Ah-Gwah-Ching
Ah-Gwah-Ching, Cass County, Minnesota, USA
Tuberculosis - Early Years
from
"A Brief History of the Minnesota State Sanatorium --
Ah-Gwah-Ching Nursing Home
1907 - 1982
In Commemoration of our 75th Diamond Jubilee"
By Skip Oliver
© June 1982
Pages 5-9
In 1904 the Minnesota Legislature, having established a
special appropriation for the account Minnesota Sanatorium
for Consumptives, purchased 616 acres of land at $10.00 per
acre for the proposed site of the institution. The firm of
Fowble and Fitz of St. Paul was hired to survey the site for
roads, sewer, pipe line and contour maps in November of 1904.
Grade stakes were placed on proposed roads for building site
to Depot site and from building site to Walker Road in May of
1905.
From July to September, 1905, Ole Larson graded roads and
roadways on grounds of sanatorium site, cleared and graded
depot grounds and put in side track. In September of 1905
the Minnesota and International Railway Company (The M & I)
built the Sanatorium Spur.
A farmer's cottage was erected in the spring of 1906.
Ole A. Larson was hired as Caretaker on February 15, 1906
at salary of $50.00 per month.
An architect from St. Paul was employed in June of 1906 to
draw plans for the West Wing (later named the Main
Building -- and much later came to be known as our present D
Building). O'Neil And Son of Faribault, Minnesota were the
contractors for this building. Work was begun in the summer of
1906. During the summer of 1907 plans were drawn for the water
and sewage systems and the Camp Houses.
Dr. Walter J. Marcley arrived at the Satstorium in August
1907. His position: Superintendent and Physician
in Charge. Dr. Marcley was an American pioneer in state
Sanatorium work. He received his Doctor of Medicine from
Boston University in 1895 and became first superintendent of
the State Sanatorium at Rutland, Massachusetts. From August,
1907 until December, 1907, Dr. Marcley furnished the West
Wing, making purchases of furniture and furnishings, medical
supplies, foodstuffs and cooking utensils. The Minnesota
Sanatorium for Consumptives opened its doors to two patients
on December 28, 1907. By the end of the first fiscal year full
capacity of 55 patients had been reached. Cost of care that
first year was $1.00 per day. Salaries and wages for the first
seven months of operation were $4,657.62 and provisions totaled
$5,150.73. A post office was established at the sanatorium
during its first year and a depot for delivery of supplies
helped reduce trips to Walker via horse and wagon. Two major
purchases during Dr. Marcley's first year was a piano plus
piano stool, and a safe. The first china purchased
was Blue Willow.
A library of 250 volumes, largely donations from women's
clubs in St. Paul and Minneapolis, and the State Library
Commission, greatly added to the enjoyment of the patient.
Occasional excursions on the lake were arranged for patients
physically able to participate. A one-acre garden was tilled
and the produce harvested for use by the sanatorium.
During the next biennium in 1910, six cottages were erected
for patients, increasing the capacity to 110. Dr. Edward
Trudeau, the pioneer of sanatorium treatment in America was
operating the Adirondack Cottage Sanatorium in New York during
this period. His philosophy of rest, fresh air, and good food
was adopted by Dr. Walter Marcley in treating the tubercular
patient at the State Sanatorium.
The weekly per capita cost for the biennial period ending
in 1910 was $11.56. About 60 acres of land had been cleared
and the wood used for heating purposes. A good deal of
difficulty was experienced in securing domestic help. A few
discharged patients were kept on as employees. Quarters for
employees were most inadequate and Dr. Marcley requested the
Legislature to appropriate funds for eraployees' housing, as
well as housing for physicians and their families.
Dr. Marcley resigned his position as Superintendent in 1911
to become secretary of a tuberculosis committee created by the
State Board of Health. This committee was later named the State
Tuberculosis Commission.
L. B. Ohlinger, M.D. assumed the position of Superintendent in
1911 upon Dr. Marcley's departure and remained until - August of
1912; at which time Dr. George W. Beach was hired as Superintendent.
The biennium report ending in 1912 states that four of the six
cottages which had been built in 1910 for the use of patients
had been utilized for employees thus limiting the capacity of
patients to 85. Employees and patients shared the same common
dining room. Completion of the Administration Wing which was
added to the Main Building in 1911, aided to relieve the
congestion experienced in the dining room, as well as providing
office space sorely needed and work areas for laboratory use.
Domestic help was still difficult to secure -- partly due to
the isolation of the institution, and partly due to the fact
that tuberculosis was contagious, but for the most part, quarters
for employees were so meager and, unpleasant, few employees
remained for long.
The dairy barn was built during this biennium, and a steam
laundry installed. The first issue of the Pine Knot was
published in September 1913.
Rest, fresh air, and good food was still the prescribed treatment.
Fresh air faddism continued to flourish. Patients were placed in
open porches, summer and winter. Records indicate temperatures
as low as 37° below zero, with snow on beds during storms and high
winds. Nurses wore coats and mittens in caring for the patient.
Dr. George Beach resigned his position as Superintendent to
enter the Army.
Dr. P. M. Hall was appointed Acting Superintendent on June 1,
1918. Dr. P. M. Hall's rich background in the field of tuberculosis
was to serve the sanatorium well. Dr. Hall received his Doctor
of Medicine from Hahnemann Medical College in Chicago in 1882.
He, with Miss Elizabeth Sprague, R. N., opened the first
tuberculosis clinic Minneapolis in 1909. He was a member of the
Trudeau Society. The average daily population of the State
Sanatorium was now 230. Some steam heat had been added to the
cottages, a root cellar completed, and a new silo built. The
library had 980 volumes and the Pine Knot, the monthly magazine
for tuberculosis patients, continued circulation. With the advent
of Dr. Hall's tenure, emphasis was placed on entertainment for
the patient. Patients were encouraged, to become "entertainers".
Planned entertainment was begun and Dr. Hall's philosophy was
employed that a contented patient with a cheerful outlook was
well on the way to good health.
Miss Healey came to the State Sanatorium in October of 1918
as Matron and Head Nurse. Her training was received from the
St. Peter State Hospital, entering the nurses training program
at that state institution in 1907 and graduating in 1911.
She remained at St. Peter State Hospital until 1913, at which
time she accepted the position of Head Nurse at the Willmar
State Hospital. She was selected by the Board of Control for
her position at the Sanatorium in 1918.
Miss Healey was to remain at the State Sanatorium at Ah-gwah-ching
until her retirement in 1940, a span of 22 years devoted to the
care and treatment of tubercular patients. Her devotion to the
institution went beyond nursing care. Many hours of her time
were spent well into every night, mending, making curtains
and looking after the welfare of the institution in every way
possible.
In 1918 Miss Healey had eleven nurses on her staff and eight
nurses' aides. In 1940 when she retired her staff of nurses
numbered eighty-one. Miss Healey held the position of Matron
also throughout her years at our institution and supervised
all housekeeping personnel.
Records run high with praise for this unusual woman. When
the employees of the Sanatorium organized a band in 1933,
Miss Healey took great interest in it and made the capes and
caps for the 35 members.
One account relates Miss Healey's influence and interest to
the institution: Back in 1936, after a long, dry spell, Dr.
Johnson and Miss Healey were both making rounds the day of the
first rain and their paths crossed. "Good morning, Miss Healey."
"Nice rain we're having." said Dr. Johnson. "Yes," replied
Miss Healey, "I went to church this Morning to pray for rain,
and see what happens?" "I know," said Dr. Johnson, "even the
Almighty wouldn't dare to refuse you."
Miss Healey's pet remark was: "I'll have to take you over my
checkered apron." This remark was made to all who swerved from
the rules and was repeated many times to patients taking the
"cure", and to the the employees as a mild form of discipline.
In 1937 when Miss Healey was vacationing on the west coast,
the patients had a red and white checkered apron autographed
with their names and sent to her. Each square carried the name
of a patient.
In January of 1935 the Indian Sanatorium at Onigum burned. All
patients were brought across the ice of Leech Lake to the
Minnesota Sanatorium and housed in temporary quarters in the
Camp House. One of the greatest tributes paid to Miss Healey
was the Indian name given to her -- Geche Mushkeke
Equay, meaning Great Medicine Woman.
At the end of the 1918 biennium Dr. Hall experienced scarcity
of help due to the War. His request for monies from the
Legislature included funds for fencing the land and for
improving and increasing the farming operation.
The next two-year period saw a marked upturn in the treatment
of tuberculosis. The State Sanatorium employed a Bacteriologist,
Esther Tyrell. X-Ray examinations were done of every admission.
Heliotherapy was introduced. Fresh air faddism was now condemned
as a means of treatment. First thoracoplasty in Minnesota was
performed by Dr. Carl Hedblom, Mayo Clinic. Miss Beatrice Lindberg
was appointed as first State Occupational Therapy Director for
tuberculosis by the State Advisory Commission. This was the first
position of its kind in the United States. In November 1919,
occupational therapy was introduced at the State Sanatorium by
Miss Lindberg.
The Library now contained 1330 volumes.
Because of an extremely low salary scale, employees were
difficult to recruit. Many ex-patients were employed. Dr. Jesse
E. Douglass was added to the staff as Senior Physician and
William Belford employed as Steward.
A 24 bed cottage was completed. Two of the boilers in Power
House were equipped with automatic stokers and a triplex pump
was installed. Extensive grading and improvement of grounds was
accomplished. A crematory for the destruction of sputum boxes
was built.
The biennium ending June 30, 1922 showed another marked increase
in the care and treatment of tuberculosis. A new x-ray machine
was installed. The B Building, or Infirmary was completed and
provided space for segregating the far-advanced patient from
the newly admitted patient.
The Greenhouse was completed and a cottage built for the head
carperter. A six-stall garage was also finished. A new curtain
and stage settings were installed in the Recreation Hall. A
receiving radioset was also placed in operation with funds from
patients and employees.
In 1923 and 1924 the capacity of the institution had grown to 325.
The new Power House was completed. The Recreation Hall was
re-decorated. Construction was begun on a residence for the engineer.
Dental services were added to the services at State Sanatorium
with employment of Dr. E. C. Watne, in January of 1926. The new
highway between Walker and the State Sanatorium was completed.
An appropriate entrance where the Sanatorium road crossed the
highway to the railroad station was contemplated. A hearing
was held before the Railroad & Warehouse Commission the latter
part of June, 1926 on a petition for a new railroad station and
an agent. The Minnesota Trudeau Society was organized in 1925.
Dr. H. A. Burns was added to the staff as Assistant Superintendent
in 1928. The B Building or Infirmary was still overcrowded due
to the number of U.S. Veterans admitted. Construction was began
in June, 1928 on Hall Pavilion. The building was designed for
a capacity of 40 children. A new x~ray machine was installed
including new wiring, table, operating board, and stereoscope.
Water and steam pipes were installed from the farm site and
farm house to the power plant. The telephone exchange from Walker
to the Sanatorium was rebuilt, greatly improving the telephone
service.
Throughout the ten years of Dr. Hall's service to the Sanatorium
much growth was seen to the buildings and grounds Dr. Hall changed
the name of the postoffice at the State Sanatorium to
"Ah-gwah-ching", from the Indian meaning "out-ofdoors".
His untiring efforts in the treatment of tuberculosis were lauded
by all who knew of his work. On July 18, 1928 he passed away, after
a lifetime of service to humanity. His funeral was held at the
Recreation Hall of the State Sanatorium.
Following his death the Dr. Hall Memorial Committee was established
for the purpose of raising funds for the purchase of a life-sized
bronze bust of Dr. Hall. The bust was commissioned to Charles S.
Wells of the Minneapolis School of Art, Minneapolis. The completed
bust, at a cost of $600.00, was placed in Hall Memorial Pavilion.
This bust is now the property of the Ah-gwah-chinq Historical
Society and will remain a part of the collection of the museum.
E-mail: dwagner2@isd.net
©2004 DJW
Last Modified:
January 2, 2004