Stroll Through the Past

As I've mentioned before, this old hospital really became a favorite of mine. My grandmother lived within a 30 minute drive of this place, so when I went to see her I'd usually make a detour here. She's one of those awesome old ladies, and I love hearing her stories.

One day I was chatting with her, and mentioned the hospital - she knew the name of the place. "Oh, how do you know about it?" I asked, and it was a good thing I did. One of my relatives was committed here back in the 1950s, and I had no idea. Now in her mid-eighties, my grandmother's memory is hazy, but she recalls her great aunt having symptoms of Alzheimer's. Back then it was called dementia, and she was sent to the state hospital after a few bad incidents. One of those was when the house caught fire due to a gas stove that was left burning.

My grandmother also remembers her father giving the attendants some money when he visited, in hopes for a bit of extra care. But, "she didn't last long after they put her in there," my grandmother said, wrapping up that conversation.

So strange, this old place.