I found this web site on Friday by looking for haunted areas in the northern Michigan area. I got HOOKED. Very interesting to me. I have lived in Traverse city all my life and know people who have worked for the state hospital. The building and the history of the place really intrigue me. Browsing the Kirkbride site I've read some entries from people I know from the area.
Ron and Mike you did a good thing by telling your childhood memories. I sensed it was not a easy thing to do. I can't wait for the book.

Today I bought the hard cover book, Angels in the Architecture: A Photographic Elegy to an American Asylum, by Heidi Johnson off ebay.
Sold by the goodwill.

Now I finally can see what I have been missing, I'll bet it will be a big trigger for my recall. I am looking forward to getting this.

"3144MW"..."WELCOME to the forum!"

does anyone know of how to contact Heidi Johnsons sister Gretchen?
I would like to ask if we could use a few pictures of hall-18 in my book

ronl her name is Gretchen Boekeloo. That was from the Points North Radio program you posted. Was also a picture of her standing in front of wall of photos/ she is wearing a purple sweater. She did speak on the program, but I don't have the time to go back and listen to what she talked about. She may live in the area. sorry I couldn't help you more. I also found her on facebook. Gretchen J. Boekeloo

Thanks, I sent her a message with a link to here

okie wrote:does anyone know of how to contact Heidi Johnsons sister Gretchen?
I would like to ask if we could use a few pictures of hall-18 in my book

ronl her name is Gretchen Boekeloo. That was from the Points North Radio program you posted. Was also a picture of her standing in front of wall of photos/ she is wearing a purple sweater. She did speak on the program, but I don't have the time to go back and listen to what she talked about. She may live in the area. sorry I couldn't help you more. I also found her on facebook. Gretchen J. Boekeloo

okie:
Here's Gretchen's facebook link. You can send her a message through there.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Gretchen ... 1581331905

Hey there everyone. I've been reading this all night. It's past three in the morning now (lol, I thought about stopping, but it just never seemed to happen) and I wanted to say hi to all the people whose lives I've been spying on. Didn't seem right to just fade off after all that. What you have going on here is too important.

I'm not related to the halls, the building, the area, or the topic in any way. I'm just one of those people that stays up too late reading.

Anything I can do to help-I know it sounds strange, but I'm not joking here. You want to tell an empathetic ear something? Fine, here I am. You want someone to go trolling through newspaper or legal records? Sure, you got it. I'll do whatever I can.

Goodnight everyone. Or good morning, I guess.
Mags

Thanks mkfarnam for the addy Hi Mags I am like you, just wishing I could help in some small way.

"MAGS"...WELCOME to the forum!

click image for a full-sized view

Hi Okie and Mike!

And thanks for the happy welcome Mike.

Years ago I was doing research on Northhampton State Hospital and the Save Old Main project. If anyone was wondering what brought me to this particular site, that is. I've still never been there, or been able to visit any other site, but that place had a special draw on me. Don't know why.

My mother was a county social worker in the 80s and 90s and I grew up in a home where she referred to her clients as her "kids." Ron-talking about the woman the kids called "mom" put me in mind of this. My mum worked with abused children for most of my life. She now works with disabled adults. Autism, physical disadvantages, challenged folks. Some of these adults are the kids she used to work with. Being different or having a different way of communicating still leads to confusion and violence in families. Kids under the stairs. In basements. Or worse. I'd heard too many stories about abuse in institutions or foster homes too. Course, one story is too many, but this was a lot more than one. At least now it gets into the papers sometimes instead of getting hushed up. Still, the stigma exists. And I'm sure more than not, 'incidents' are quietly handled and things move along as if nothing ever happened.

I was wondering if anyone here was or is a mentor for someone in a hospital, home, or group?

click image for a full-sized view

audrey I discovered that water tank the summer of 1970 while I was on Hall-20 and went exploring one afternoon with 2 girls from Hall-7, lol we scared a couple who was ??? they were from other wards, they got up and ran away, hehehe

The more I think of it, it was the summer/fall of 69 when I discovered the water tank. The summer of 70 I was in the new children's hospital. There was writing on it from former patients but no crap like whats painted on it now, I recall it read like a bulletin board with lots of messages, like Kilroy was here, lol. I did not leave my mark anywhere at TCSH. It left its mark on me.

Looking though old files I found quite a few pictures, and a 1968 pamphlet showing 37A , the canteen, the lounge and the mini-golf, it's newspaper-quality low-res but better than nothing.
This is one I took of hall 18 looking west in 2004, testing upload here.
[img]/mnt/home/Hall-18/dcp_3181.jpg[/img]
Hope it works, newer images are 3072x2304 dpi.

I remember the "miniature golf course", I played alot of that.

The link is invalid.