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Challenges

The Norwich State Hospital Closure with

Unpublished Facts and Fallout

Wilfred Zinavage

First Edition

Fulton Books, Inc.

Meadville, PA

Published by Fulton Books 2020

ISBN 978-1-64654-547-6 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-64654-548-3 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Dedication

This book is dedicated to the many doctors, nurses and the employees who were affected by its closure. It is also dedicated to the families of the patients and to future planners.

Introduction

Warning! Do not read this book if you are not naturally curious, enjoy history, want to learn, and meet challenges. If you’re a medical professional, you will be able to understand it a little better than most.

In 1904, near the City of Norwich, Connecticut, the State of Connecticut opened a facility called Norwich Hospital for the Insane. Later, it was known as the Norwich State Hospital. Sadly, it completely closed in 1996.

In book number 3 by Bill Stanley Books in 1997, (these books are no longer in print), Mr. Stanley describes a long-ago time,

“It was in the 1970s when, on reflection, it seems to me the world went mad. One of the do good policies was that mental patients had rights and that if they were no threat to themselves or to anyone else, they would be released. We now know that they were released into the streets of Norwich. Throughout all of the nation, the same thing was being repeated. From New York City of Los Angeles, and in any small town with a state hospital nearby, patients were released and hospitals closed. Today, when I read the newspaper accounts, watch television, and listen to reported talk of the homeless problems, I am convinced that at least 80% of the homeless are in reality mental patients that we, as a civilized society, should be caring for.”

From the time Mr. Stanley wrote this until this present date, I cannot help but wonder if some of these people didn’t infiltrate our political system. For example, the City of Norwich has a mass transportation center next to a sewer plant, a rusty railroad bridge that was once a main line, and a former transportation railroadcenter now occupied by the Norwich Bulletin. Near to it is an abandoned YMCA building, “there are several other examples that local residents know about. As to the political climate in our state at the present time, it cannot help but make one wonder what the future will bring.

I present the next two statistical reports, dated June and July 1953 (author[s] unknown), which are completely uncensored or edited, as a glimpse into the past. (Note I had to add page numbers.) I believe these reports were not meant to be seen by the public and were produced only for the supervisors and administrators to read. Fortunately, they were rescued from the trash and lay dormant in an attic for decades. Note that the June report is missing pages 1 and 2, most likely from an accident. Some minor issues occurred during the reproduction, and the ink faded over time. These reports open a window for historians and medical professionals as well as the curious to glimpse what life was like in a mental health facility in the 1950s. They will also provide some insight as to how the patients were treated. Donated was a report dated November 1992 that was censored by me and other items that may be of interest.

It is ironic that the Mohegan Tribe, which once owned all the land that Norwich and surrounding towns of Sprague and Lisbon are built upon in a nine-square-mile region, later built a world-class casino, which became a city unto itself. The Mohegans repurchased the land that the state hospital once called home, and plans are underway to build a world-class theme park.

About two years ago, I found the following two reports in a box of stored documents. The more I studied them, the more I began to realize that they were reports that were made for the supervisors and administrators of the Norwich State Hospital and not meant for the public to read.

Realizing that I may run into some obstacles, I called the Connecticut State Library and told them of my find and asked them if they had such files in their library. They said no and requested that I send them these two reports.

The other concern I had is that these reports contained names of former patients and employees of the hospital. Although these reports were dated June and July 1953, nearly sixty-nine years ago, there would likely be no major concern of their release and perhaps might provide closure for some of the families included in the reports.

There are many interesting facts in these reports. Doctors, nurses, or for that matter, anyone interested in the subject of insanity may be interested. The first challenge for you, the reader, is to study them and draw your own conclusions. Remember the facts that in 1905, when the hospital was built, the challenges were different. There were no so-called miracle drugs, no cures for some sexual diseases, and the subject of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was unknown as were several other mental health maladies.

People asked me why I chose to write about the Norwich State Hospital. As I read the reports, I found them fascinating, and in them was one particular note. That note stated that in July 1953, a lobotomy was performed. Such a tiny detail!

It is my belief that that operation was performed on my uncle Anthony (ref: The Zinavage Legacy). In the history of the state hospital, I believe it was the only such operation that was performed, as at the time, it was considered experimental.

On a personal note, circa summer 1962, I took it upon myself to visit my uncle and take him out to lunch. He did not want to leave the hospital. I said to him, “Come on. I will get you a fresh cup of coffee.” Again he indicated he did not want to leave the premises. His response was, “I get fresh coffee here every day.” Then he said (as he removed a huge ring of keys from his pocket), “Come on. Let me give you a tour of my world.”

I mentioned the keys to him, as to me, they signified a man who had access to a lot of areas. He smiled and said, “Yes, they consider me a trustee. I can get into areas that the doctors cannot, and they have come to me for access.” As if to prove the point, he used his keys and said, “Let me show you where they perform water therapy.” He opened the door, and I saw a twelve-by-twelve-foot room completely covered in white tiles with the center floor with a hole in it for drainage and, interestingly enough, a huge ring. I guess he read my mind as he replied, “They bring them in here naked and chain them to the ring. Then they put high-pressure hoses on them using cold water.” Needless to say, I was a bit shocked, as I had never heard of such a thing. The tour continued, and I really don’t remember much of it except for the following:

Still recovering from the shock, I continued to follow him as he led me through the halls to a window that was covered with heavy metal screening, and he said, “Take a look.” What I saw through that window was a group of about fifteen to twenty women. Some were very beautiful. They wandered about, some aimlessly and others chatting with each other. I guess my uncle must have seen the confusion on my face, and anticipating my next question, he said, “These women are here because they loved their men too much.” It took me a long time to figure that one out. They were mostly prostitutes, whores, and those that suffered from nymphomania.

As the visit ended, he wished me well and flattered me by saying that I was a bright young man. To me, he wasn’t crazy. It was ironic that he died of tuberculosis in this state facility. If he had been properly diagnosed, he could have been saved because there was another hospital about less than a mile as the crow flies to treat people with tuberculosis—The Uncas on the Thames.

To the reader, the hospital could and was probably used for medical experimentation on patients, and it is more than likely that some suffered cruel and unusual punishment. You be the judge, reader, of this very interesting institution and the reports.

The following document (author wishing to be unknown) has a lot of errors and is as I received it. I felt it was important to get another view on the issue in his own words.

The 60s

I was bom in 1956, a time when life was different. We always played outside and had few worries. I went to Saint Patrick’s Catholic School in Norwich, Connecticut. I discovered early on that there was a separation of culture. I was Italian, so while I was in the 4th grade I was able to go to Delia’s and eat a grinder for lunch. There was an Italian fest across Delia’s neighborhood. Although my neighborhood was mostly Italian there was a mixed bag of all denominations. The downtown was still exciting. There were clothes shops and restaurants there. The Norwich Town Mall killed downtown. Women that drove could easily pull in and park and didn’t have to worry about parallel parking. This was about the time when downtown became a dumping ground for Norwich State Hospital patients. There was an influx of patients who ended up there. The Waregan Hotel was their home. There they found their friends, package stores, and social services or welfare. The center of the city provided all the necessities. Metro area for people who needed assistance people could go to the mall instead. The Town let it turn out that way a place where a patient from Hartford, Vernon, wherever had it all.

The 70s

The 70s was still a downfall patient walking around scared people (women) from town. Many places were still there, cloth, food, restaurants, but decline continued caused by influx of patients parallel parking does not work for women. No insight to make it a destination the thought of college there did not happen, same with museum. The thought of removing a building does not work. It like having a missing front tooth. A parking lot needs a destination. Removal of the waterfront a big mistake (1950s). This was when the downtown was abandoned. Downtown needs an attraction. The scrap yard and police station is where it should come from. The thought of a college was also missed. The 70s had no one wanting to be there. Social service ended there and the town paid a price for it. The cost of the ccd is crazy. Should be one tax town. People find it hard to just pay the tax.

The 80s

Evacuation of downtown. Not much interesting except parking areas and parking lots. Buildings taken down. Lots put up with business moving out. Slum lords profit from patients. Downtown was taken advantage of.

Same in the 90s and the 20s

Downtown needs to be reinvented. Waterfront okay as long as odor from the sewer plant is controlled. The police department should go to Chestnut and North Franklin Street not Buckingham. Tax all the same. No ccd tax. Ethnic diversity accepted and it is what the town was built on. Incentives to move to downtown welcomed. Not to scare people off. The casino is at the doorstep. Time to work off their influx.

Authors notes: he meant the Wauregan Hotel; the CCD was the term given to the city consolidated city district, where if you lived within, your taxes would be higher as well as the “influx,” which I believe he meant influence. Again, I left it the way he wrote it by his hand.

In the opinion column of The Bulletin on Sunday, April 26, 2019, was an article entitled How Can Tolls and Taxes Reverse State’s Decline? by a writer named Chris Powell. Mr. Powell is a columnist for the Journal Inquirer in Manchester. He ended his article by stating the following: “Showing Connecticut’s decline, the state’s economic and demographic data practically screams for challenging these policy premises, but there’s too much profit for tod many people in continuing to do what drives the state down.”

Again, the author’s challenge is for future visitors and for the local residents to understand that we should feel welcomed when we travel to places (i.e., that mass transit should be inexpensive and efficient) and that decay and decline due to greed and stupidity should really cease to exist. But, reality, in the form of the decline of Norwich, shows just what Mr. Powell stated.

So, the challenge to you the reader is simple. See what remains of the Norwich State Hospital and the building of a theme park. Go to Norwich and note the decay. See the birth of people attempting to put the glow back into what was once called “The Rose of New England” with new businesses.

I have written this book to expose was actually happening at the hospital and the resultant effects on the city of Norwich it had when it closed down.

On 18 August 2019, at a press conference after two mass shootings, (one in Texas and the other in Ohio), President Donald Trump was asked what he intended to do about them. He basically put this whole issue of mental health out for the public by stating that. “It isn’t the gun that pulls the trigger”. He then mentioned seeing the effect of a mental institution closure when he lived in New York city and” We need to look at the issue of mental health” and mentioned that 92% of our institutions were shutdown to save the government money.

In summary best expressed by the Tea Party “83% of Americans blame mental health as a major issue. ((9/15/19) on a survey they took

Finally, for tourists I suggest looking at the Indian burial ground where the Masonic temple once stood, look at the Norwich city hall and its outside beauty of it all that and know that inside in a certain meeting room the city council members chairs are much higher than the public ones. Arrogance?? Explore, Ask residents, See the beautiful Uncas Leap Falls (when the river is high). Finally, explore the amazing contrast of a city trying to recover.

The following are more comments that I have added to entice you, the reader, to explore and to ponder.

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