The director of Morningside sent a letter to the Secretary of the Interior each time a patient died. On March 1, 1937, Wayne Coe sent the following letter to Secretary of the Interior about Joe Falardeau, whose grave is included in the Virtual Cemetary:

Sir:

Permit us to inform you herewith that our patient, Joe Falardeau No. 1269 who was admitted into our hospital, June 14, 1929 from Cordova died February 26th, 1937. The cause of death was Cerebral Thrombosis. The body was turned over to Holman & Lutz of this city for burial in Multnomah Cemetery.

Respectfully yours,

Wayne W. Coe

The patient database is still our top priority. We expect the receive funding (through a partnership of the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority and Access Alaska) before the end of the summer

“My mother worked as a chef/cook at Morningside Hospital from the early 1950′s until 1965. I also worked there myself on a couple of occasions.  As a high school summer job,  I worked in the kitchen for a couple of months.

Beginning in 1962,  I worked as a psychiatric aide–working nights while I finished college.  I remember well–though maybe not always by name–many of the patients on the ward I worked.  This was a ward mainly for men with acute psychosis.  Most were in treatment focused on returning them home, so there was always a turnover, with some patients staying only a month or so.   Of course there were some patients so chronically ill or so developmentally disabled they were essentially permanent residents.

It was a fascinating place to work and an interesting life experience.  The history of the place along with stories of the patients and staff  could take its place right alongside “One Flew Over the Cukcoo’s Nest”. During my time at Morningside,  I experienced some mental health milestones,  not all of them necessarily positive.  For example the use of psychiartic drugs, and their overuse.   Only after a patient’s death did they finally discontinue the use of insulin shock therapy.  On the other hand–and not just owing to heavy doses of thorozine–there were no locked wards and the use of restraints was absolutely forbidden.

The hospital had its own farm and a prize dairy herd, so they raised much of the food for both patients and employees many of whom lived in apartments on the premesis.”

In a second email Charles wrote, “I’m happy to participate in any way I can to make sure the story of Morningside hospital gets told. Though the hospital grounds was a huge piece of land on the edge of the city and on a main street, few people in Portland were even  aware of its existance.  For one thing, it didn’t look like a hospital.   It was comprised mostly of wood frame buildings pretty much  shielded from view  by a acre or so of park-like trees and lawns at its Stark Street entrance.  When seen from 92nd, avenue, it was for all appearances just a nicely tended truck farm..

I was in my early twenties when I worked there last and was probably the youngest psychiatric aide at the time.  Most of the other employees must be getting well up in years.  The same is true for the patients–at least the ones I knew.  There were children and younger adolescents on other wards, but I had little contact with them.  I only know of one other person–an old college friend who worked there for a few months–who has personal knowledge of the place.”

Some of the other “Top 50″ hospital blogs included:

• “Beyond Vermont State Hospital (VSH) Blog” in Vermont
• “Porter Adventist Hospital” in Colorado
• “Save Charity Hospital” in New Orleans, Louisiana
• “Knoxville Hospital and Clinics Blog” in Iowa
• “Lexington Medical Center” in South Carolina
• “OSF St. Joseph Medical Center: This is Health Care” in Bloomington, Illinois
• “Sutter Medical Center Castro Valley” in California
• “Virginia Hospital Center” in Arlington, Virginia
• “Children’s Hospital and Health System” in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Gold was discovered in Nome in 1898. The city was incorporated in 1901 and grew to an estimated 20,000 over the next 10 years, making it the most populous city in the Alaska Territory.  Only a few of the thousands of miners who came to Nome to seek their fortunes succeeded. Today Nome has fewer than 4,000 residents and serves as the regional service center for the Seward Peninsula.

Niesje Steinkruger was in Nome earlier this month and dug deeper into the court records. There are six probate docket books there and she went through them all. Meg Greene went through two of the docket books on an earlier trip to Nome.  Niesje copied the names, court case numbers and the dates each case began. Many of the defendants went to Morningside, some had their charges dismissed, and some were found not guilty.  In Nome they were charged with being “insane and at large”. She found 182 cases between 1901 and statehood.

Nome Docket Page 1899

The earliest records had Guardianships and Insane in the title.  The earliest record was from June 22, 1901, and the defendent was committed to the State Asylum at Steilacoom, Washington. Between 1901 and 1923 the court documents appear to have been recorded, like deeds.While in Nome, Niesje recruited a volunteer, Debbie Redburn, who offered to copy pages Niesje marked in the docket books. Niesje noted that this is a big job.  The books are approximately 24 inches by 14 inches, so Debbie will have to manhandle them, and somehow reduce the size of the pages to make copies.
The images on this page are from the Photo Archives of the Alaska State Library.

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