Barb Palmer

Barb Palmer's husband always claimed her family was crazy and they "just managed to function well in society." But Barb thinks differently. While she was doing genealogy work on her husband's family, she found two grandfathers of his who were committed to the hospital. His Grandfather was admitted to the hospital for shortness of breath and later died in 1949 of cardio myoscophy, which was not a mental illness. In fact, there was "nothing to indicate that he did have a mental illness." He was simply one of the many cases where the family was unable to care for him any longer so they took him to the hospital.

As Barb told me, up until the 1930's when a person had to have a mental diagnosis in order to be admitted into the hospital, almost anyone could be committed. Because the hospital needed to sustain the census in order to continue to receive funding, it was not only a mental hospital, but also a personal care home, or a nursing home. However, eventually the time came when they "admitted more carefully" and screened for a mental diagnosis. (Although anyone already there with no evidence of a mental affliction was allowed to stay.)

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According to Barb, the other family member on her husband's side of the family was his great grandfather Issac, who did have mental problems. He was taken to the hospital with dementia and stayed there until his death at 89 years of age on March 19, 1900.

"The other thing that's interesting about him I think," said Barb, "is all you had to do is say he's crazy, and they had him through the door. Whether he was or wasn't, we'll probably never know. I say to my husband you had two grandfathers in the state mental hospital and you think I'm unstable? It's you baby!"