Thanksgiving at the Asylum
Patients at the Fort Steilacoom hospital celebrate the holiday with a turkey dinner and a theatrical performance.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The patients at the asylum were remembered as usual on Thanksgiving day. A dinner of turkey, chicken and other good things was served all round. As an indication that it was appreciated, the following incident will show: When the forty patients of the convalescent ward were seated at the table, an old man arose and quietly and reverently proposed that thanks be returned to God for His goodness. With bowed heads all joined in thankfulness with the good old man. Contentment reigned throughout the hospital this day. At night the assembly hall was filled with patients and a few invited guests to see the play of 'The Flower of the Family,' which was very creditably presented by persons connected with the hospital.
“When the forty patients of the convalescent ward were seated at the table, an old man arose and quietly and reverently proposed that thanks be returned to God for His goodness.”
Fort Steilacoom was the first permanent hospital for the mentally ill in Washington Territory. Today, the site is known as Fort Steilacoom Park, a public recreational space, while the complex's legacy of treatment remains a significant chapter in the state's social history.
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