Elgin State Hospital Part I

Recent events have called to mind my early Illini years of working summers at Elgin State Hospital. Ahhh, the glory days of mental illness, when people were warehoused in institutions rather than on the street. We've come a long way, baby!

When I was in elementary school we used to sing a clever little ditty about the inmates at 750 South State Street. Can't recall the words anymore, but I'm sure it was mocking and mean. Not my proudest moment. At the time we seemed to think that "those others" were so very opposite of us "normals". Fast forward to my late teens and after working with them and getting to know many patients there, I was no longer convinced of our differences, but amazed at how much we were alike, regardless of extreme, bizarre behavior. At that point it seemed crystal clear to me that it was all a matter of degree.

However, at the end of that spectrum were a lot of interesting manifestations. I wandered into this opportunity of close encounters of the strange kind the summer I was a college freshman. Somehow or other I qualified to be one of a handful of psychiatric aides in a pilot program. Come to think of it, I believe we were all nursing students. Probably this was an effort to get more nurses to specialize in an area that most were averse to.

Elgin State Hospital opened in 1872. In a history written for the commemoration of its 125th anniversary in 1997, I believe I read the patient population reached its zenith in the 50s---somewhere around 9-10,000. The grounds, nearly 1200 acres of rolling hills including a man made lake, were green and lush and beautiful, punctuated by buildings from different periods. Some 50s modern, some 20s cottage, some turn of the century grand scale---pretty imposing.

Like the Annex (small version of Central-the main bldg.) where I sometimes worked during my 3 summers of surreal employment. The intention from the start was to have the place be a tranquil setting to bring the treatment of the mentally ill out of the dark ages.

But it takes more than grass and trees and shelter to pull off that tall order, and there were many grim and awful things that transpired there. In the mid 20th century, ESH was a lab for psychotropic drug experimentation. Electric Shock Therapy, Cold Therapy, and random torture befell certain individuals who inhabited this place. It was the rare patient who was not drugged morning, noon, and night. Lithium and Thorazine were as ubiquitous as the hand rolled cigarettes that graced the lips of the bewildering faces there. It was a dangerous place for them to be.

It was a dangerous place for staff to be. Many patients were criminally insane with violent pasts and potentials. We were uninsurable. And for a reason. I knew nurses who were attacked and severely injured. It was no picnic. And yet there were light moments. Every day you had to laugh at something or other. Or cry. It was better to laugh when you could.  Not in a mean way like in elementary school, but in recognition of some of life's absurdity.

I always knew the timing for me to leave was perfect when summer was ending and I could return to the normalcy of college. I could tell it was getting to me, and the effect was not good. My opinion was that many of the staff who were there year after year had problems beyond those of those were legally committed. To begin with, many of the workers were uneducated and unaware. And those fine lines were often a blur. Those, the ones in authority, were the most dangerous of all because of the power they had over others in a vulnerable state. Isn't that always the way? {Disclaimer--many of the staff long timers were absolutely the most incredible people you would ever want to meet.}

Although nearly 1,000 souls are buried at the cemetery there, the only patient ever deemed "notable" in the official history--David Hyrum Smith, son of the founder of Mormonism, Joseph Smith--was confined there for 27 years. According to several sources, this may presently be the most haunted place in Illinois (try StrangeUSA), if you believe in that sort of thing. While I remember with great fondness many patients and staff, I think the haunting was in the flesh. My prayer is that those who were tormented have finally found great peace.

More later---     *5 subsequent posts about Elgin State Hospital followed in Jan, 2011