Willard Suitcases / Chapin House / NAMI Waco
I took this photo in the early 1980s at the very beginning of my connection with Willard. It is still one of my favorites from the “Silent Voices” project.
Here are a few shots from my recent uploads to the suitcases site.
I’m not exactly sure what the white fabric object is in Kenneth Q’s case, but it is interesting. The orange toothbursh is kind of nice.
Elizabeth C’s dress is so beautiful.
The cotton fabric is soft and wonderful.
There are 3 different places on the above photograph where I had to obscure Amelia’s surname, and it still makes me sad every time I have to do so. The Office of Mental Health pr guy told me a few years ago that it was necessary due to the stigma of mental illness. It is precisely that attitude that prolongs that stigma; the Willard patients deserve to be recognized as being more than just patients at a New York State asylum.
On Wednesday, I fly to Texas to present the suitcases project at a dinner sponsored by NAMI Waco. Here is a link to the event. If you are in the area, it would be great to see you and make a connection.
Thanks for following.
Willard Suitcases / John R
John R had quite a collection of interesting objects in his cases. He certainly was interested in the wild west.
The green shirt has a classic western look and the tie with the scantily clad woman is pretty cool. One wonders if he ever wore it, and if so, where. The object in the middle of the photo is a jock strap. I remember them from gym class when I was a kid, but you don’t see them around much anymore.
Back in the day, men sometimes wore garters with their socks. This color gray is beautiful.
I am thinking that these leather straps went with some sort of jodhpur trousers, but I suppose they could have also been worn around the wrists. Anyone out there have an idea about this?
Click here to see all of John’s cases. Don’t forget to click on the “view all” tab, as there are more than 25 images in the gallery. I am really proud of this one.
Robert LeRoy Crispin, Born 19 April 1917
That’s my father in the middle. He was born in Central City, Colorado one hundred years ago today. He died on 14 August 2007. / I think I might have posted this photograph some time ago, but it is an image that is on the wall in my studio and I am really drawn to it. The original is a 4″x5″ contact print and it is beautiful.
Apparently, the photographer was someone called Noyes and I assume he was using the standard Navy issue camera which was most likely a Graflex. His pals were “Kinch” Kincheloe and Chuck Louin (not sure of the surname, it is hard to tell from the writing).
The date here is interesting as the Japanese surrendered on the 2nd. My dad was on a ship next to the USS Missouri on that day. Two days later he was in Yokohama Harbor, and shortly after that he and his pals were the first Americans on the island of Hokkaido. The Navy had taught his to speak, read, and write fluent Japanese in about 18 months. He was pretty good at languages.
Thinking of you today Dad.
Willard Suitcases / Delmar H
Delmar had several leather cases which were distinguished by some lovely travel labels.
The Hotel Stella d’Italia & Aquila Nera in Bologna doesn’t seem to exist anymore. One of the few online links I could find was here.
This was another one of his beautiful cases.
Sadly, this hotel doesn’t appear to be around anymore either. Here is a link to a postcard that is for sale.
And I can’t begin to guess the relevance of Voltaire to the Republica Argentina.
Check out the latest uploads at the suitcases site, and thanks for following.
Willard Suitcases / John R (again) / Quote
I have learned so much from people who stumble across the project and take the time to comment. Simon wrote in to say this about the photographs. “The psychology of keeping belongings is as complicated and as deep as the human spirit itself, the depth of which we will never see. Lets hope recording this project takes us closer.”
Thanks, Simon. Such a perceptive look at my work with the collection, and I really appreciate your insight.
I had photographed John R’s case over two different days, and yesterday when I edited and uploaded the photographs from the second shoot I was reminded how much fun it was to see what he brought with him to Willard.
He clearly had a thing for the Lone Ranger and Tonto, as well as for these discreetly covered women.
John was clearly learning to speak English, as there were lots of worksheets where he was practicing his vocabulary.
It is possible that John worked for a time at GE as he had these brochures about insurance and a pension plan.
The Mickey Rooney photo is pretty nice.
This is a good time to remind you all about the comments on this site. It is not obvious where to click to see them, but it usually worth the effort. At the very bottom of the post is a small “comments” button. Click it to see what folks are saying. The dress that I posted last week has been getting quite a few interesting responses, including an amazing one that just came in from my pal Dhyan. Check it out.
Willard Suitcases / John R / Talks
When I talk about the project I am often asked if I have a favorite suitcase. My answer is always the same; from the start, I have seen the collection as a whole and no case stands out to me. But I do have some favorite photographs from the project, and this is one of them.
The dark glasses are pretty cool.
This was the first time I had ever seen an actual Shinola tin.
We saw several of these Yardley Talc containers.
I have uploaded the rest of the photos from John’s case at the suitcases site. Check it out!
There are two upcoming events near to me where I will be talking about the suitcases. I’ll have copies of the second Kickstarter reward book for sale at the Hadley, MA Barnes & Noble this Saturday the 18th. I’ll be there from 2.00 – 5.00 PM. Come by and say hi. And on Monday I will be giving a talk at the Amherst Woman’s Club. I expect to start at 1.00 PM.
Thanks for following!
Willard Patient Dress / Part 2
This is the back of the dress that I posted the other day.
There is more of the beautiful orange thread on this side, as well as some very fanciful figures.
In the image below, I love how the two horizontal lines at the bottom of the dress seem to me to indicate water. And is that a spigot just above the lines?
Here is the reverse side of the above figure. I was thinking at the time we were shooting that people who do embroidery might like to see this view.
This figure is similar to one on the front of the dress.
The faces she does are so expressive.
Here is another detail of a hand, and I am not sure what is represented coming out of what appears to be a pocket.
The figure below in the box looks like either a kind of face or something from the depths of the ocean.
Is this another face?
Her use of lines is very cool.
I have been trying to figure out how the grid below fits in to the overall design. At first I thought it represented a building, but I am not so sure.
And here are just a few more shots of the reverse side of the dress.
Thanks for checking this out. I will continue my efforts to find the name of the Willard patient who created this. In the meantime you can continue to see the latest uploads of the cases at the Willard Suitcases site.
Ovid / Willard Cemetery / NAMI Waco
I had a great meeting at the Edith B. Ford Library in Ovid, NY to talk about the possibility of working on an oral history project with former Willard employees. Peter Carroll and I drove up from Ithaca this morning and met with Shannon O’Connor and Monica Kelly who both are doing amazing things at the library. Monica is building an archive of Willard materials, and if anyone who reads this has any records or photographs related to the asylum, you should really contact her.
Afterwards Pete and I drove to the Holy Cross Cemetery on Gilbert Road.
Recently, a local group raised funds and erected a monument to Willard folks who died at the institution and are buried at Holy Cross. I am not exactly sure what the problem is, but some people have objected to it, and so the monument has been covered up since just after it was unveiled. The issue of naming former patients and staff continues to come up, and is still a problem on many levels. I’ll be eager to find out what really happened here.
After leaving Holy Cross, we drove over to the Willard Cemetery which is down the road and across the street from the asylum. This is such an indescribably moving place for me. It was a really beautiful late Winter day and the idea that 5,776 former patients are buried here in unmarked graves always touches me deeply.
The site is very well looked after, and the area around some of the few remaining numbered cast iron markers has recently been cleared of brush.
And it is always nice to see the monument to Lawrence Mocha, who as a patient, dug by hand over 1500 of the graves.
I found out today that I have been invited to Waco, Texas to be the keynote speaker at the annual NAMI Waco dinner and gala. The event is the evening of Thursday, 18th May and if you live anywhere nearby, I would love to meet you.
Willard Suitcases / Issac and Alice
I continue to make good progress uploading to the suitcases site. Issac’s case had just a few items, but the buttons are nice, as well as the safety pins. I especially like the folding coat hangar.
Peggy and I were thrilled to open Alice’s case and see the beautiful lining.
Check out the latest at willardsuitcases.com.
Thanks for following.
Willard Suitcases / More Labels / Peg
I am just about finished up editing the December 2013 shoots.
The cases were mostly empty, but this newspaper is interesting. It describes a particularly tragic boating accident in Alexandria Bay, NY that occurred in August of 1929. I did a bit or research. Here’s a link to an online newspaper archive that goes into some detail. It wasn’t completely unusual for a suitcase to contain a complete section of a newspaper and little else. I wonder if H. L. had any connection to the Lipe family. (Lipe is not his surname.)
Walter arrived in February of 1945. Nelson Rockford Socks are still available.
Mary Agnes’ case just had this little metal clasp, a shoelace, a hairpin, and a label.
And a pair of “leather-like” boots.
Baker’s case was the only one where we found a bit of “racy” material. Look closely to see the title of the painting. Cheeky!
The storage facility wasn’t always the warmest place to work (except in the summer). Peggy Ross was always such a sport though, and only rarely complained. We ate a lot of hot/sour soup from the local Chinese restaurant for lunch, which helped us get through the day.
Check out the Willard Suitcases site to see the latest. Thanks for following.
Jon Crispin's Notebook 
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