I have done many things in my life. In the 80's I owned a construction company, but this messed up my back. In the 90's I owned a large Music store and music production company as well as a recording studio. I got into computers in the early 90's and I now own a internet company. I manage websites and own a few web servers, all state of the art machines.
I am loved by many, lol, when attacks happen to servers, who do you call, lol, ickie, hehehe. Daily I battle hackers, and win 99% of the time.

I sold my music store just to get into the computer business around 2000.
I still have a nice home studio, 24 track. I also work from my home.

Sounds like you have had a very fulfilling life. I have been hitting the same time clock for the same company for 24 years now. Will be nice to retire one day and just enjoy life. Maybe some of my stress will go away

Many months before the 1969 incident, that made a huge staff change, (read a few pages back). We all knew that things were getting out of control on hall-18.
Things like Group Butch haircuts, the staff flying off the wall over very little stuff and throwing the kid into the room for almost nothing like a simple remark. Privileges were no longer given. Personal clothes if they even had a hint of a hippy were destroyed. Forced game playing. We were moved from bedroom to bedroom. No TV at times. Parents turned away on Sunday. More drugs. It was hell on 18.
I remember everyone saying the stuff the staff is doing to us is illegal and the Governor should know this. Well I got the bright ideal to go into town and buy one of them cheep small spy camera's. It was full of film, about 24 pictures as I remember. It seems to me it cost ??. $.99 cents. It was the same camera found on the back page of comic books. I only took a few pictures and only 1 other kid knew about it, and maybe a few seen me take a picture.
One day the staff found out but did not know who had it nor where it was.
They made all of us sit in hard maple chairs with arm rest made of maple all along the walls. Than the staff turned Hall-18 upside down.
We had to sit in them chairs for days ..3 days to be exact.. Group Punishment until someone broke. Dr. Thill even made a day long visit to hall-18, they were all worried.
Than they got the word that it was me.
I was taken into the office and after many threats I broke and confessed. The staff was surprised by where I hid the camera, right under there nose.
Under the water fountain next to the drug room was a small ledge and this is where I hidden the camera. Dr. This was so dumb he pulled the film out of the camera exposing it to the light and rolled it open to see if he could see the images, nothing was there.
Well I got 2 weeks in seclusion.
I was treated real bad from the staff while I was in the room, at times I was not feed, when I was feed, only selected food was placed on the tray, mostly things I did not like. I had no book this time either, just me in this tiny little room. At times I was not allowed to go out to the bathroom, my blanket was removed, I remember being real cold, my teeth chattered, the only heat source was from the small open screened window above the door.
All of this was meant to break me. Well it worked, I was never in seclusion again.

Today I see for the first time A Child is Waiting,
A Child Is Waiting:

1963, NR, ***, 01:42, B & W, English, United States,

A teacher (Judy Garland) and a psychologist (Burt Lancaster) work with children at an institute for the mentally impaired.

Cast: Burt Lancaster, Judy Garland, Gena Rowlands, Steven Hill, Bruce Ritchey, Gloria McGehee, Paul Stewart, Lawrence Tierney, Elizabeth Wilson, Barbara Pepper, John Morley, June Walker, Mario Gallo Director(s): John Cassavetes Producer(s): Stanley Kramer

This is a must see, if you were ever going to get the real feel of the children on Hall-7 and Hall-18 in Traverse City State Hospital in the mid 1960's, you need to see this.

================================================================================

1963, I was only 2 years later, but the environment was way off for the children, openness and freedom were not allowed in real life. The kids looked just like some of my friends. The subject matter was spot on in this movie.

Running away, you were severely punished, with seclusion, not caring and loving as stated in movie.

Visiting day was spot on. anticipation, than happiness, and sadness.

The teachers were caring as in the movie, some staff on the Halls were the same as in movie.

The Dr. was way off, lol, complete opposite.

The walk through the adult ward on this movie was just as I remembered it.

If this is all you see is the adult ward, than you will get a real feel as to life at Traverse City State Hospital.

Ice Cream:
Last night I was eating ice cream with my 2 parrots and the dog, hehehe.
and I was thinking....
Ice Cream was not on our list of thing we received, except for the walks into town in the summer in summer school, we would take about once a month. I recall stopping at House of Flavors?? in downtown Traverse City.
I still remember the Batman Ice Cream.

I remember them walks into town, it wasn't that far away, we would walk 2 by 2, No one ever ran away and I still cannot figure out how they kept track of us as we invaded the downtown stores. My favorite place was the music store on Main street, and in the basement, was all the electric guitars. Their major brand was TEISCO, and had every model. I seen a TEISCO electric guitar with a sit-tar (India sounding) added to it, a bunch of strings (maybe 20 of them) above the main 6 strings. I always wanted one of these, Still Do, but never found one on EBay. I did own 2 Teisco's, a blue strat looking model and a tobacco 335 12 string model. I was a cool kid in that butch or prinston haircut.
I also remember them hard as stone heavy gauge Black Diamond Guitar strings which use to make my finger bleed, these were the worst string in the world to learn on, No-one ever told me about light gauge strings.
I now use 8 gauge strings, these are extra, extra light gauge.

If anyone ask me what I did in the 1960's .... they would not believe it.

Holidays:
As I remember holidays were very boring, The hospital was under staffed on holidays, and we just stayed on the Hall-18 and played pool, cards, other games and watched TV. On special holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas we had a good dinner in the mess hall. We had no school on holidays. I would guess thats why I did not celebrate any holidays through out my life.

Holidays are sometimes over rated anyway. Getting together with family that you hardly know and not getting enough time with the people you would rather be with. Then there always seems to be one in the crowd that has to ruin it for others. Ha, I am forced to celebrate holidays for others...

I haven't posted much lately because my memories are fading away. I have put a great deal of effort into this thread, and some of it was difficult to write. Both good and bad memories surfaced, I finally put all of them to rest. I hope you now have a good ideal what life was like at Traverse City State Hospital in the 1960's as seen by a child living on Hall-18.

The time has come to say "The End".

It was cold snowy day in mid January 1971, I was 18, and the Gray Hound bus left the bus station in Traverse City, just after day break, The direction the daylight was coming through the left side window indicated I was traveling south. A short distant from the big sign made of stone at the entrance of Traverse City State Hospital, I looked to my right and while gazing out the window I saw a Buffalo standing in a field covered in snow. I somehow knew at this moment, that I would not be traveling this way again, where Buffalo roam.

Ronl,

I can't thank you enough for sharing your expierence with us all. Throughout reading the thread I kept thinking, wow, this can't be easy for him to do. Thanks again for sharing.

ronl I just wanted to thank you for the glimpse of your life during these years at Traverse City State Hospital. You have become a successful young man. Best of luck for the rest of your life and the other chapters still to come. In spite of all the bad you came out on top! You survived!

I know I already said this back on page 1, but thanks again for taking the time to post all of this. I think it's easy for those of us that are attracted to these places because of the architecture to forget about the experiences of the people inside them. Especially when it comes to the 'bad' things. Your posts have definitely made me much more aware of the patients rather than focusing solely on the buildings.

ronl, since you have stopped posting I really miss you. I know you are done posting about TCSH and I don't blame you for that, but would still like to hear from you and how your doing. So if you have time leave us a crumb as to how your doing. Have become a fan of yours. take care ) okie

I am sorry, mkfarnum, I didn't mean ot leave you out. I am also interested in your life. If you have more stories to post, I would be interested, I just can't belive the way you lived there, I was hospitalized in '67 for a nervous breakdown and my treatment was nothing compared to your's. I do remember the thorizine and felt like a zombie! I was 20 at the time. Thank you so much for the insight. You both deserve medals!

I only stopped posting because I feel that I have told it all, and cannot remember any more thoughts about the old place. Most of the time I was just stoned bored and playing the guitar just to not notice all that went on around me. I mentioned this earlier that I have the ability to go to another place in my mind and went there often. Like mfarnam said "I was one of the good kids". Their were little events like the boy scouts, the real cold January's, the really hot and sticky August nights.
I have a writer block on the book and do not knot know when I will proceed. I really need help on it.
Sometimes I feel Like I had a dream and while I was dreaming I fell asleep and had a dream. Like a dream within a dream. (Is that even possible?)
Here is "Dreams" my newest song. http://www.bakup.info/mp3/Dreams.mp3

ronl, I just wanted to say I understand your memories are fading and about your other place in your mind. I found your story so interesting and sad. I truly wish you only the best with the rest of life. Thank you for sharing this with us. Took a lot of guts and moxie to write about this chapter of your life.