Willard Suitcases / Margaret D / 17 June 2015
I am pretty sure that this was the last day we photographed any of Margaret D’s things. It is possible that as I move through the editing process I will come across more of her possessions, but I think this is it.
It was a mixed bag of items that we saw on this day.
Here is more of her work with a needle and thread.
This little button caught my eye.
I did a quick internet search for “TU-TEE” and found nothing. This almost never happens anymore. A commercial product with an interesting concept and zilch! “This game is something different, and enjoyed by old and young alike. It is replacing progressive card games in many sections of the country.” Apparently not in that many sections of the country or there would be some evidence of it. (Edit. As I was reading this post once it was public, I realized that the type face on the TU-TEE box looks exactly like the one I use for all of these posts. It is Palatino, and I’ve been using it for years. What a strange coincidence.)
This cup and saucer are so delicate and lovely.
So, that’s it for Margaret. Hers is the most complete collection of household and personal items in all of the cases that I shot, and in a funny way, it is difficult to move on to other Willard patients. Up next though is Herman G, whose story is fascinating in its own way. Thanks for following. You can see all of the cases here, and all of Margaret’s here. (Don’t forget to click on the “500” button at the bottom of the page, as I think the default page only shows the first 25. And as there are over 600 photos in her collection, you have to click on the “next” button to see the rest.)
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.
Willard Suitcases / Margaret D / 14 April 2015
I am working my way through Margaret’s cases and her collection never ceases to amaze me. You can see the latest here. (Don’t forget to click “view all” as there are now close to 500 images in her collection.)
Margaret brought quite a number of sewing items with her when she came to Willard, including the above stencil with Masonic designs.
I am currently editing a shoot that was mostly delicate items like the above undergarment, as well as some of her nursing uniforms. I’ll have a post up sometime in the next few days with those photos.
I would also mention that Margaret was one of the 10 folks originally featured in the State Museum’s 2004 exhibit. The made-up surname they used for her was Dunleavy and if you do a search for her name and Willard you should come across very detailed information about her life. The “Lives They Left Behind” book has a surprisingly complete history of her life before Willard.
I am often asked about how much I know about the patient’s lives before and during their time at the institution. It is way too complex for me to elaborate here, but needless to say, I have very strong feelings about my need to separate the patient’s clinical lives from what we can learn about them through their possessions. I tend to talk about it when I present the project to various groups, so maybe one day we will get the chance to meet up and chat. Thanks for following.
Willard Suitcases / Margaret D / 17 March 2015
Another large batch of Margaret D photos are now up on the suitcases site.
As mentioned before, Margaret came to Willard with her car as well as all the paperwork from the purchase.
She bought a brand new 1934 6 cylinder Dodge Coupe. Such a beautiful automobile.
She was a great traveler and planned her trips meticulously.
This one looks like it would be a fun drive.
This was the only will that we came across in the collection.
The above list is interesting as it appears that she wrote down her work history most likely in preparation for applying for a job. It is one of the clearest documents showing the specifics of a life before Willard.
More to come from Margaret later in the week. Cheers everyone.
Willard Suitcases / Margaret D / 12 March 2015
I have just uploaded another one hundred or so photographs to Margaret’s page. Check it out here.
There are some really interesting items here.
My breath was a bit taken away when I opened the LaLure box and saw the beautiful cutlery inside.
I love this tiny Statue of Liberty, which was one of several that we came across during our work on the suitcases.
Lots more of Margaret to come. Thanks for following. Tell your friends!
Willard Suitcases / Margaret D / 2 March 2015
I just uploaded another batch of photos to Margaret’s page. Check it out if you get the chance. (Make sure you click on the “view all” button; the default view is 25 per page.)
I think this little Devon Violets vase is beautiful.
This lone pill was wrapped in the paper on which it is placed. It is difficult to read the pencil writing but it looks like amid(something) barbital.
Having seen other photographs of her, I am quite certain that it is Margaret in these shots.
Have a great weekend everyone, and thanks for following.
Willard Suitcases / Margaret D / 17 February 2015
Quite a few of the Willard residents brought small carved dogs with them. This looks like a little Skye Terrier. The thread collar is quite touching.
The doggie theme is repeated here. I believe that this is a strong thread wrapped around this paper that is used for bead work.
There were thousands of these small (glass?) beads.
I often tried to document Peg’s work and the care we took in putting everything back the way we found it. These beads were difficult to wrangle, but I am pretty sure we got them all back in the bag.
This photo really gets to me for some reason. Check the comments for a description of this process as my pal Dhyan will probably chime in. She has been following the project since early days, and I really appreciate her knowledge of anything to do with fabric and yarn. Thanks Dhyan!
Here’s some string wedged into a hair comb. So many questions.
I think we decided this is a post card of the well known dancer Ann Miller. (Peg’s mom helped identify her if I remember correctly.) I was pretty sure it was Bess Myerson.
I have started using the date of shooting in the title of these Margaret posts as it is the only way to differentiate the various posts from one another. Check out the full uploads of Margaret’s things here. There is a LOT more of her to come.
Willard Suitcases / Beginning Margaret D
I have finished editing everything we shot in 2014 and have finally moved on to 2015. Margaret D came to Willard with pretty much her entire household, including her car. I have posted about her before, including this link which talks a bit about her life before Willard.
She was a nurse who lived in the Ithaca area, and came to the institution with a number of highly starched uniforms and hats.
Peg and I shot this trunk in February of 2014 and we finished photographing all of her possessions 4 months later. Quite a collection.
I will continue to post updates here as I work my way through all of Margaret’s things.
It is exciting to think about completing the editing process on the project. Once my schedule opens up I’ll be able to really push exhibits and publication. Thanks for following, and to those of you who have been in direct contact I really appreciate the feedback.
Willard Suitcases / Michael D’A
It was clear to us when we were setting up Michael’s shot that the wrapping contained crutches.
They were in remarkable shape for being so old.
Michael came to Willard from Manhattan State Hospital on Ward’s Island, but unfortunately we don’t have a date for his admittance.
As I was editing the photographs this morning, I couldn’t remember precisely why I took the closeup shot below.
As I looked closely the faint marks on the crutch stood out. I wonder if he was making them in order to count days at Ward’s Island before he came to Willard.
You can see the latest here. Thanks for following.
NAMI Waco Talk
I had the chance to walk around Waco a bit this morning before I started working on tonight’s talk.
There was a public ceremony today in the park across from my hotel memorializing fallen police officers. I am always drawn to a crowd (which were behind me when I took this photo).
I learned that Dr Pepper was invented in Waco, and the amazing Cynthia Cunningham from NAMI Waco gave me a bag with some gifts, including these two bottles of Dr Pepper (made with real cane sugar!). I am drinking one now and it is wonderful.
My talk tonight went pretty well; I was nervous at first, but seemed to do ok. I’d give myself a B, but I am still learning. Lots of folks came up to me afterwards and were so nice and complimentary. If you are looking to do a bit of good in this world, send NAMI Waco some money through their site, or if you live in an area with a local NAMI group, think about volunteering. They are doing amazing and important work. / I also met some great folks from the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute. Coby Chase was familiar with the suitcases project and drove up from Austin where he works lobbying the state on mental health issues. He mentioned their site okaytosay.org which is really interesting and inspiring. So much of the work NAMI, Meadows, and like minded organizations do is related to reducing the stigma of mental illness. I am so grateful to Cynthia for connecting the suitcases to her work, and for giving me the chance to meet so many wonderful people who work so hard to improve the lives of families who struggle with mental health issues .
That’s it for tonight. Back home tomorrow. Thanks, as usual, for following.
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