On the Radio
Hi Friends. Sorry for the late notice but I will be on WXXI Rochester today (6 April) at 1:00 PM. (wxxinews.org) I will be talking about the suitcases and will be joined by the amazing Peg Ellsworth who worked at Willard for almost 40 years. The program will also be archived so you can listen later. Thanks!
Saint John Fisher College Suitcases Exhibit
Hi Everyone. Just a quick announcement about an exhibit of the suitcase photos at Saint John Fisher College in Rochester, NY. It has been amazing working with the folks there, especially Ryan Thibodeau and Cathy Sweet. The seminar on Saturday the 19th should be amazing and will be streamed on Zoom. I’ll post a link to the url soon.
Best and thanks, Jon
June 2021 Update
Hello Everyone,
Interesting things are still happening with the suitcases project. Tomorrow, 26th June 2021, Hit The Ground Running Dance Theatre Company will be doing a one time only screening of “Suitcases”. This is a dance piece coreographed by Michael Heatley and it is amazing. Michael and I have been working together for several years on this project. It was due to tour around the UK just after Covid hit and had to be postponed more or less indefinitely. Dance City Newcastle is the sponsoring venue and now that Covid is less of a problem, Michael is arranging for a UK tour with dates to be announced soon. Here is the link to purchase tickets for tomorrow’s showing. 7:30 PM UK Summer Time, 2:30 PM US Eastern Time, 11:30 AM Pacific Time. Peter Carroll has produced a beautiful introductory video, and after the performance, Michael and I will be taking questions via Zoom. Please help support Michael’s incredible work by watching. Thanks, and best wishes to you all.
A Tale of Two Cemeteries / New School Talk Announcement
Last week when Peter and I were driving back from Cleveland/Meadville we decided to take back roads up to the Thruway. I had especially wanted to go through North Warren, PA to see the Warren State Hospital. It is only about an hour from Meadville and is a really amazing facility.
It is still an active psychiatric hospital so I wasn’t allowed to photograph, but I was actually more interested in the cemetery.
I have written often about the issue of names in relation to my suitcases project. Especially how the State of New York prohibits the use of full names of the patients in respect to my work and in regards to the hospital cemeteries.
Here in Pennsylvania patient’s names are on the grave stones.
If you were to drive north about 60 miles into New York State and go to the cemetery at the Gowanda Psychiatric Center, you will find an entirely different story.
While there are a few graves marked with names, the vast majority only have numbers. This is mostly due to New York State’s primitive privacy laws, which supposedly protect families from the “shame” of having a relative who was institutionalized.
There are groups throughout New York that are working very hard to memorialize patients who are buried in hospital cemeteries. There is a lovely Helen Keller quote on the memorial stone above, and this cemetery is very well maintained.
It just seems so wrong to me that New York State continues to stigmatize folks who were patients at state hospitals by basically denying anyone (including families) the knowledge that they existed. Here is a link to another post I did that gives a bit more background on the issue of names. Just don’t try to contact John B. Allen at NYS OMH. He no longer works there.
Thanks for following. I’ll be presenting the suitcases project at the New School on Thursday the 12th of September at 6:00 PM. Here is a link to the announcement, but as of today, the time listed is off. I start speaking at 6:00 and it ends at 8:00. I really hope to see some of you there. It will be interesting.
California
I’m sitting at the outside bar at the Long Beach Airport drinking a beer and waiting for my flight back home.
It has been a pretty quick but lovely trip.
The above photos are from a nice trip to Olvera Street that we took to eat some great Mexican food and walk around a bit. Frida Kahlo is everywhere!
Cris and I always try to go to Huntington Beach. This day was cool, grey, and rainy. Lovely.
I really like wandering on and under the pier.
It wasn’t very crowded due to the weather.
A Ruby’s chocolate shake always hits the spot.
I don’t remember Zoltar from previous years. He will tell your fortune though.
I am kind of attracted to photographing weird stuff.
I wonder how many times the Life Ring has been used.
The nearest In n Out is about a 30 minute walk from Lynne’s house. So much to see along the way!
My brother-in-law John knows so much about LA and it is amazing to spend a day with him cruising around. This is the Frank Lloyd Wright house in Brentwood. It is referred to as the Sturges House but is most famous for the fact that Jack Larson the actor who played Jimmy Olsen on the Superman TV show, lived here for many years. It was to be auctioned a few years ago, but didn’t sell. It is now abandoned and in rough shape. Shocking.
It is in a very quaint and beautiful neighborhood.
Check out this deck from below. It is nearly the size of the house which is only 1400 square feet. I am always saddened and amazed that such an important house can sit abandoned and empty. Especially in Brentwood!
John grew up in Palos Verdes, which is to me the most amazing community in the LA area. It was nice to go there for a coffee before driving back to Tustin. This fountain is in the center of the little commercial area.
Thanks for following!
Trip to Central New York
This past Wednesday my pal Craig Williams hired me to take some photographs of the old Lock 52 in Port Byron, NY. It is now an historic site with a great visitor center (open seasonally).
The entrance to the site is off the New York State Thruway and is really interesting and well worth a stop if you are driving East.
These limestone blocks are enormous.
Craig had me photographing some views to match historic photographs of the lock when it was still in use. We worked for a bit before lunch which was at a really great diner in Port Byron. I sat facing this flag, which I had seen before but never understood.
Here is the text from the card above the stars. “This is a police flag. Each strip on the emblem represents certain respective figures. The blue center line represents law enforcement, the top black stripes represents the public, the bottom black stripes represents the criminals.” I hesitate to be negative here, but as someone who is really interested in design as a way of conveying ideas, this seems completely wacky to me. / Great lunch though, fine diner with nice people.
I am really digging this fish display on the wall above our table. Award winning!
At lunch Craig mentioned that Brigham Young lived in Port Byron before heading west and that his house was still standing but in rough shape. Some work was started on a restoration, but due to poor health of the two contractors, it was stopped.
The plaque on the door reads “This wood frame house built by James Pine circa 1818 and later occupied by Brigham Young and family. Young’s first child a girl named Elizabeth, born here September 1825.” Given the Mormon’s interest in history and genealogy, I was shocked to see this property is such a state of neglect and apparent disinterest by the church.
A restored tavern is on part of the historic canal site. These bottles sit atop the bar, which is partly original. It seems rye whiskey was seriously popular in the 19th century. / After Port Byron I drove down to Ithaca to spend the night with my friends Brad and Tania.
Their house is filled with great things including tons of Fiestaware.
A trip to Ithaca is never complete without a visit to the Lincoln Street Diner.
Peter had just received the latest OSMO camera and we got the chance to goof around with it.
Very cool.
Lookin’ good Sport!
Thanks for following. Happy Holidays.
Victory Players / Whippy Dip / Fenway
I had fun last week photographing a new musical ensemble that is sponsored by the Massachusetts International Festival of the Arts. The Victory Players are (from left to right) Han Chen, Giovanni Perez, Elly Toyoda, Robert Rocheteau, Eric Schultz, YuMi Bae, and Conductor Tian Ng.
The top photograph was made at the Victory Theatre in Holyoke, which is about to be restored to its former glory, but currently has an abandoned feel to it. The photo with the piano was shot on the Mount Holyoke College campus and in spite of looking totally staged, was really quite spontaneous. Robert Rocheteau was taking selfies and it just sort of fell together for me.
I also did individual shots of each of the musicians. There is something about this photograph of Robert Rocheteau that really grabs me. He has fabulous hair.
On Friday night I went to a performance of the ensemble in Holyoke and stopped on the way home at Cindy’s in Granby for an ice cream. I made it just before closing. My friend Alex always referred to every summer roadside stand as a “Whippy Dip”, and this one is a classic.
To end the week, my friend Lisa and I went to a Red Sox / White Sox game on Saturday. She had gotten amazing seats for us and the weather was perfect for a 4:05 start. I took this from our seats just after a J.D. Martinez home run, and I think he was still rounding the bases as I fired the shutter. The (Red) Sox won 4-2.
Willard Suitcases / Madeline C / UTMB
I apologize for the long gap in posting about the suitcases. It has been an incredibly busy time. I have been devoting most of my mental energy getting prepared for a series of talks at the University of Texas Medical Branch that are scheduled for next week. This is a huge honor for me, as I will be a visiting Osler scholar. When I was in Galveston in 2016 presenting to NAMI Gulfcoast I was approached by Dr. Dwight Wolf about returning to speak at UT to the Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences department. Cristine and I fly out on Sunday (weather dependent), and there are events scheduled for the whole week.
Here is a rundown.
Monday the 15th – I’ll be speaking about the suitcases and my other work at the Galveston Arts Center from 6-8 pm.
Tuesday the 16th – Osler Club Grand Rounds, Temple B’nai Israel, 3008 Avenue O, Galveston. I believe this is open to the public but reservations are required.
Earlier that day I will present the project to residents at UTMB. This is not open to the public.
Wednesday the 17th – IMH Colloquium at UTMB during the lunch hour. Jennie Sealy Hospital. This might be open to the public, I’m not sure.
That evening I’ll be speaking at the Galveston Historical Foundation about the suitcases and my other documentary institutional work. 6-7 pm at Menard Hall, 3302 Avenue O, Galveston.
Thursday the 18th – There is an open mic event with Dr. Steve Fisher with a display of photographs of both of our work. Dr. Fisher has been photographing the collection of medical specimens at UTMB. Should be interesting. 3rd Floor Old Red. I’ve been told it is an amazing building.
That’s it for now. Thanks for following.
Wilson, NC
We stopped for gas at the northernmost Wilson, NC exit. I wonder what this interesting abandoned building once was.
Anna Lucille Earley, Willard Nurse
I got a call a few weeks ago from Craig Williams telling me that a trunk had been discovered in the attic of the Covert Funeral Home in Ovid, NY that belonged to a woman who was a nurse at Willard in the early part of the 20th Century.
At that time Craig wasn’t too sure of many of the details but thought I might be interested if anything came of it.
Craig has been working at the Romulus Historical Society with Peggy Ellsworth who worked at Willard and has been a great friend to the suitcases project. Peg has been the go-to person for all things Willard since the institution closed in 1995.
Last Friday Paul McPherson who is the current director of the funeral home brought the trunk to the historical society for Craig and Peg to have a look. They were really enthused and Craig called to see if I could take a few photos as he unpacked the items and started to conserve and catalogue the collection.
The contents of the trunk are in great shape, and it is amazing to see how well preserved the items are.
I love seeing these old commercial products in their early packaging.
There were several mounted photographs in the trunk, as well as this envelope which contain a large number of photographic negatives.
Craig scanned a few and the quality is amazing.
The Willard baseball team was almost certainly made up of staff, and not patients. But one has to wonder if any of the patients ever made it onto the diamond.
I think this scan was from a print. In addition to having worked at Willard as a nurse, she was a graduate of the institution’s school of nursing. Craig and Peg are looking at the images to try to figure out which one in the photos is Anna. None are identified on the back, so it might be quite a job.
The above photo is especially exciting, as the building in the background is the sheltered workshop where the suitcases were stored in the attic and were rediscovered in 1995. The collection of cases dates from 1910 to 1965 and Anna was at Willard starting in the late teens, so it is very likely that she worked with some of the owners.
As we found in many of the suitcases there is a broad range of items in Anna’s trunk; she had saved things that can tell a fairly complete story of her life, and more broadly, what life at Willard was like in the 1920s.
This box contains a lot of personal correspondence, including some very interesting postcards.
It took a minute to figure out this one.
It became clear once we saw the “soldier’s mail” postmark. Let’s hope H. C. Norris made it through the war safely.
As a nurse at Willard, she would have lived on the grounds and received her mail there.
This inscription is especially touching and a bit mysterious.
Craig and I didn’t have much time to go through the notebooks, but this is a huge trove of original source material that will be interesting to study once everything is catalogued.
Perhaps the most intriguing is this small diary from 1918 which contains day to day accounts of Anna’s life at Willard. To the left is a playbill for “Farmer’s Daughter” which played at Hadley Hall on the Willard grounds.
Anna’s Student’s Note Book is pretty interesting.
Her hand writing is very readable. I didn’t see any crossed out sections as I flipped through the pages.
This small brooch is pretty.
The trunk itself is is great shape.
Anna is buried in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Ovid. Craig took this photo of her gravestone.
The Romulus Historical Society will be putting an exhibit together of the trunk and contents sometime soon. The museum is located in the town of Willard and is only open until the end of September. It is not clear if anything will happen before then, but Peggy is eager for the collection to see the light of day. I’ll update here when I know details. There is obviously a ton of work to be done researching Anna’s life, but this is really an amazing find.
Special thanks go to Paul McPherson for contacting the historical society with this incredible look into the life of Anna. A find like this really brings history alive. It will be interesting to see what develops once everything is conserved and catalogued. And as always thanks to Peggy Ellsworth for her tireless work in remembering the patients and staff at Willard, and to Craig Williams for keeping me in the loop.
Jon Crispin's Notebook 
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