Interview with Jerry Smith (2)

Interview with Jerry Smith (2)

Nebraska State Hospital for Tuberculosis, Jerry Smith, Lester Smith, Visiting, Family

This clip from an interview with Jerry Smith provides information on what visiting a family member at the TB hospital was like.

Will Stoutamire

Jerry Smith

G.W. Frank Museum of History and Culture

JS: The visitations basically uh we would get here umm mom would check in we would check in and we would get to go talk to our dad umm at first we had to talk to him from the doorway if I remember right into the bedroom umm and then later on we were able to go closer to dad and go talk to him.. umm they did have a nurse and I believe her name, okay and you’re gonna have to excuse me, her name was either Charity or Faith. And she must’ve been assigned to our family and I still think she was Irish she sort of had had very beautiful auburn hair. But Her main thing I think was to take care of the kids so mom could visit with dad that whole time without, you know, being interrupted. And I remember her taking my brother Russ and I umm around the back and there was a huge pond and it had goldfish large goldfish in it. And she would always bring bread and we would feed those goldfish bread. I do remember that I do remember umm us playing out under the trees and stuff. So but it was quite a busy uhh it was quite a busy area at that time. There were a lot of families here. Lot of people would come they would spread out their blankets and had picnic lunches outside on the grass. I can remember as boys of course we were very adventurous and my brother Russ whose a banker here umm he was he and I would can get in a little trouble always at home because we were always exploring things. I do remember being told you can’t go in there and in areas so I do remember that.

No dad couldn’t join us at first for quite some time and then he could gradually join us for short periods of time that got longer. And then I do remember finally umm he was able to leave the hospital for a period of time and at that time there was a restaurant across highway 30 which would’ve been just about I wanna say 2 blocks umm south and east of here that was called the Lonnies restaurant and there was also one of those in North Platte. And in fact one of my classmates Roger Lonnie his dad ran those and that was the first place we got to go eat with my father and my father actually took us out.