Tom Jacobs
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Keywords: Stony Wold Sanatorium, Gabriels, Tuberculosis, Saranac Lake, Military service,
Interviewed 10/08/2019 by Kayt Gochenaur as part of the Oral History Project Tom Jacobs was born in a cottage at Lake Kushuqua. His father was from Saranac Hollow and worked at Stony Wold Sanatorium. Tom Grew up at the sanatorium where his family lived in one of the staff cottages. Tom’s mother Teresa McDonald taught at the Kushuqua School one mile away on the Onchiota Rd. She taught grades K-8 in a one room school. Stony Wold sanatorium was founded by Elizabeth Newcomb for underprivileged women and TB suffering from TB. Later the sanatorium began accepting men. Though contact with TB patients was limited, Tom remembers taking patients for a drive down to Burt LaFountain’s in Gabriels, where the patients would have drinks, before he would drive them back to the San before bed check. Tom explains how the sanatorium was nearly self sufficient- at one time they had their own dairy, cattle, poultry, and gardens. Tom remembered a variety of close calls at Stony Wold: when a wall collapsed in the San powerhouse, a train derailed, a recreational pilot flew so close to the main building the plane nearly brushed the roof. He also talked about everyday life at the San, movie nights in the church, the different buildings, and patient routines. Tom graduated high school in 1953. He worked at the Stony Wold laundry in the 1950s. In ’57 he was drafted into the Army. After leaving the military he returned to the Adirondacks and worked for the DEC. Tom Jacobs is closely involved with the American Legion in Saranac Lake.
Interview audio may be edited or redacted for clarity and/or privacy. Audio is part of the Oral History Collection at Historic Saranac Lake.
Interviewed 10/08/2019 by Kayt Gochenaur as part of the Oral History Project Tom Jacobs was born in a cottage at Lake Kushuqua. His father was from Saranac Hollow and worked at Stony Wold Sanatorium. Tom Grew up at the sanatorium where his family lived in one of the staff cottages. Tom’s mother Teresa McDonald taught at the Kushuqua School one mile away on the Onchiota Rd. She taught grades K-8 in a one room school. Stony Wold sanatorium was founded by Elizabeth Newcomb for underprivileged women and TB suffering from TB. Later the sanatorium began accepting men. Though contact with TB patients was limited, Tom remembers taking patients for a drive down to Burt LaFountain’s in Gabriels, where the patients would have drinks, before he would drive them back to the San before bed check. Tom explains how the sanatorium was nearly self sufficient- at one time they had their own dairy, cattle, poultry, and gardens. Tom remembered a variety of close calls at Stony Wold: when a wall collapsed in the San powerhouse, a train derailed, a recreational pilot flew so close to the main building the plane nearly brushed the roof. He also talked about everyday life at the San, movie nights in the church, the different buildings, and patient routines. Tom graduated high school in 1953. He worked at the Stony Wold laundry in the 1950s. In ’57 he was drafted into the Army. After leaving the military he returned to the Adirondacks and worked for the DEC. Tom Jacobs is closely involved with the American Legion in Saranac Lake.
Interview audio may be edited or redacted for clarity and/or privacy. Audio is part of the Oral History Collection at Historic Saranac Lake.
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Stony Wold Sanatorium at Lake Kushaqua, NY.
By Carl F Jacobs. Donated by Tom Jacobs. |
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