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.
Willard Suitcases / Rodrigo L.
Rodrigo was an extremely literate man. His collection of books was so interesting.
He was a writer as well, as this editorial from his Salt Lake High School yearbook illustrates.
Rodrigo’s collection of books tells us so much about his view of the world.
From reading his writings, I got the sense that he was a bit lonely, and deeply spiritual.
The autographs page of his yearbook had only his signature.
I love the logo for Oliver R. Meredith’s Trunk Factory. I looked for information online about the business, and didn’t find much about the company, but did come across this great gallery of photographs of trunk manufacturers.
From time to time I like to post a nice photo of Peggy Ross, whom I can never thank enough for her help throughout the years that we have spent documenting the collection of suitcases. I literally could not (and would not) have done this work without her help.
Thanks for following. Check out all of Rodrigo’s collection here. Moving on to Michael B. tomorrow.
Willard Suitcases / Herman G
Herman G was featured in the 2004 New York State Museum exhibit on the suitcases. His story is interesting in that he was a patient at the “Craig Colony for Epileptics” before he came to Willard. I had posted about him around the time we photographed his box of photo gear and correspondence in 2015.
I have just uploaded the complete edit. You can see the collection here.
I’ll start work on Rodrigo L. tomorrow. His story is amazing. Thanks for following.
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.
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