Tuberculosis

memories of

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease which killed one in seven people in the early 1900s. It often affects the lungs, causing a severe cough, fever, and weight loss. Starting in the late 1800s, the Saranac Lake welcomed thousands of tuberculosis patients from around the world. Health seekers enjoyed the restorative effects of fresh air on specially built cure porches. Saranac Lake's TB industry declined in the 1950s when antibiotics made the “fresh air cure” obsolete. TB is still one of the leading causes of death worldwide.

Listen to the first hand accounts of individuals whose lives were affected by tuberculosis. These excerpts are taken from longer interviews; to listen to the full interview, click on the interviewee's name on the list to the right. Scroll down to browse the entries from the "My TB Story" cards collected at the Saranac Laboratory.

Janet Dudones

Keywords: Growing up in Saranac Lake, Tuberculosis, Trudeau Sanatorium, Bellevue Hospital, Historic Saranac Lake.

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Transcription of letter from Janet Norton (Burnett) Worthington, to her son, Edward Worthington. Janet died of tuberculosis shortly after writing this letter.

Neddie Sweetheart,
To sick to write. In bed all week. Dear your letter was so sweet and made me feel so good. I hope I can get out in the car when I am stronger. Had that tooth out Monday also. Broke my jawbone. Not so hot. Neddie, I love you and I want to get well to see you graduate but I am afraid that it is my Waterloo now, I can't seem to throw this off--Fever everyday 102+3 and no let up. But I want to be sure you will finish and remember we always said a first grad at Oxford, nothing less, "Just a little English, god damn it, don't you know"-- Bye Honey. Be a good little puppy and I do not forget you promised me another happy valentine: to come up in your uniform.

xxxxxxxx Big Puppy

glad you liked the "studio" - a terrible job -

Janet Worthington Dudones about her parents Edward Worthington and Juanita Hayman Worthington. Both parents took the cure in Saranac Lake. Juanita met Ed while she was working as a nurse at Trudeau Sanatorium. Janet explores her family history, the life long effect tuberculosis had on her parents, and detailed the various business ventures of Edward Worthington.

Janet Dudones Interview Log
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Janet Dudones Interview Summary and Bio
File Size:	45 kb
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Juanita Worthington Bio
File Size:	115 kb
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Ed Worthington Wiki Page

Juanita Worthington Wiki Page

Kevin Waters

Keywords: Growing up in Saranac Lake, Tuberculosis, Ray Brook Sanatorium, Bellevue Hospital.

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Kevin Waters about his mother and father's (Rita Hynes and John Waters) experience with tuberculosis. Both parents cured at Ray Brook Sanatorium, and his father was later employed at the sanatorium. After curing, they stayed in Saranac Lake where Kevin was born and spent his early childhood. In the interview Kevin shared details about his parents' experience at Ray Brook. He explored how their health struggles shaped their life views and his own, as well as exploring how his own understanding of TB and their experience with it developed.

Kevin Waters Transcript
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Trudy Reichert

Keywords: Tuberculosis, Trudeau Sanatorium, COVID-19.

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Trudy Reichert shares about mother's experience curing at Trudeau Sanatorium. When Trudy was young, her mother, Phyllis Shean Ervin Weinberg, contracted TB while caring for a close friend. Phyllis cured at Trudeau Sanatorium for seven or eight years. Trudy was 16 when Phyllis left the sanatorium. After curing, Phyllis worked as a TB nurse. In the interview, Trudy speaks about her mother’s experience curing and its effect on her own childhood.

Trudy Reichert Interview Transcript
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Denny Senseny

Keywords: Tuberculosis, Will Rogers Memorial Hospital, Occupational Therapy.

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Denny Senseney shares about TB's effect on his father's life. His father, Sam Senseney, cured at Will Rogers where he learned arts and crafts such as ceramics and leather work. Denny shared memories of his father's return and his later career teaching arts and crafts to TB patients at their local sanatorium.

Denny Senseney Transcript
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Helen Larsen

Keywords: Growing up in Saranac Lake, Tuberculosis, Norwegian Sailors, Sageman Cottage, Saranac Lake News.

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Helen Larsen about her life in Saranac Lake. In this 2012 interview, Helen remembers meeting her husband while he was curing at the Sageman Cottage and she was a tray girl. She shares about their 20 years of correspondence prior to marriage, her career, her community involvement, and her hobbies.

Helen Larsen Transcript
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Helen Larsen Wiki Page

Helen Larsen Obituary

Alfred Larsen Wiki Page

Kevin Healy

Keywords: Tuberculosis, McCabe Cottage, Duso Cottage, Nursing, Tupper Lake.

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Kevin Healy about his mother's experience as a tray girl and later as a patient, and about his great aunt, Lorette McCabe, who ran the McCabe Nursing Cottage. The interview explores their daily life and work, as well as some of their family history. Kevin details the food Lorette cooked for patients, and how Jacqueline (Kevin's mother) was treated for TB.

Kevin Healy Interview Transcript
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Memories of TB and cure cottages from the Cure Porch on Wheels Story Phone!

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Elise Chapin

Keywords: Saranac Lake, Tuberculosis, Trudeau Sanatorium, Study and Craft Guild, Motts Pot Shop, 1940s.

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***Produced by Kayt Gochenaur, with interviews recorded by StoryCorps, a national nonprofit whose mission is to provide Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories of our lives. www.storycorps.org

Elise Kalb Chapin came to Saranac Lake ill with tuberculosis in 1935. After her cure, she married Mott Chapin, and together they ran the Pot Shop on Main Street in the 1950s. She was active with the Village Improvement Society, the General Hospital, St. Luke's Church and the Adirondack Research Room of the Saranac Lake Free Library, and a founding member of Historic Saranac Lake. She was the subject of a chapter in Caperton Tissot's History Between the Lines.