About This Site
In August 2009, my mother’s memory of the people, places, and events of her youth was the basis for an afternoon drive to southeastern Oklahoma where she had lived. Our trip took us from Tulsa to Poteau and Heavener, then across the Talimena Drive to Talihina. Talihina is the location of the Eastern Oklahoma Tuberculosis Sanatorium (EOTS) where my mother was institutionalized with primary tuberculosis from 1938 to 1939, along with her cousin, Jimmie Isborn. At that time, the girls were 6 and 10-years old, respectively.
The Internet was an obvious resource for directions to the site, but what I found online was a 1973 report written by Oklahoma State Sanatorium (OSS) employee, Minnie Wagoner. Mrs. Wagoner’s report can best be described as a treasure map because it not only identified the buildings at the Eastern Oklahoma Tuberculosis Sanatorium, it identified the buildings’ function and features. Minnie Wagoner compiled this history of the Eastern Oklahoma Tuberculosis Sanatorium (also known as the Eastern Oklahoma State Sanatorium (EOSS) and/or the Oklahoma State Tuberculosis Sanatorium) for Dr. Glenn P. Dewberry, OSS administrator. Her report is listed among the items on this website or it can be downloaded from the Oklahoma Dept. of Health website.
From the moment we arrived at the site, now operated by the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs as the Oklahoma Veterans Center-Talihina Division, my mother and I were overwhelmed by the tranquil setting and the impressive buildings. It was readily apparent that the Oklahoma Dept. of Veterans Affairs maintains the grounds in impeccable condition as well as the buildings it occupies. However, the unoccupied buildings are in a state of disrepair or ruin.
Upon our return to Tulsa we discovered that only one building, the Old Nursing Care Building (originally the Infirmary built in 1932 and subsequent 1952 renovation/new construction), is listed on the Oklahoma Landmark Inventory with the Oklahoma Historical Society’s State Historic Preservation Office. The preparer of that 2000 entry is Roy Griffith, the Oklahoma Veterans Center-Talihina Division administrator. He and his assistant, Lois Brannon, have been extremely generous in sharing their time and knowledge about the facility, especially in providing photographs of three buildings original to the site that no longer exist.
Just as the Internet provided direction to the site it led me to Dr. Forrest Pitt Baker (1889-1973), the Eastern Oklahoma Tuberculosis Sanatorium superintendent from 1928 to 1967. Another search for the Eastern Oklahoma Tuberculosis Sanatorium returned an online obituary for Dr. Paul Lingenfelter, former superintendent of the Western Oklahoma Tuberculosis Sanatorium in Clinton. His obituary identified his children residing in Talhina. After contacting Mary Ayn Tullier I learned that not only was she Dr. Lingenfelter’s daughter, but that she was Dr. Baker’s granddaughter and caretaker of his archives.
Mary Ayn shares my sense of attachment to the people and objects we treasure and the memories they evoke. In this instance, the object is the former Eastern Oklahoma Tuberculosis Sanatorium. I’ve discovered that the connection between former patients and the sanatorium was powerful. Instead of returning home following medical discharge many former patients remained at the sanatorium as employees. Others gathered annually as members of the Oklahoma Recovery Club in celebration of Dr. Baker’s birthday on February 2.
Today, the public health crusade against tuberculosis and its medical regime would be considered unthinkable, but the treatment that my mother received at the “San” allowed her to fulfill her destiny as daughter, sister, wife, mother, and grandmother. She, along with thousands of other patients and their families have Dr. Baker and his staff to thank for their continued good health!
What began as a day trip in August 2009 as evolved into a labor of love shared with those listed below who have contributed to this online archive and digital history of the Eastern Oklahoma Tuberculosis Sanatorium:
Cathy Ambler
Minnie Wagoner
Robert Carroll
Lois Brannon
Roy Griffith
Mary Ayn Lingenfelter Tullier
Paul Brann Lingenfelter, Jr.
Forrest Baker Wood
Dorothy Macomb Fowler
Rex Ball, FAIA, AICP
Laverne McCawley
Frank McCawley
Shawn Schaefer, AIA
Savannah Smith
Lynda Schwan
Glen Roberson
and my inspiration, Helen Campbell Carlton.
- Stacey Bayles, August 2010.