Nancy Baumen

Nancy Baumen has memories of being at the hospital as a child. Her grandmother, Edith Dever, worked in the laundry room, which Nancy remembers as being a "beautiful and grand facility." Sometimes Nancy and her Aunt Sharon would "go uptown" to see grandma and "get money for a coke" from the drugstore. Nancy remembers walking through the hallways and seeing the patients. At the time, she was only ten, and when the patients on the floor reached out as she passed, it "scared the bejeebers" out of her. However, her aunt always told her they wouldn't hurt anyone.

One time when Nancy was at the hospital, she talked to a "rather distinguished looking gentleman" who was "dressed in a suit, out on the grounds." Nancy was sure this man was one of the doctors, but in fact, he was a patient. "'Young lady,'" he told her, "'you don't have to be stupid to be crazy.'"