The Traverse City Zoo:
In the summer we use to go on walking trips into downtown Traverse City.
These were school field trips they were called.
I remember twice a summer going to the Traverse City Zoo. I always have loved animals, and the zoo was a relaxing place for me. I recall the smell, lol. I really liked the Birds, to this day I have birds. I have 2 old parrots and I feed the outside birds 150 LBs of food a month.
We use to compare the animals at the zoo with our own lives at TCSH, and the only difference was the clothes.
In the summer we use to go on walking trips into downtown Traverse City.
These were school field trips they were called.
I remember twice a summer going to the Traverse City Zoo. I always have loved animals, and the zoo was a relaxing place for me. I recall the smell, lol. I really liked the Birds, to this day I have birds. I have 2 old parrots and I feed the outside birds 150 LBs of food a month.
We use to compare the animals at the zoo with our own lives at TCSH, and the only difference was the clothes.
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I thought it was important to re post this
layout of hall-18.
I have made all the corrections to it.
I was assigned to these rooms.
Room:
44, this was my favorite room, it was quiet and warm, it had a radiator.
36
30
32
16
14
1
2
a few visits to rooms 52,54,56, "Seclusion" known to us kids as "The Room".
My electric guitar and amp was setup in the barber room,# 18, also this was the only room which had electrical outlets.
click image for a full-sized view
Electrical Outlets:
There were only a few places which had electrical outlets.
On each side of the office, behind TV, room 18 the barber room, room 68 the clothing room, and dorms 1 and 2, the office and drug room #'s 58 and 60 also had electrical outlets.
All electrical outlets were about 5 feet off the floor except in the office/drug room
I have made all the corrections to it.
I was assigned to these rooms.
Room:
44, this was my favorite room, it was quiet and warm, it had a radiator.
36
30
32
16
14
1
2
a few visits to rooms 52,54,56, "Seclusion" known to us kids as "The Room".
My electric guitar and amp was setup in the barber room,# 18, also this was the only room which had electrical outlets.
click image for a full-sized view
Electrical Outlets:
There were only a few places which had electrical outlets.
On each side of the office, behind TV, room 18 the barber room, room 68 the clothing room, and dorms 1 and 2, the office and drug room #'s 58 and 60 also had electrical outlets.
All electrical outlets were about 5 feet off the floor except in the office/drug room
Last edited by
ronl on Wed Jul 22, 2009 9:26 am, edited
2 times in total.
Ron and Mike what were you thinking when you
first arrived at TCSH? Did your parents
drive you there?
Did they later add electricity to the rooms? What did they use at night in your rooms?
Did they later add electricity to the rooms? What did they use at night in your rooms?
Ron on your post of the layout of your
floor...you said Rooms 1 & 2 were ones that
you stayed in. They look very
large...compared to the others.
All the rooms had lights, and the light
switch was a slot which the attendants had
the key, us kids figured out that the flat
thing on the zipper on out coats would fit
in there so we could control our lights,
also some kids used the buckle off from
rubber winter boots would work also.
Room 1 and 2 were large dorms. When you first arrived to hall-18 you were in the dorm, rooms were a privilege.
Room 1 and 2 were large dorms. When you first arrived to hall-18 you were in the dorm, rooms were a privilege.
Last edited by
ronl on Wed Jul 22, 2009 10:08 am,
edited 3 times in total.
ronl wrote:Someone else drove me there.
All the rooms had lights, and the light switch was a slot which the attendants had the key, us kids figuted out that the flat thing on the zipper on out coats would fit in there so we could control our lights, also some kids used the buckel off from rubber winter boots would work also.
You guys were very resourceful. lol Where there is a will there is a way. I guess a kid can figure out how to do anything! Good for you
="okie"]Ron and Mike what were you thinking when you first arrived at TCSH? Did your parents drive you there?
Did they later add electricity to the rooms? What did they use at night in your rooms?
From what I remember,and I think what Ron meant was, the rooms had one light but no outlets. I remember the light switches out in the hallways were not like most people are use to seeing. They were slots that needed a key to move them up and down. I don't know how many remembers the old rubber snow boots you pulled on over your shoes, Galoshes I believe they were called. Anyway, I took a tab off one of them and use it to work the lights because there were some nights when the attendant left the light in my room on and I could sleep with the room lit up.
I remember being taken up there by my Mother
and step father,But I was never told why.I
think my older brother Allen and younger
sister Tena was with us. So I really don't
remember how I felt when I after was left
there, but I do remember a chill setting in
when we first turned onto the drive off the
highway.
Is it true that they conducted lobotomies at
the TCSH? Sorry for being so random.
Marking Our Clothes:
Our personal clothes had a small tag 3/8 inch wide by however long it needed to be. It had hall-18 and your first initical and your last name on it, this was folded and sewn into your clothes at the indicated spot. Shirts it was in the collar at back, and pants was sewn inside waste band.
Once a week your clothes were sent to the hospital laundry and your last weeks clothes were returned. Our clothes were kept in the clothing room #68 and we all had a square wooden box on the wall about 1.5 feet by 1.5 feet by 1.5 feet that had your name on it.
.
Once a week we changed our bedding, except those who wet the bed , they had rubber matrices and pads and changed their beds daily.
Our personal clothes had a small tag 3/8 inch wide by however long it needed to be. It had hall-18 and your first initical and your last name on it, this was folded and sewn into your clothes at the indicated spot. Shirts it was in the collar at back, and pants was sewn inside waste band.
Once a week your clothes were sent to the hospital laundry and your last weeks clothes were returned. Our clothes were kept in the clothing room #68 and we all had a square wooden box on the wall about 1.5 feet by 1.5 feet by 1.5 feet that had your name on it.
.
Once a week we changed our bedding, except those who wet the bed , they had rubber matrices and pads and changed their beds daily.
Lobotomies and all types of shock treatments were banned in the 50's when the "Patient Rights" law took effect. But the equipment was never removed.
D-2 and C-2 were medical wards located in building 37, also this building was known as receiving. Next to these wards was the other medical wards, A-2 and B-2 This was connected by a big steel door and a long hallway with rooms , our school was 1 floor above these wards. A-2 and B-2 were where medical procedures were preformed like dental, etc. Also the old equipment was housed there. I once seen an Iron Lung, I ask why and was told sometimes it is necessary to have this. I also seen the other equipment used in the 1950's. This was scary to look at, tho I was just a young kid and knew nothing of "Patient Rights" attendants would tell us that this equipment would be used on us if we did not behave. Threats were always used as a deterrent.
This is an old picture of Building 37 before the new admin wing was added 37a.
click image for a full-sized view
click image for a full-sized view