Email 11

From: Photogskh@aol.com
Sent: Sep 7, 2013
Subject: TB Sanatorium

Dear Chuck,

I am familiar with the old TB Sanatoriums such as Cresson. In the 1930's my dad was diagnosed with TB & had to spend at least a year in Lakeland TB Sanatorium in Camden County, NJ.

As a kid if the 1950's I recall my dad having to go to the county health dept. to have his annual CXR (chest x-ray). This continued until the mid 1960's when they finally said he no longer needed to have the annual CXR done. He remained in remission the remainder of his life. Ironically, in the 1970's I would graduate college & become a respiratory therapist & cardiopulmonary technologist. I learned (among many other things) to read CXRs & was able to spot a patient of ours who had contracted TB. By then there was medication for treatment. My great-grandfather (on my dad's side) died of TB he contracted as a dock worker.

I think my dad did feel some shame for a time about having TB. But by the time I was a teen, all he had to do was go for an annual CXR, so I believe he felt more comfortable with it. Neither my sister nor I used to make a big deal of him having had TB, as it was before we were born. When I became an RRT (registered respiratory therapist) I told my father he had no more reason to worry about the TB. When I treated my first TB patient, I had no qualms at all. The place I saw/treated the most number of TB patients was at the VA (Veterans' Admin.) hospital.

I'd be honored for you to add my email to your site. Thank you and others who have posted their stories about Cresson Sanatorium. They are very insightful of a time not many people recall.

Sincerely,
Sally Huntley
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From: Diana White
Sent: Oct 31, 2013
Subject: Thanks

Dear Charles,

I wanted to write to thank you for this wonderful website re Cresson San. I am not a survivor of this nor connected to the San. I saw this in the Harrisburg Patriot News. However, my grandfather died in a San in NJ back in 1931 from TB. We are still looking for his grave. My dad and his brother were given light duty WW2 jobs because of having TB scarring on their lungs. This helps me understand my grandfather's experience from the inside, as well as some of my father's and uncle's life context. It is a treasure. Thank you.

Diana White whitediana99@gmail.com
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From: Diane Haines haines@cableone.net
Sent: Thursday, July 10, 2014
Subject: My Great Aunt, Lydia Ruth Oakes

Hello Charles,

I saw your website and email address today, and thought I'd let you know
that I discovered from Ancestry.com that my great aunt (I believe) was in
the Cresson Township PA Tuberculosis Sanatorium in Cambria Co., PA in 1930. My grandfather, Theodore Oakes had a sister named Lydia Ruth Oakes, and I have not been able to find info on her until today. I believe the fourth person on the attached census record is my Aunt Lydia Ruth. I do know that she was born in 1895 in Cambria County, and this census shows she is 35 years old, so this is most likely my aunt. The only thing that throws me off a little is that this census shows that she is married, and I would think she would have a married last name listed. I know you said you were there in the 50's, but I see a list of people there in the 30's.

I have a feeling that my great aunt did not make it out of The San. My great-grandfather, William Oakes, had 10 children, and Lydia Ruth Oakes, was one of those 10 children. Lydia was born about 1895, and I am able to follow her through the 1910 census when she was 15. I was not able to find a shred of info on her until I came across the San census of 1930 when she was 35 years old. I have seen many, many sources of Lydia’s siblings on Ancestry.com, but not one of those sources mention Lydia Ruth. So my thoughts are that she did not make it out of the San. It makes me sad not knowing what happened to her. I can find death records pretty much for all of Lydia’s siblings; just not for Lydia. I did notice on your Cresson website that some of the patients who died there never got claimed by family members. So sad. I wonder if there is a way to find out for sure when she died.

I sure hate to hear you were there, and I'm sure it was not pleasant. If
you'd like to share some of your experiences, I'd love to hear them. Very happy that you got out of there and had such a successful career.

I really enjoyed looking at the photos and info. It made my day. Thank you for all the info that you have put into your website to let people know about Cresson. It was definitely informative. I will study it a bit more this weekend.

Sincerely,

Diane (Oakes) Haines

PS: I was just surprised to see that you live outside of San Antonio. My dad, Glenn Barbour Oakes, was born in Johnstown, PA, and most of the Oakes family were born in Indiana and Cambria counties. I lived in the New Castle, PA area until I was 30, then moved to San Antonio, TX. Then, I met my 2^nd husband, who had lived in S.A. his whole life, up until the time we moved to Aransas Pass in 1996, which is about 20 miles north of Corpus Christi. We just love the Hill Country north of S.A., and I would really love to retire there.