willardsuitcases

[willardsuitcases]

On the Radio

Hi Friends. Sorry for the late notice but I will be on WXXI Rochester today (6 April) at 1:00 PM. (wxxinews.org) I will be talking about the suitcases and will be joined by the amazing Peg Ellsworth who worked at Willard for almost 40 years. The program will also be archived so you can listen later. Thanks!

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Link to the Symposium

Link to the Symposium

Margaret D. Hi Everyone, here’s the link to the Saturday symposium. Starts at 1:00 PM this Saturday the 19th March. I’ll be speaking fairly early on, just after Craig Williams talks about the history of Willard. Check it out if you can. It should be amazing. https://sjfc.zoom.us/j/94378687995.

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Saint John Fisher College Suitcases Exhibit

Saint John Fisher College Suitcases Exhibit

Hi Everyone. Just a quick announcement about an exhibit of the suitcase photos at Saint John Fisher College in Rochester, NY. It has been amazing working with the folks there, especially Ryan Thibodeau and Cathy Sweet. The seminar on Saturday the 19th should be amazing and will be streamed on Zoom. I’ll post a link to the url soon. Best and thanks, Jon

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Yiddish Book Center Virtual Talk Hi Everyone.  I am not posting here on Wordpress so much as I mostly am doing…

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Maude K. This is one of my favorite photos from the collection. Not really sure why but something about the colors and objects. Maude must have been involved with crafts as her two cases contained lots of tools and materials. Sadly I don’t have any information about her date of admission. #willardsuitcases #willardasylum #joncrispin #mentalhealth #mentalhealthmatters #mentalhealthawareness #institutionalization #ephemera #suitcases #crafts #glycerine https://www.instagram.com/p/CAVbBMNpD9e/?igshid=1az26q8uhle1

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Maude C. Some of the buttons we came across were quite lovely. Maude’s case contained some interesting clothing including a brown overcoat with a fur collar. I have no patient number for her but the external Willard State Hospital label has a 21 August 1942 date. #willardsuitcases #willardasylum #joncrispin #mentalhealth #mentalhealthmatters #mentalhealthawareness #buttons #oldbuttons #ephemera https://www.instagram.com/p/CADxc5XJi5d/?igshid=1i632qj3m0vv1

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Mathilda W. This suitcase was a bit beat up and was empty save for a basic label. No date or patient number for Mathilda. #willardsuitcases #willardasylum #joncrispin #mentalhealth #mentalhealthmatters #mentalhealthawareness https://www.instagram.com/p/B_7fMi6JKSR/?igshid=ttfc676nduh0

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Mary We. Quite a few of the suitcases contained newspapers. This was from the Syracuse Herald-Journal 19th of May 1966 edition. Mary’s patient number was 14903 and her cases were among the oldest in the collection. #willardsuitcases #willardasylum #joncrispin #mentalhealth #mentalhealthmatters #mentalhealthawareness #syracuseheraldjournal #movieadvertisements #rockhudson #claudiacardinale #blindfoldmovie https://www.instagram.com/p/B_0Dcv_JPoo/?igshid=ciibmscfzvgb

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Mary W. Many of the cases contained lovely examples of needlework and lace making. It always made me feel a strong connection to the patients when I held these objects. The feel, the smell, and the sense that this work was produced by the owners of the suitcases was especially powerful. Mary came to Willard on the 10th of May 1968 and her patient number was 43850. #willardsuitcases #willardasylum #joncrispin #mentalhealth #mentalhealthmatters #mentalhealthawareness #needlework #lace #lacemaking #maryw https://www.instagram.com/p/B_nZF9BJShc/?igshid=ud2r7cihwgiz

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Mary T. There is quite a bit of information on this label. Mary was admitted to Ward 6 in Elliott Hall on the 26th September 1951. Her patient number was 31726. There were several cases with this same interior pattern. #willardsuitcases #willardasylum #joncrispin #mentalhealth #mentalhealthmatters #mentalhealthawareness #maryt https://www.instagram.com/p/B_fJq5cJxiH/?igshid=mmjh12ears08

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Mary Ruth H. I don’t post this view of the cases very often but I really like the lines of this suitcase. There are two dates on Mary Ruth’s label, 23 October 1950 with the notation “Ret’d from C.S. Adm” and 20 June 1951 which I assume was her date of admission. Her patient number was 31309. #willardsuitcases #willardasylum #joncrispin #mentalhealth #mentalhealthmatters #mentalhealthawareness #maryruthh https://www.instagram.com/p/B_XmhFap9Zi/?igshid=19wbys74dp594

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Mary R. There is quite a lot in Mary’s case that is interesting, including some lovely needlework. It is worth a closer look on the willardsuitcases.com site. I can’t help but wonder who is Dr. Tiso and what was Mary’s interest in him. #willardsuitcases #willardasylum #joncrispin #mentalhealth #mentalhealthmatters #mentalhealthawareness #drtiso #maryr https://www.instagram.com/p/B_NhvunJWUd/?igshid=1qdinr6cm8mpa

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Mary P. Here is the second photo of Mary’s case. See yesterday’s post for the inventory. #willardsuitcases #willardasylum #joncrispin #mentalhealth #mentalhealthmatters #mentalhealthawareness #maryp https://www.instagram.com/p/B_DYb1qpnBn/?igshid=l6d8t3jok21r

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Mary P. From time to time I’ll post a second picture of one of the patient’s cases if it illustrates something interesting. This is the list of the items that Mary brought with her to Willard. It matches pretty exactly what remained after her death. The only exception was the addition of a handkerchief. I’ll post a photo of the entire case tomorrow. #willardsuitcases #willardasylum #joncrispin #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #mentalhealthmatters #maryp https://www.instagram.com/p/B_AgBVLpAf8/?igshid=106o3r2y3csyr

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Mary McL. This was an interesting little case. The Priestley book is pretty cool. Mary came to Willard on 10 October 1919. #willardsuitcases #willardasylum #joncrispin #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #mentalhealthmatters #marymcl https://www.instagram.com/p/B-7oVb6pwx8/?igshid=1745nz6zzgsfm

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Mary McA. This lining of one of Mary’s two cases is quite beautiful. She came to Willard on 22 June 1937. #willardsuitcases #willardasylum #joncrispin #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #mentalhealthmatters #marymca https://www.instagram.com/p/B-z22ECpeIB/?igshid=jnbcwlda9m4i

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Mary M. There are two dates for Mary. 26 April 1934 (on the outside of her case) and 28 October 1938 on a label. I think the date in this photograph was an admission to a different facility, possibly Hudson. The label date could be when she arrived at Willard. #willardsuitcases #willardasylum #joncrispin #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #mentalhealthmatters #marym https://www.instagram.com/p/B-xUAkQJi6a/?igshid=1g68xf4mw8g5t