In March of 1955 I was seventeen years old and a senior at Towanda Valley High School in Towanda, Pa. I was class president and busy getting ready for graduation ceremonies in June. At the same time, I was also looking past high school to the future by enrolling at Penn State University for the fall semester. It was exciting to realize that in a few short months I would be living away from my family for the first time, independent and on my own with a whole new lifestyle and adventures before me. The course of my life seemed neatly planned out for the next four years. But all my plans suddenly changed when in March of 1955 I was diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis and was sent to the State TB Sanatorium in Cresson, Pa. where I spent sixteen months recovering.
The independence I had anticipated was replaced instead by total restriction of freedom and strict regimentation. Imagine being told at seventeen that bedtime, meaning lights out, was 9 PM. Or that you would spend the next 12 months in a hospital ward in your pajamas and bathrobe resting in bed. Looking back on it, I realize now that the experience was very similar to joining the military. One day you were with your family and friends, and the next you were separated from them and living with a group of complete strangers. And just as in war, all the patients were in a battle fighting a common enemy, tuberculosis, and some would survive and some would not.
The basic daily routine of the hospital was pretty simple. Breakfast, lunch and dinner broke up the day into three segments. I soon learned that there was no reason to eat fast as you weren't going anywhere afterward. In fact, the more time you took, the better. We had pills (PAS and Isoniazid) to take every day and got shots of streptomyacin antibiotics twice a week. Everything else was good food, fresh air and bed rest. I received pneumothorax each week, an injection of air into the lower abdomen that pushed up on your lungs to collapse them and help them rest. I received that treatment for two and a half years and only stopped when I was about to start college.
I didn’t realize until years later how fortunate I was in the timing of my illness. In 1955 drugs and procedures were available which almost guaranteed a cure in a reasonable amount of time. At seventeen years old I was also at a natural break in my life between high school and college. And, unlike most of the men I met there, I didn’t have the responsibility of a wife and family to worry about. I think of that time in the sanatorium as a forced two year hiatus from all my plans; not exactly a vacation, but not hard work either. Once cured, I was able to resume my life and live the next 55 years without any lasting physical effects or restrictions from my bout with tuberculosis. It was “case closed”.
Then why have I always had this feeling that I never quite achieved closure on this one episode of my life? That it was buried inside me, an unfinished business still waiting to be dealt with in some way that I couldn’t put into words
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About a year ago I decided to document my sanatorium experience in a small personal website with memories and photos of my time at the sanatorium. I assumed it would be of interest to me and my family only. However, within a few weeks of publishing the website on the internet, I started receiving emails from people who had a past connection to the sanatorium. These people included former patients, medical staff and workers. I also received emails from children and grandchildren of former patients seeking more information about a family member who had been a TB patient at the sanatorium. Many of the people who have contacted me have allowed me to add their personal stories and photos to my web site, so that over the past six months the website has become less about my story and more of a memorial site to remember loved ones and how their lives and those of their families were affected by TB.
It soon became obvious to me that sharing experiences with other TB patients was the closure I had been missing for the past 55 years. Talking with others who share and understand the TB experience really is the best form of therapy. I had talked about my illness to friends over the years, but none of them had experienced TB themselves and had no concept of what it was really like. But through the website I was able to share stories with a newly discovered community of people with an interest in the sanatorium. And most of them seemed to find the same kind of solace and relief as I had found in finally being able to give voice to their inner feelings. It’s the greatest benefit of the website and one I never anticipated.
Numerous inquiries about the sanatorium led me to become more interested in documenting its history and I contacted many of the local historical societies in the towns around the Cresson area for information, which they gladly provided. The Pa State Archives was also an invaluable source of photographs documenting life at the sanatorium from the perspective of both patients and staff. The resulting compiled data on the website represents a unique visual historical record of life at the sanatorium. For some, this is as close as they will ever get to see what life in the sanatorium was like for a parent or grand-parent.
The sanatorium, which was opened 1913, was closed as a TB facility in the mid 1960’s when it was no longer needed thanks to effective drugs which conquered the disease. In three years, the sanatorium will celebrate the 100th anniversary of its opening and some of the local historical societies are contemplating an anniversary celebration. Who knows, maybe a reunion of the sanatorium “alums” could be arranged at that time. It would certainly be a fitting tribute to all who passed through there.
TB was a dreaded killer in this country in the first half of the 20th century, affecting many families from all walks of life. So I'd like to give an open invitation to anyone who has information, photos or a personal story concerning Cresson sanatorium to contact me and submit material for publication on the website. Or maybe you would like to email me with a general comment or question about the site. The information on the site is for public use and anyone has my permission to download items of interest. The site is located on the internet at the following link: http://www.feltondesignanddata.com/cressontbsanatoriumremembered/
Chuck Felton
825 Lake Park Drive
Lakehills, TX 78063
(830) 751-2312
