Preserving memories of an asylum

Usually the mention of an old, closed-down insane asylum brings to mind images of inhumanely treated patients, ghosts and bad TV.

When it comes to the Hastings State Hospital, however, the Dakota County Historical Society would like a more complete story to be preserved, featuring both the good and bad parts of history.

The society is embarking on a mission to make sure the county remembers the positive role the hospital played in Hastings history -- and learns from its mistakes.

The plan is to collect the stories of former staff members, patients and family members through a series of interviews, said Chad Roberts, the society's executive director. So far, 25 people formerly involved with the hospital have volunteered to share their experiences.

As with any major employer, a lot of people in Hastings were connected to the hospital, as staff members, patients or family members of patients, Roberts said.

When the hospital opened in 1900, 112 patients were transferred from Rochester. At the time, these patients were considered untreatable, project director Heidi Langenfeld said. Patients were simply "housed."

Harsh treatments such as electroshock therapy and lobotomies were common in the early years. And people could be locked up there for reasons that sound strange to modern ears: According to local records from the hospital's early years, patients were admitted for "maladies" such as disappointment, fear, "political excitement" and drafting of family members into military service, just to name a few.

A few years later, though, things began to go downhill for the hospital.

In 1977, the hospital was ordered to close within a year; 187 employees would have to find new work. This controversial decision left many employees wondering where their next job would be, Langenfeld said.

In 1980, a study intended to evaluate the impact of the closure on former employees (commissioned by the Department of Public Planning) summarized feelings as "bitter and anxious." In the end, of the 187 employees, 158 transferred to new jobs, although they indicated the process was troublesome.

Many patients were transferred to the Anoka State Hospital, "where they kept wanting to go home, meaning the Hastings State Hospital," Langenfeld said.

The majority of the project's interviewees so far are former staff employees; only one is a former patient. Langenfeld said researchers need to hear from more patients to fully understand how treatment evolved and to present a complete picture of the hospital.

She cited patient confidentiality as one issue that may be preventing former patients from speaking out, but also the stigma about mental illness.

While it's clear that mental disorders were often misunderstood during the hospital's time, project members insist that shouldn't stop patients and their families from participating, nor should the fear of speaking out against early practices.

"We're not trying to whitewash history," Langenfeld said. Derogatory things -- things that we no longer consider politically correct, maybe harsh methods used on patients early on -- all will be talked about in the interviews; those are a part of people's histories.

Telling all sides is especially important to Langenfeld in today's budget climate, when many of the governmental cuts being made are aimed at mental health services. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, cuts in mental health programs totaled almost $1.6 billion from 2009-2011. The society hopes the stories will help legislators "make better choices for the future."

"I feel sort of at the point of almost hopelessness about some of these programs... somebody has to take care of [the mentally disabled], but where is the money going to come from?" Langenfeld said. More cuts are expected this year.