During our August trip to the National Archives II, we found photos taken as part of a May 1915 investigation into the accusations by the Department of the Interior.  They offer a glimpse of the conditions at Morningside with images of  patients, facilities and treatment methods.

All of these photos are from Record Group 126, Records of the Office of the Territories, National Archives II, College Park, MD.

Notes attached to the photo above said, “This picture is intended to show the types of restraint used during the inspection. The man at the radiator is in wristlets but they do not show in the picture. He is in the midst of putting a cigarette to his lips. The man standing at the foot of the bed is in a muff of leather. He is unable to take hold of other patients or to scratch them or tear his clothing.”

The first photo below is women patients doing needle work and making baskets in front of the womens cottage. The second photo includes (from left) Morningside Hospital founder Dr. Henry Waldo Coe, and Alaska Native woman patient, and an inspector from the US Department of the Interior.

Over the past two weeks in Portland we’ve unearthed quite a bit more backdrop on the search for the burial locations of Morningisde patients. Working closely with Robin Renfroe and her sister Peggy, from Salem, we visited the State of Oregon Archives to search for death certificates for over 150 people. Robin had done research on the Wickersham Paper, US Census reports and Morningside Admittance lists to unearth as many Alaska Native people (or known family names) as possible.

OR Archives, Salem

We have now searched all 121 names on the Wickersham list (pre 1916) as well as around 50 more Alaska Native people reported from 1920 to 1957. It is not complete but an important start.  Not all of them had a death certificate, but most did. The certificates are telling, from full names, to cause of death, burial location and family members if known. Those lines were almost always empty…. It was very sad to see how many were listed with epilepsy as cause of death.

Robin

Peggy and Sally

Meg recently returned from a trip to Nome, where she spent a few hours at the Nome Courthouse:

“I was in Nome doing some work the first three days of this week and had a couple of hours at the end.  I found the federal Probate Docket book from the Cape Nome Precinct at the Nome courthouse.  I had earlier been told that Nome did not have them.  There are 5 volumes running from 1918 to statehood.  There may be an earlier volume, but I could not find it (what I saw starts with volume “2.”)

Central Washington University, James E. Brooks Library, Digital Archives

Here is some preliminary data: between 1918 and 1929 there were only 5 sanity proceedings, one of which was a finding of not insane (but he lost about 2 months later and headed to Morningside). Everyone who was found insane was transported to Morningside.

Things picked up markedly in 1930-1936, perhaps because there was a doctor in Nome.  It is apparent that all of the actions were started by a non-medical person.  The Commissioner then appointed a doctor to examine the person accused.  During most of this period, the doctor’s name was Swartz. There were 32 sanity proceedings filed. There were two findings of someone being sane, and the US Attorney dismissed another 7 cases before trial.  Some of the reasons for dismissal were great, “condition brought on by alcohol” and “he is an old man who has been placed in the Pioneer Home in Sitka” being my favorites.

My most exciting find was a 1954 letter to the Governor copied to the Nome clerk of court and pasted in the docket book.  This letter is just like those we have seen in the Juneau files. It gives me hope that we will see more in the later volumes.  The letter was about the death of Antonio Sliscovich, Morningside patient number 1507.  He was judged insane in Nome in June 1933 and was admitted  to Morningside on July 3, 1933.  He died May 27, 1954; the letter was dated the next day.  The body was turned over to Miller and Tracey Funeral Directors for burial at Greenwood Hills.  He died of congestive heart failure and a “report of postmortem examination” was referenced.  He had a niece (in California?) who was notified.  I could not copy the letter because it was quite firmly attached in the Docket Book.  I did not have my camera with me.  Mr. Sliscovich’s court record is #450 in volume 3.

Niesje and I will try to persuade the Nome folks to send us the records here in Fairbanks on our promise to return them. Failing that, we will try to get the rest of the information reviewed next time one of us is in Nome.”

These two photos, which are from the Oregon Historical Society, were not dated but appear to be from the 1920s.

The caption on the photo above is an account of the Christmas Festivities at Morningside from a Portland newspaper. “Morningside Hospital provided three Christmas trees for the inmates. Natives helped to provide the entertainment which was held in the Assembly room of the new Parole House. Gifts were provided for all the patients in the institution by Dr. Coe, the Chief Officer. After the exercises in the main hall the women retired to their own buildings where trees awaited them, while the men had their remembrances in the assembly room.”

The founder of Morningside Hospital, Dr. Henry Waldo Coe, is standing to the right of the Christmas tree.

The photo above appears to be from the early to mid-1920s. Children were first admitted to Morningside at the end of 1922 or early 1923.

The “Program of Entertainment” for the 1922 Christmas Party included:

• Overture by the Orchestra
• Song by Mrs. Larsen, Mr. Thomas, Mr. Carter
• Address by Mr. Henry Ray
• Jig and Monologue by Mr. Nathan Swarthout
• Vocal Solo by Mr. Carter, Supported by the Orchestra
• A Response by Mr. Wayne W. Coe, Speaking for the Management
• A Waltz – Men Employees Dancing with Women Patients and Men Patients Dancing with Women Patients
• A March by the Orchestra while participants and other file out
• Distribution of Presents to Men at Main Building
• Distribution of Presents to Women Patients and Employees at the Women’s Cottage
• Mr. Earl Dowd Acting as Santa Claus

The menu for the Christmas Dinner was:

• Oyster Stew
• Celery and Olives
• Roast Turkey and Dressing
• Mashed Potatoes
• Baked Sweet Potatoes
• Hot Rolls
• Cranberry Jelly
• Mince Pie – Fruit cake
• Coffee, Tea, Milk
• Oranges, Apples, Nuts and Candy

Last weekend, she emailed with good news:

“I will be heading to Portland on Nov 20.  I hope I have found James Ebana’s grave.  I have talked to the cemetery staff and found their website that has a map and searchable database.  So I have found the location of the grave.  I have asked their staff to pull any records related to this and to call me.  Will see what happens.

Here is the website for 14 Oregon Pioneer Cemeteries and where I found the location of James Ebana (Ebeno) at Multnomah Pioneer Cemetery.  You may be able to search here for names.  May also need to use alternative spellings.”

Good luck, Robin! And thanks for the valuable research tool.

Record Group 126, Records of the Office of the Territories, National Archives II, College Park, MD

Occasionally there are glimpses of who was at Morningside. Included in the Department of the Interior files from the National Archives was a tabulation of admissions between 1912 and 1942. There was a total of 1,601 admissions over the 30 years, an average of 53 admissions per year. The percentage of admissions who were female increased from 10.1% during the first 5 years (1912-1917) to 26.4% for the years 1938 to 1942. The report noted:

“Out of the 81 females now in the hospital, there are 13 who have been in the hospital more than 15 years. There are 20 of them who are epileptics or mentally deficient and there are 20 who are over the age of sixty at the time. The epileptics, mentally deficient and older women, that is 40 out of the 81 require more or less special attention and many are infirmary cases.”

The family lore about my uncle said he was taken from a small village on the Yukon River in his childhood because he was acting funny. Actually, my aunt Minnie told me he was hit over the head with a frying pan and was never the same again.  Where did he go, I always wondered?

As I have gotten older, I have begun to appreciate the value of history.  After spending many enjoyable years involved with projects that celebrated the history of Statehood in Alaska, I volunteered to lead a project on gathering the oral histories and documents that pertained to Alaska’s developing mental health services.

The journey of discovery has been fascinating, but I wasn’t prepared for the deep and powerful impact the project would have on me.  I didn’t anticipate we would learn about the people.

Our first discovery was a hand-written list of names of patients at Morningside from the 1920 U.S. Census and, shortly after that, a list of patients prepared for Delegate James Wickersham who, as far as I can see, was a tireless mental health advocate throughout his career.

Then the 1955 list.  I began to recognize family names. One day at a meeting, while on break, I called a friend over to my laptop and pulled up the list, pointed my finger at a name and said “this guy has your last name—ever hear of him?”   What was I thinking!  The reaction of my colleague was immediate and profound.  “That is my brother—and we have been looking for him for decades, said my friend tears streaming down his face.  Later, recovered and thoughtful, my friend asked two questions- when did he die and where is he buried? He and his wife plan to make a trip to Portland to the cemetery where he might find his little brother’s grave.

When Ellen and I went to the National Archives, we had a small list of names we had committed, no matter what, to look for.  On the first day, we found my friend’s brother’s information – he was admitted as a four year old child and died when he was nine.  The notes in the file are brief and found among a list of other names. These I copied and brought to my friend back in Alaska.

My uncle was nowhere to be found – never on any list or in any file as we searched. Day three – 10 hours into our day we are hurrying through files – we are running out of time. We need to go home tomorrow.   I pull a dusty file of trust accounts and there is the name of my uncle. Apparently, the government, actually Morningside Hospital, was holding $.02 or 2 cents for my uncle in an account.  Thanks god for this little detail – pennies from heaven.

I began to understand the reaction of my friend as I viewed the actual evidence on the page. I didn’t know my uncle but I met him once. He was sent to Morningside when we was a young child and then spent the rest of his life moving from one institution to another until he was in his fifties and he was discharged to Fairbanks.  I was a girl in high school when he returned and while he didn’t have what we call life skills, he was a kind and gentle soul. He wrote me a beautiful letter, with immaculate handwriting and spelling.  Shortly after that he died.

Later in life when I was involved in developmental disabilities policy, I often wondered about my uncle. Clearly by today’s standards, he would have a mild slowness and would be integrated into a mainstream classroom. He even may have been a successful student with the right early supports. We will never know.

For me now and for Ellen, a good part of this effort is to see what we can do to provide information to families who are searching for loved ones.  We will do our best to honor these folks and give families answers or the tools to get answers to these unsolved and unresolved questions.

If you have comments, we would love to hear from you.

“Adrnitted November 7,1925. Anchorage. A native child of four years. Speaks no English. Physical examination affords no information aside from partial deafness. Physical condition good,”

The caption on the first photo below is, ” Orphans of the Far North – Alaska defectives happily housed in the mild climate at Morningside.”

Record Group 126, Records of the Office of the Territories, National Archives II, College Park, MD

Record Group 126, Records of the Office of the Territories, National Archives II, College Park, MD

Record Group 126, Records of the Office of the Territories, National Archives II, College Park, MD

]]> http://www.morningsidehospital.com/2009/09/patient-photos-children-1923/feed/ 0 http://www.morningsidehospital.com/2009/09/223/ http://www.morningsidehospital.com/2009/09/223/#comments Wed, 02 Sep 2009 23:50:52 +0000 Ellen http://www.morningsidehospital.com/?p=223 It was never clear to me when Morningside Hospital started admitting children. The patient lists during the early years seemed to be populated by miners, gamblers and other who came North to seek their fortunes. By the time Alaska assumed responsibility for providing mental health services to its citizens in 1956, a significant percentage of patients at Morningside were children with developmental disabilities. Some admitted soon after birth.

Record Group 126, Records of the Office of the Territories, National Archives II, College Park, MD

The National Archives II provided the following information from the Department of the Interior files:

On November 9, 1922, Scott C. Bone, the Governor of Alaska, sent a telegram to the Secretary of the Interior asking, “Can mentally defective children of Alaska be committed to Morningside under existing contract  stop  Institution is now equipped to handle such cases.”

The next day, Assistant Secretary of the Interior F. M. Goodwin responded, “Replying your telegram November ninth. Unless mentally defective children of Alaska are legally adjudged to be insane they cannot be cared for at Morningside Hospital under the contract with Sanitarium Company.”

The decision to commit children to Morningside in the same way adults were handled apparently came swiftly. Children were taken before a jury of six men and adjudicated “insane”. The photo above is from 1923.