Tag Archives: Athens Ohio

A Walk Around The Ridges

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Imagine fighting for your country only to come home with terrible nightmares and debilitating PTSD. Then imagine your family taking you to an institution where you are cared for by strangers, abandoned by the people you love most. Imagine fighting for your country and then being buried on a hillside in the woods with a simple slab that identifies you just as “283.”

Imagine having postpardum depression and being sent away from your children by your husband who can’t handle your being sad. Imagine being unable to leave without your husband or a male family member signing you out. Imagine your husband  abandoning you there so he can divorce you and marry someone else to care for your kids. 

Imagine being old and sick, perhaps forgetful and sent to live in an asylum. Imagine being committed because you were a moody woman or one who reads too much and has too many opinions.

These are all perfectly acceptable reasons why real human beings were committed to places like the Athens Lunatic Asylum. I have written before about a similar asylum called the Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in West Virginia. You can read here about the day I toured that place.

The old asylum on the hill in Athens is not open for tours. Intead, it’s owned by Ohio University and repurposed into an art museum, campus police, research space and class space. You can also explore the grounds and there are nature trails. There’s also room for events, an adventure course and sports fields. 

My response to being there is always so complex. I look at these stately old buildings and can’t help but wonder about the atrocities that went on in this facility. They famously conducted partial labotomies here. Plus, the sheer horror of just being a smart woman whose freedoms were stripped away by a weak husband hits pretty close to home. 

And don’t think it didn’t happen. 

Designed by Dr. Thomas Kirkbridge who was a leader in the Moral Treatment Philosophy, the Athens Lunatic Asylum opened in 1874 in what was then countryside overlooking Athens. Kirkbridge believed that mental institutions should be located in pretty rural settings with plenty of acreage for exercise and labor thorough farming, gardening and occupations that might aid in a patient’s treatment while helping run the facilities. 

I believe the terminology they used was “Healing Landscapes.”

Once upon a time, the grounds felt parklike with a waterfall, four poinds, and a variety of trees, plants and flowers that might be enjoyed along walking paths. It was so beautiful that many residents from town and country surrounding the asylum would come visit for walks and picnics. 

Then there are the cemeteries. Three of them are the final resting places for over 1,900 patients who died here. Lucky patients had famillies who claimed their bodies but so many had no one to take them. The hillside cemeteries are probably the saddest I’ve ever seen because most individuals were buried with simple slabs and no name to identify them. They are identified by numbers only. This went on until the 1940s when they began using names. At some point, the state ceased caring for these cemeteries and they were left to vandals and to damage done by time and nature. 

Forgotten. 

People who in life were sent to a place to be forgotten remained forgotten in death as well.

About 25 years ago, the Athens Chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness began reclamation of the cemeteries and found other organizations and people to rally around the cemeteries and the grounds. They have brought attention to a place once forgotten and peace and respect to people who perhaps received neither in life.

Adam and I explored here some on Saturday. We’ll go back another day when my leg is better and we have more time. As a person just out for walkabout, the history is fascinating. The place is extraordinary and it’s so peaceful up there above the city. But the cemetery is sobering and the thought of what went on here, all that the patients lost in being sent here, all that was forcibly taken from them, all the ways they suffered, well it’s almost too much to think about. 

As mental health treatment evolved over time, so did the use of this space. By the time I was a child in the eighties, people joked about sending someone to the mental hospital at Athens. Later, as mental health treatment changed and transitioned from large facilities, we saw many individuals around the city who it seemed had been turned out and left to figure out life and health on their own. That may be an unfair assessment but that’s certainly how it appeared. 

There are a number of these Kirkrbride institutions left around the country and many have historic register status. I highly recommend visiting the one in West Virginia because they tell the stories of patients and of staff that worked there. Click here for details.

What I Remembered This Weekend

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The stars finally aligned this weekend: I was in decent health, had free time, and the weather felt like traditional spring complete with blue skies, a lovely breeze and highs in the seventies. Adam and I took advantage, doing a little exploring close to home and reminding me that adventure is what you make of it.

Here are some things I remembered along the way:

Not all bookstores are created equally and it’s ok to leave empty handed when the vibe is off. That’s not to say it isn’t a good store. That’s to say it isn’t a good store for you. 

If you see somehting you really, really like and can afford it, just treat yourself. If you don’t you may devote a lot of time and gas money trying to locate it again later and face loads of disappointment when you can’t find it. This is pertinent because there was a wallet I wanted and didn’t buy and then spent months ransacking every TJ Maxx and Marshalls within reach. Thankfully, the Athens, Ohio Marshalls came through for me. 

An Impossible Cheeseburger always tastes better when someone else does the cooking and Applebee’s does it especially well. 

A table of nerdy guys making too much noise playing their fantasy board game is still better than a silent but empty library. Their laughter, inside jokes, and tip sharing was a joyful thing to hear. It was also a bit distracting as I shopped the used book sale but I was still glad to witness their camaraderie at the library. 

Some places are meant to be revisited and experienced with different people and in different head spaces. We went to the Ridges, a property now owned by Ohio Univeristy, which is home to the former Athens Lunatic Asylum. We walked the brick street perimeter, hiked on a beautiful nature trail, and admired some of the ways Ohio University is using the property to honor what once went on here while proving that life really does go on. We also explored a cemetery where patients were identified as numbers, not names. This place hits me differently every time and I’m glad because that means I’m still processing the reality of it all rather than dismissing it as a chapter of our history. 

Most of all, I was reminded that sitting on a park bench with someone special is always a good choice. Especially when you both appreciate the shade of aged Elm trees and the squirels that scurry all around. 

Come back tomorrow and we’ll talk more about that asylum on the hill.

Cherry Blossoms In Bloom At Ohio University

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In 1979, my alma mater was given the gift of spring by Chubu University, located in Kasugai, Japan. That school gave cherry trees to Ohio University in Athens in celebration of OU’s 175th anniversary.

They line a section of the bike path along the Hocking River and are a symbol of spring and beauty that have become an important part of the city’s tourism. A few years ago, National Geographic recognized Athens as one of the best places in the U.S. to see cherry blossoms.

They were at peak this week so we headed over for a closer look one evening. They really are beautiful but my phone pictures fail to capture the fine details of the cherry blossom, leaving me wishing I had taken my camera along for the walk. 

People walked by and admired the colors. Some took selfies while others set up chairs and blankets for picnics while they waited for lighting to go on at dusk. Children in Easter clothes and a pretty girl in a cap and gown had professional photos made while others jogged by, seemingly unaware there were even trees.

This person stood, staring up in awe, clutching a fallen blossom and smiling. I think they were my favorite of all the strangers there.

If you ever have a chance to go and like that sort of thing, I highly recommend it.  

OU was founded in 1804, just one year after Ohio became a state and is the oldest university in Ohio. If you ever see someone wearing OU green, the appropriate response is “Go Bobcats!” We aren’t fond of being mistaken for that school north. More importantly, the OU campus is gorgeous so be sure to stroll around when you visit and stop by uptown Athens for a good meal at one of their unique locally owned restaurants.

Little Wing Curiosity Shoppe

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The thrill of the hunt for treasure keeps me heading out to vendor malls, antique stores and thrift shops nearly everywhere I go. On Friday, I stopped by Little Wing Curiosity Shoppe and Thrift Store in Athens. They have been around since April. 

It’s neat, clean and organized with excellent prices on most things. There were a few things that seemed outlandishly priced but that happens. They had a 75 percent off Christmas sale that applied to a pretty little handmade art piece – an angel made of some kind of tin with a fabulous patina. Of course I brought her home and she ended up costing me just $1.25. I also got three wrought iron candlesticks and a pewter pitcher that will someday hold flowers. My total was about ten bucks and I was quite pleased with the haul.

Then I came home and looked them up online and I feel bad. Their website says they are working with Ukranians stateside and overseas to send much needed supplies for civilians and soldiers in Ukraine. Had I known this while I was there I would have either bought more or made a donation. 

Goodwill and Ohio Thrift are the prominent thrift stores in my area and they have almost priced themselves out of the game. I choose to shop thrift stores because you never know what treasures you’ll find and because I like the sustainable side of thrifting. I can afford to go to TJ Maxx and buy dishes or a new skillet but many people thrift because they are low income and don’t have the luxury of buying new when their kid needs a winter coat. Greed and people who thrift to flip for a profit seemed to have caused these organizations to lose their way. 

So I am thrilled to have a new option for my donations and am actually excited to take them some things while I’m cleaning out this winter. Not to mention, the people who run the place seem kind hearted and helpful. 

Little Wing is located on the back side of the Market on State Mall in Athens, Ohio. Just go around the corner on IHOP side and you’ll find them! They will be closed the week between Christmas and New Years but you can follow them on Facebook to find their hours, sales and updated information.

Friday Night Car Show

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Last night took me to Athens where I glimpsed a sign for a car show. So I swung in for a look even though the sky was threatening rain and there were just a few vehicles.

Here’s a basic rule of thumb: if people line up their classics for you to enjoy, stop and have a look around!

The suicide doors on this old Studebaker are sharp.

This 1965 Mustang drew a lot of looks.

Here’s an interior shot.

I think old trucks have character and always wonder what they might say if they could talk.

Car shows are ripe for people watching and a great way to photograph classic cars without seeming like a weirdo. It’s also free entertainment and a fun way to kill a little time.

I Ran Away

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I ran away from home for a few hours Saturday.

Life in the country comes with benefits and inconveniences. One of the benefits is that you’re surrounded by sounds and sights of the forest. One of the inconveniences is that those beautiful trees and their branches sometimes fall and damage power lines.

We’ve had regular wind storms for the last few weeks, causing frequent power outages. We lost power Saturday morning. Then it came back for a while and blew again in the afternoon.

It’s hard to clean, organize or do much of anything in the dark so I sat in a chair near the window to read. And promptly started to fall asleep.

Suddenly, I was irrationally angry to be wasting yet another weekend, sitting in the dark. Hiking wasn’t safe even though I badly wanted to get outside. It was too late in the day to find my way to a city with a museum or something interesting to do. I’m So I messaged my cousin Sherrie and invited her to join me for some treasure hunting and dinner in Athens.

We went to Peddler’s Junction where I found some bargains including this sweet little Dutch Girl, a Madame Alexander doll that is pristine and in her original packaging.

These nesting dolls were a bargain at just $3. I had admired some at a shop in Ligonier, PA two Christmases ago but they were beyond my budget.

Ephemera like these cards are some of my favorite things to collect. These small pieces of art that are easy to display and change out for the season. Plus, storage is easy.

If you look closely at the card on the right, you’ll see feathers on one duck’s tail. The middle piece has a hinging neck while the birthday card on the left has some fun details inside. They just don’t make cards with such care and attention to details today.

Sherrie and I had dinner and hit a couple more stores before calling it a day. Power was restored and life was good again.

Sometimes we need to lean into the obstacles and find ways to work with them. I have spent a lot of time this year happily resting and reading. But sometimes we have to stand up and say “not today” and go look for something else. Yesterday took an unexpectedly fun turn.

I’m glad I shook off the sleep and took charge of my day.