tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3107217787612960844.post845131628983770277..comments2024-03-27T16:59:25.952+01:00Comments on Greetings from the Past: Pandora's Box Re-Opened - Sepia Saturday 641Monica T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08689139847780132966noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3107217787612960844.post-31243692622694669312022-10-03T18:38:49.259+02:002022-10-03T18:38:49.259+02:00Thanks Molly. Yes, comparing our own lives to thos...Thanks Molly. Yes, comparing our own lives to those of our ancestors does tend to give "food for thought"...Monica T.https://www.blogger.com/profile/08689139847780132966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3107217787612960844.post-66630145893696673442022-10-03T18:08:57.785+02:002022-10-03T18:08:57.785+02:00A heart-wrenching story and amazing that you were ...A heart-wrenching story and amazing that you were able to find family notes and do your own background research to draw it out. Today, with the help of medication, Gerda and her brother would likely have led productive lives outside of an institutional setting. Stories like theirs make us appreciate the everyday importance of science and the development of treatments and vaccines that are available to us today.Molly's Canopyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01571003887840906315noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3107217787612960844.post-36323994718903832872022-10-03T13:08:03.215+02:002022-10-03T13:08:03.215+02:00Kristin, I can only guess that a lot of the patien...Kristin, I can only guess that a lot of the patients that died there may not have had relatives left who would visit the grave anyway. I have a letter from the hospital showing that my grandfather had written to enquire about having a proper headstone put up, three years after the death of his mother, though. He got the reply that it could be arranged, at a cost. I also have a faded xerox copy of a photo that proves it was done, and that later, my great-grandmother's brother's name was also added to that stone. <br />I was not really surprised I did not find it in 2015, because a grave here (in an ordinary churchyard) needs someone to be responsible for it - and either look after it oneself or pay to have that done. If such a contract is not renewed, and the grave is left neglected, the stone gets removed after a certain time. And when going through things after my own father's death, I did not find any papers concerning that grave other than that old xerox copy of a photo.Monica T.https://www.blogger.com/profile/08689139847780132966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3107217787612960844.post-3924142483629617642022-10-03T12:24:28.675+02:002022-10-03T12:24:28.675+02:00Good point, La N. Seeing people change, behave abn...Good point, La N. Seeing people change, behave abnormally and losing the ability to communicate in a ratiional way is always a rather frightening experience, though. My own father, for example, suffered from (vascular) dementia during his last years in life - and eventually had to move to a nursing home as well. Knowing that physical changes in the brain are behind it only helps "so far" - it doesn't always make it easier to deal with. Monica T.https://www.blogger.com/profile/08689139847780132966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3107217787612960844.post-90481565014020022292022-10-03T12:05:53.533+02:002022-10-03T12:05:53.533+02:00That's interesting, Mike. Yes, back then for a...That's interesting, Mike. Yes, back then for a while, big institutions obviously seemed like the best solution for these people. Perhaps it even was, if their families and neighbours weren't able to cope, and there were no helpful medicines yet available either. It can't have been easy for the staff working at these hosptials either, though! Monica T.https://www.blogger.com/profile/08689139847780132966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3107217787612960844.post-41875069614432689462022-10-03T11:52:27.444+02:002022-10-03T11:52:27.444+02:00Thanks Barbara. I did find it interesting to visit...Thanks Barbara. I did find it interesting to visit the actual place, after having read about it - even if it's only the buildings that remain now. Monica T.https://www.blogger.com/profile/08689139847780132966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3107217787612960844.post-13461802544512653102022-10-03T11:49:10.318+02:002022-10-03T11:49:10.318+02:00Thanks Liz. I think most of us still have difficul...Thanks Liz. I think most of us still have difficulties handling mental health issues. One reason being the inpredictability usually involved, and no knowing how to help. And in family context, also a fear of heredity.Monica T.https://www.blogger.com/profile/08689139847780132966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3107217787612960844.post-47452598552196233502022-10-02T23:35:16.439+02:002022-10-02T23:35:16.439+02:00I have a box with letters, postcards and legal pap...I have a box with letters, postcards and legal papers in in from my grandparents but it isn't so nice. It's just a plain green metal box. I wonder why they didn't identify the graves of the patients when they died and I'm sorry you couldn't find your great grandmother's grave. Kristinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06413795611563683135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3107217787612960844.post-33416460334656311532022-10-02T19:38:32.152+02:002022-10-02T19:38:32.152+02:00It is rather sad to think how much more we know in...It is rather sad to think how much more we know in this day & age about mental illness - at how much easier it is to diagnose and how many can be helped easily with the right medication. It's 'funny'. If something goes wrong with our body - there's some lacking enzyme or chemical imbalance, it can usually be taken care of with a prescription to some medication more often than not and no one thinks a thing about it. But let that occur with the brain and suddenly it's looked upon as something to be embarrassed or secretive about - even now, but so much more so in the past. La Nightingailhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04769079547153094005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3107217787612960844.post-36974755835128384322022-10-02T19:10:22.584+02:002022-10-02T19:10:22.584+02:00Thank you, Monica, for sharing this troubling stor...Thank you, Monica, for sharing this troubling story since in your last post I had wondered about the background for Gustaf's mother's and uncle's mental illness. So many maladies in earlier times were misdiagnosed or just misunderstood that many people were placed in asylums because there were no treatments for difficult behavior conditions. <br /><br />As a young man during the depression my grandfather found work as an attendant at St. Elizabeth's asylum for the insane in Washington DC. I don't think he liked it and soon left for a better job on the railroads. But for years afterward he would often answer his phone by saying, "St. Elizabeth's hospital" to jokingly surprise callers. Though he never told me anything about it, I suspect it was very distressing work that went against his natural compassionate temperament. <br /><br />Recently I acquired a photo of a young musician who was a member of the famous U.S. Marine Band in Washington. In my research I discovered that in 1910, while still in military service, he was committed to St. Elizabeth's asylum at age 37. His name was listed in the census that year on a page with 50 "patients". But more disturbing was learning there were 68 pages just like this, recording over 3,400 people who were incarcerated at this huge institution. The hospital was then considered one of the best in America and cared for many veterans too. But the history of the "treatments" used is horrific to read. The man died in 1912 but unfortunately the records for the asylum remain sealed except for family descendants so I may never learn anything about his condition. One of my other stories had a similar ending for a institutionalized person whose records also were sealed by the state. You are very fortunate to have Gustaf's notes about his mother. Many families have secrets like this that sadly will forever remain in the dark. Mike Brubakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13065245846262417519noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3107217787612960844.post-84783323658473616572022-10-01T15:22:12.270+02:002022-10-01T15:22:12.270+02:00What an interesting post. Finding details of your ...What an interesting post. Finding details of your great grandmother's life through documents by your grandfather, and then visiting the hospital buildings and grounds...all excellent efforts to understand what her life had been like. Thanks for the two sets of records.Barbara Rogershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08351113054045427775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3107217787612960844.post-73844069600618093962022-10-01T14:05:42.013+02:002022-10-01T14:05:42.013+02:00How interesting your post is. And how sad that ill...How interesting your post is. And how sad that illnesses such as you describe were not spoken of in the family - or in any family of the time. So many of those poor patients could have been helped in this modern day instead of locked away. And yet so many people are still suffering mental conditions even in this modern day and have to cope with insufficient support in our modern world.Liz Needlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10346380755511150998noreply@blogger.com