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A MAN OF EXTRAORDINARY CHARACTER, PART THREE

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A MAN OF EXTRAORDINARY CHARACTER PART THREE By Fred Wickert An Extraordinary Life Chapter #2 My Life at Letchwort Village Now on with my life. First thing is I went to old school 15 on junction Blvd, in Carona Queens. I walked when the weather was nice and took the trolley when it rained. I attend this school for four yrs with the same teacher each year every month. But then on July 31,1933 I went to Bellevue hospital for an evaluation and was sent directly to Randall Island, NY. I spent 6 weeks in this facility. I remember an experience while at this facility when we went swimming a worker held my head under water. I couldn’t swim and they thought it was funny. I left this facility on Sept 12, 1933. Next I went to letchwort Village in Thrills, NY. I arrived here on Sept 12,1933. Even though I was here I did get to go home for 3 weeks that was from Sept 7th-28th, 1940. But anyway here let me tell you about my time at Letchwort Village. But I thought I would let you know that there are a lot of good and some are not good. But where will I start. Well how about here with this. One day one of my friends Pear Harbor Francis who lived in H cottage asked to borrow my radio to hear the NY Giants football game in 1941 he was also a house boy like me. While listening there was a news bulletin at noon that stated there was Japanese bombing at pearl Harbor by the Japanese. Then the next day Monday Dec 8, 1941 president Roosevelt declared war on the Japanese and Germany president Roosevelt died in April 1945 so president Truman sent an atomic bomb over to the Japanese. Tommy had visit me that weekend and filled me in on that on Sept 2,1945 that General Macarthur and the Japanese had signed a paper that the war was over. And that June 6,1944 was declared D-Day. Then there was Normandy invasion had started this was between American vs. Germany, Italy and Japan. I learned of the news from reading the paper that Mrs. Lynch who worked at our cottage. She would pin a note on her shirt so she wouldn’t forget the paper. Then the following day I learned that the Marines and Navy as well as the Army and Air Force were all involved in helping America. We did win the war. And I can remember seeing the Germans coming out with their arms raised above their heads they had lost. I saw this on TV after breakfast. So after that said and done here is more memories about the village. One memory is that if you didn’t go outside the workers would take your shoes and coats off. Then the shoes were put in a shoe closet being arranged in the order of the sleeping schedule. And the coats are hung in a closet with the shoes after taking their shoes off they put their sneakers on and line up for the bathroom. In there we would wash our faces and hands too with towels and brush our teeth. I would help people who couldn’t read to get their brushes and return it to the correct spot. Then medications were given and then we would go to the dayroom where we would watch TV. The staff would pick the shows we could watch at 10:45 am and then there was another bathroom call. We would have to go to use the facilities and wash up again before lunch. Then we had to return our sneakers to the closet and put our shoes back on before leaving for lunch a sitter would be sent around to check our clothes for cleanliness if they were dirty then we had to change and if you were missing a button we had to sew it back on. Then we formed a line and walked to the dining hall. The waiters would eat first then we could sit, there was eight of us to a table with the waiters he would make sure our trays were filled and say grace. Then we would eat with no talking. If there was too much noise a bell would ring and we had 15 mins to finish eat our lunch up on returning from lunch. We then again would take our shoes off and put our sneakers back on. Then we would go to the bathroom again to wash up and brush our teeth etc. Then again back to the dayroom until 3:45 pm to line up again to clean up for supper. We repeated the same steps for and following supper at 7:30pm. We would start by putting our sneakers away and change our clothes and put night gowns on. Then we would say our prayers at the end of our beds and then we could use the bathrooms to wash up again and brush our teeth before going to sleep for the night. Then the staff would turn off all the lights and for the people who wet the bed they would wake you up every hour until morning to help prevent the wetting. Everyday the kids would go outside between their meals. Some would walk around the field and if it was a hot day they would sit beneath the shade of the trees. As for the disciplinary measures during this process they would strike you for no good reason. Now on with some of my other memories about the village and what we were allowed to do there at the village. I also would attend 9am mass at the catholic church, I then went to catechisms class taught by nuns. Also my three aunts would attend mass at different times so they could help with Sunday dinner on the individual wards. There were 80 people to a ward. I remember the H ward having three rows of beds. Two rows had 13 and one had 14 beds the others would sleep on the floor. Overcrowded, they had to sit on the beds it had rows of 13 and 14 and 13. I also remember I had a job that included getting up at 5:00 am to inspect hair, eyes and hands in the morning. The bathroom had four wash basins. If they didn’t get clean enough I would send them back to the basin. The shower schedule was twice a week they would give you a bucket of soapy water and the tenant would rinse you with a garden hose. I was a houseboy so I got to rinse myself. This is also when they checked for sores to report to the sr only once a week on Saturday. For me they would cut my nails and clean my ears after the showers. The bedspreads were removed in the afternoon and stacked on a table in the linen room everyday. And the sheets were washed once a week during the day in cottage H. I would go to the store room to gather supplies. This included soap, shoe laces and toilet paper for cottage H. The store room also carried all the medication for all the cottages. But cottage H was also a lot different from the others cottages, because there was some that didn’t go to schooling. Also I can remember at Letchwort Village from 1934-1935 every year we would stand in the brook and build a stone wall to keep the water off the road. School was out at this time and we would spend all day at this job. Also in the cornfields and pick weeds on our hands and knees. In the afternoon around 2:30 pm we would then go swimming in our birthday suits. Then after a while I didn’t have to work in the cornfields or in the brook with the stones anymore. Now on to more about the village. In the dining hall they never change breakfast it was always at 7:00am, dinner was at 12:00 pm and supper at 5:00 pm. But if you were sick your meals would be brought to you. This usually included an orange to make your own juice with a full glass of water to mix it, toast, jell-o and eggs depending on the time of the day. Also at the dining hall 8 people would sit at the table with 1 waiter at the end of the table. For breakfast usually consisted of corn flakes or a warm bowl of cream of wheat. We were always served bread and butter with milk in our coffee and orange juice in the morning on the weekends (Sunday), we could have one hard boiled egg to peel ourselves with our breakfast. The waiter would eat with us at the table at around 11:30 am. The waiter came to eat dinner at 12:00pm. But before the waiter would eat they would wait for us to come and then the waiter would serve us soup, bread and butter with milk and then dessert around 4:30 the we waited for the waiter to pick up and we finally were able to eat at 5:00pm. Then on Sundays for dinner we would get rice and or potatoes and meat mix, bread and butter and ice tea sometimes we were able to get roast beef, chicken, hot dogs, and vegetables. On Sunday night for supper we were able to have cookies, bananas, cheese cake, and coffee. We would all say grace before every meal. There would be a boss in the dining hall that would ring a bell if it got to noisy. All the cottages had a female boo. In the H cottage I would help the woman boss by putting the names on the clothes and the letter of the cottage they were in. Also we took items down to the storage room. We had to keep track of how many people were in cottage H that while sleeping would wet the bed, which ones were in the hospital and the total for the day. The people who worked there that lived off the grounds would come on duty at 5:30 am to 2:30 pm. Those who lived on the ground would come on duty at 5:30 pm to 3:00 pm. Woman boss showed up at 6:45 am to 3:45 pm, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, 12:30 to 9:00 pm, 3:00 pm to 11:40 pm and 11:40 to 7:20 am. On their day off in H cottage someone would take over for them from another cottage to relieve them. Also, a great memory is that in May on memorial day we had to stand like at a fair with games, ice cream, soda and cotton candy. They also had rides for us from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. And on july 4 the entire cottage would march in a parade with a float that each cottages made. They people who couldn’t walk would watch the parade through the front of their cottage. This went from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm. Then around 1:00 pm we would start with lunch outside. After that we would play potato sack races, tug-o-war and see who could make the neatest bed and etc. Then we would go down to the field around 8:00 pm for the fire works and at 6:15 pm we went outside with nose makers to celebrate the fourth. Then on Saturday every other week my father and aunt LALA would come to visit me. We would visit in the ward where they set up tables and chairs for families. They would get off a bus around 11:15 am. They would have to leave at 3:00 pm for their bus. While they were there we would go for walks and talk about what was going on at home. Aunt LALA would bring me cookies and candy something she baked (Quick memory I used to sleep on a sofa bed and aunt LALA would put it away in the morning.) Also when she visited we played softball with cottages B,E and G around 6:30 pm after supper. We played with three teams, we go down to the baseball field to watch a baseball game we had to be back by 3:00 pm to take the spreads off the beds. We also would go to Catholic church in the gym every Sunday it was about 8:00 am service and at 10:00 am for it was Jewish service. Oh yeah I forgot we used to choose sides to play on for the softball games. My most memorable thing is that at Letchwort Village on Sunday July 27, 1941 is when I met my brother Tommy’s girlfriend Estelle and her nephew George. Actually Estelle came to visit in April 10, 1941 to onlyfind out that I was hospitalized. My brother Tommy came to visit me in the hospital. I was covered with boils, they were everywhere. I remained in the hospital for two weeks. George Gladden also came to visit me with Estelle twice and Tommy came again Friday June 28, 1957. Now back to my cottage which was H cottage. On Sunday Dec 9, 1949 we had 3 newemployees come to work at cottage H at Letchwort Village. That is when Mrs. Nancy madurs came to work at cottage H. I would help the new employees out as much as I could during the day. This included helping with the records of attendance that soiled their beds. Also who was on vacation. That is how me and Nancy became friends. We knew each other for my last five 5 years at Letchwort Village for the workers. If the employees were good after 6 months the village would let them buy a uniform to wear. The woman would wear dresses until they were able to get their uniforms. Okay on to more about the village. On Sunday after dinner around 1:00 pm the houseboy would go to see a basketball game in the wintertime. On Tuesday afternoon some of the houseboys went to the movies to help out getting people ready to see a movie in the gym, everyone had a opportunity to attend. And every Thursday night we would attend a dance in the gym. Three men would play instruments, which included a violin, clarinet and etc. It was held from 7:00pm to 9:00pm, but some of the houseboys would play for us. Then people who needed a shave would have it done on Saturday morning and wed morning. Monday night socks were given to each person on their beds to change them. Everyday toothbrushes were put on the bed for each person. Their names were on each toothbrush. Clean clothes were given on Saturday afternoon and they would take a bath on Saturday morning and wed morning too. On with more when you were sick your meals would be chicken soup, tea, soft eggs, toast and an orange for juice. I got this meal because when I was 17 or 18 years old I was very sick for 3 weeks. I was sick with flu and while sick on Saturday afternoon they would trim your nails and clean your ears with cotton. Everything though wasn’t bad cottage H did have a celebration for Halloween. We would play a game of musical chairs in the day room. We had a pie eating contest. We also had a peanut pushing contest where you had to move the peanut with your nose to the finish line. Also we had a broom race, a marshmallow with your mouth before your opponent did, boot races were held with teams, another great game that we had was where you had to put several crackers in your mouth and try to whistle, we dunked for apples and etc. These activities took place in the day room from 6:30 to 7:30 pm. We also used the hall for some activities like apple dunking and boy did we spill a lot of water. Well on to what I used to do in cottage H. I took care of the shoe closet in the cottage H ward. 1 and 2 had 46 spots each for shoes and coats; I helped people who didn’t know where their shoes labels were placed above each shoe cubby and coat hook every other week. We would rotate our shoes for our other pairs. The other pair would go to the shoe repair place where children were repairing the shoes. Occasionally we would get nails put in up through the sole. Also in the cottage when there was a new admission they first would have a shower and their hair checked. They would take kerosene and comb it through their hair. The next day the doctor would check you over. And every two weeks four boys and a man would come to the cottages to cut our hair. They would use clippers and then someone would check our hearing to make sure it was acceptable. Also cottages B,E.G and H could use the swimming pool in the afternoon around 1:00 pm we could swim for up to an hour. Cottage E would go after supper to use the swimming pool. The tenant would watch the pool and the house boys would clean the pool out on every Friday morning and would get clean water for the pool. Oh yeah I remember also that I moved to cottage H which was on the hill on Oct 7, 1935. During my move to cottage H, the village moved cottages U,V and W to the new buildings. Men and women were kept separated. We could see each other in the dining hall but had different times. I was called a houseboy in cottage H. Every month supplies would come in and I would help to put them away. The state would come in every couple of months for inspections. They would give it a once over and write down what needed change even though nothing changed. A doctor would come to visit each cottage once a month. Dr. Camp would ask me if I was all right. He also would come in the morning to see who was or had sores. Also a good thing there is at the village they had a bakery that made bread every day, a cattle farm, a warehouse, cottages and a pool. I attended school 2 yrs and 2 months 14 days at the village. The classroom was in the basement. I was in school from 8:20 am to 3:00 pm. I remember being in a classroom play where I was a horse. We also would play instrument. I played the tambourine. I played volleyball in the pm. We went from school to the bathroom to wash our hands and change our school clothes. We would then have to stand straight against the wall for about 2 hours. If we moved we would be hit with a dustpan brush on the hands. I forgot to tell you I also lived in cottage B for only 1 day. That is because the doctor said I was too nervous and then sent me down the valley to cottage V from Sept 13, 1933 to Oct 2, 1933 we worked inside the village. Next I went to cottage X on Oct 2, 1933 to Oct 6, 1935. While at cottage X I was attended school. Also while I was at cottage X ringworm was going around people’s heads were bandaged. Their hair needed to be shaved off and new bandages were put on every morning. In the day room every day there was a sewing lady who would fix and repair our clothes. She would rotate one week sewing clothes then one week working in both wards. The ward lady would go from ward 1 to ward 2 and observe everyone. When the ward was crowded there were 90 people and 40 beds everyone would be put in the day room and told to sit quietly on the floor. I would usually listen to my radio in the ward. Well this is coming to an end at Lentchworth Village but I also wanted to put in that they also had all girl cottages there were I,J,K,L,M,N,O,P,Q,R,S,T,U,W,X,Y, and Z.I had been at Letchworth Village from 9-12-1933 to 7-2-1957. But, I did visit home on September 28, 1940. But , boy was I glad to leave Letchworth Village on Tuesday July 2, 1957 to go into home care. Well, I hoped you liked my memories about Letchworth Village because now I am going on to my last Chapter in my life story, and that is when L went into home care and to you about my many adventures where there.