill Cemetery and have the following to report:

Burials of Morningside patients at Greenwood Hills Cemetery (GHC)  began in February of 1942 after GH opened a new section.  Morningside burials were mainly placed in Sections 7 and 8 which is a narrow strip of land between the G.A.R. Cemetery and the ravine.    It is currently unknown how many burials took place in those sections of GHC.  Sections 7 and 8 today are overgrown and/or wooded.  Section 8 may not contain many burials due to the fact that the ground is saturated by a nearby spring.  A recent attempt by a landscape company to clean up Section 8 ended when the equipment they were using became mired in the mud, even in late summer.  There are Morningside burials in other sections of GHC which, though recorded, have yet to be documented.

As far as can be determined, the last Morningside patient to be interred at Multnomah Park was Reinhard  Effinger, who died 5 Feb 1942.  His marker has been located and documented.  No Morningide patient who died after him can be located and documented at Multnomah Cemetery.

The first patient to be interred in Section 7 of GHC would have been Serge Samsonal.  All subsequent burials of Morningside patients took place at GHC.   Serge Samsonal, Archie Brown, James Ebena, Charlie Waters and Charles Neiman are listed on the database for Multnomah Park, but the locations given for their burials are either non-existent or were full prior to their deaths.  James Ebena is listed in the Multnomah Cemetery database as being interred in either F, 91 or F, 191.  However, F, 91 was filled by 1925 and according to cemetery records, Section F, 191, although platted for burials, was never used. The fact that F, 191 is part of an access a road underscores this fact.  It is my belief that graves for the above-named persons were arranged for and entered into the books of the cemetery but the place of interment was changed when the weather improved enough to deliver the bodies to GHC.

I also had an opportunity to spend time with the records at Riverview Cemetery.  Interments of Morningside patients at Riverview began with Max Schmidt who died in May of 1923 and ended with Elizabeth Lyon who died in May of 1926.  The section of the cemetery used for Morningside interments, Section 113,  was severely damaged in a mud slide in the 60’s as has been previously reported.  Several Morningside patients were interred in other Riverview locations that were not affected by the slide.  Inspection of those sites will occur soon weather permitting.

Attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference please find the Excel spreadsheet for the Morningside burials.  This spreadsheet is far from complete but it reflects the material found in the quarterly reports and info from death certificates obtained from the State Archives in Salem.   You will note that the earliest burials in the spreadsheet are not documented.  This is because the location of the early interments, Rose City Cemetery, has not been very helpful  in this discovery process.  I think this is mainly due to the fact that their burial records are not digitized and thus a large request for burial locations could take a large amount of staff time.

With some of the patients, we simply do not know what became of their remains.  If the mortuary that handled the remains is willing to assist in this discovery process then those mysteries may be solved.

I am indebted to the individuals who assist in this research:  In addition to Ellen, Sally and Robin, my local assistants are Mary at Greenwood Hills; Burt at Riverview and Dave, my partner-in-research at Multnomah Park.

The pictures below show how the hospital changed as it morphed into Morningside Hospital, going from private-pay patients to government contract supported care of Alaskans. These images are from an October, 1909 investigation report on the care of Alaskan patients at Crystal Springs Sanitarium. The report, written by Edward W. Dixon, is from US Department of the Interior records at the National Archives II in College Station, MD. You can read the full report and see additional photos here – 1909 Dixon Inspection Report (48).

The changes in the architecture are striking.

The Massachusetts Building (Crystal Springs Sanitarium) with the Nurses Cottage (to the left).

Morningside Asylum building, where Alaskan patients were housed.

I’m going to begin posting the US DOI reports on the blog on a regular basis. They are fascinating reading and provide insight into mental health care in the first half of the 20^th century. You can find the first report (all 67 pages) in the next blog post, on the 1909 Dixon Investigation.

If you download a document, please take a few minutes to share your thoughts by leaving a comment.

One name that appears over and over again is August Hofsted (Hofstad). He was born in 1884 in Vesteraalen, Norway to Peder Mortensen Hofstad and Hanna Pauline Albrigtsdtr. August emigrated from Bergen on November 1, 1901 when he was just 17 years old. It’s not clear how he got to Alaska, although it appears that he may have joined family members in Wrangell.

Less than 3 years after immigrating, August was at Morningside Hospital. He was committed from Juneau and admitted on August 10, 1907. He died there on March 3, 1949. I’m sure he was at Morningside longer than any other patient. The DOI records provide the following information:

His diagnosis in 1907 was “general epileptic, more or less demented: occasional outbreaks of frenzy. General health fair.” By 1924 he was described as, “Mentally enfeebled. Confused more or less. Stuporous condition. Vague.”

His condition continued to worsen. In 1933, his diagnosis was, “Dementia precox, catatonic form. Mute and inaccessible for many years. Tidy but idle. Attends to only elemental wants.” The records also indicate that there was no contact with family members.

Please contact me if you can provide more information about August’s life.

September 19, 2011: I ventured over to Riverview and Greenwood Hills today with the hope of finding at least one Morningside headstone.

Riverview:  The area where most of the Morningside burials occurred, between 1924 and 1929, underwent a massive landslide sometime in the 60′s.  It could have happened during the October 1962 Columbus Day storm when many large trees at Riverview went down.  The area on the map, section113 was dramatically altered as part of a large earth movement toward a gulley which undermined two roads and a large retaining wall.  Any remains that were in that area may have been either covered over by the slide or by the large amount of concrete, rock and dirt fill that went into the hillside to stabilize it after the slide.  If remains were exposed during the slide, I am sure the Riverview staff collected them and reinterred them in an area away from another potential landslide.

In Section 11, I attempted to locate the grave of one Herbert Hurdman, a Morningside patient that died in 1929.  I was unable to locate a headstone for him.

Greenwood Hills:  Recent hot weather has made the ground dry and thus very difficult to probe.  I was able to locate several flat concrete markers.  I don’t know if the markers I located are for Morningside patients.  It is my belief Morningside patients were interred at Greenwood Hills beginning mostly in 1942/43 until the hospital closed, but I do not as yet have access to the quarterly reports beyond 1931 and I have not been able to build a list of former patients who may be interred at Greenwood Hills.

The Volunteer Coordinator for Friends of Greenwood Hills Cemetery, Mary, is unavailable, due to her work schedule, to assist in this project until sometime in October.  I will report on our meeting once it occurs. 

Multnomah Park:  Attempted to locate grave of Ilook Dayton d: 1942 – records have him in either C129 or F129 – so far unsuccessful.

Attempts to locate graves of Archie Brown and James Ebena continue..  Searched in Section E in an area that was filled in during April and May of 1942 – nothing yet…(dammit!!)   Archie Brown is listed as being interred in F189, along with Charlie Waters, but there IS no F189 . . . !     My previous assertion that James Ebena was interred in F, 191 was in error.  My apologies.

During the annual conference, I believe there was mention of a Letter of Introduction that would allow me to interview mortuary and cemetery staff in pursuit of information of Morningside patients.  A letter of this nature would be very helpful in this work.

Rose City Cemetery – There is a large section that was used for indigent interments from 1904 until about 1940.  A check on some names I thought might be there came up empty.  Another trip or two to the State Archives may offer some death certificates listing Rose City as place of interment.

Oregon State Hospital – Unclaimed Cremains – The remains of Morningside patient Rasmus Olsen Gjerde who died in June of 1941 are being held at the hospital.

Cremations:  The possibility that the bodies of some Morningside patients were incinerated has been confirmed.  Lena May Dackins, who died in 1941,  was cremated at Riverview Abbey.  Her cremains were held there until 1960 at which time they were scattered in the woods behind the Abbey along with many other sets of unclaimed cremains.  It is unknown at this time why her remains were incinerated instead of being interred at either Multnomah Park or Greenwood Hills.  If Holman & Son has a file for her, it might give a reason.  I believe other patients’ remains may have been incinerated, but this is as yet, unconfirmed.

Autopsies:  I note on some death certificates that the remains of Morningside patients, especially after 1939, were subjected to autopsy.  I wonder if this was a requirement of the contract with Dept. of Interior or ???

I am still very much enjoying the challenge of searching for the final resting places of Morningside patients.  As former patients are located, they will be added to the virtual cemetery on find-a-grave.com.