Comments on: DeWitt Museum Grand Opening Set For Tuesday

By: Beth Rohlfes, Placer County Museums

Beth Rohlfes, Placer County Museums — Tue, 06 Mar 2018 17:39:23 +0000

Thank you for sharing these difficult memories, James. Your story will be archived as it appears in this blog. We cannot emphasize enough how important your motheras and your experiences are to understanding the ongoing impact of those years at DeWitt. If you have more words or photographs that you are able to share with us, we welcome them, respectfully. You can contact me directly at our museum office at the Courthouse, 530-889-6504.

By: James Gilbert

James Gilbert — Sun, 04 Mar 2018 14:50:09 +0000

I understand the purpose of the museum. I really do. But whenever I think about what happen to my mother every time she returned from DeWitt, my heart races, I get a bit depressed. My father was the one who committed her twice, then she went once on her own. Each time she returned……..she was so horribly different. Her drinking became worse, her relationship with my father got worse, she never smiled again. I have a couple of pictures of my mother before going into Dewitt, and after. My heart hurts always because of what my father did and what DeWitt did.

And yes, please share my story. But I cannot visit the museum….ever. In the past I have driven by those buildings (long time ago) and it brings back a memory of my dad brining us kids to visit my mother. The whole thing is a horror story that plays in my mind whenever the DeWitt name comes up. It reminds me of that Jack Nicholson movie ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST. The meds, the shock therapy…. So please share my story. BTW I was somewhere in my preteens age when all this started

By: Beth Rohlfes

Beth Rohlfes — Thu, 01 Mar 2018 16:38:32 +0000

In reply to Beth Rohlfes. I'm with the Placer County Museums.

By: Beth Rohlfes

Beth Rohlfes — Wed, 28 Feb 2018 23:00:58 +0000

We empathize with you and with your motheras experience of treatment provided at the DeWitt State Hospital, James. The stories of many who were housed and treated in mental hospitals of that eraaa time of extensive experimentation and development for mental health careaare not happy ones. As stewards of history, we take our responsibility to recount history very seriously. In this museum, we attempt to convey the complex reality of what happened during the State Hospital era of the DeWitt site. We encourage visitors to reflect upon and learn from the past in order to build a better future.

We hope that you will come and see how we have told the story of the DeWitt Complex. We believe that stories like your motheras are key to reaching a better understanding of the State Hospital years, and we would welcome the opportunity to preserve her story as a piece of DeWitt history. Please feel free to contact us if you would like to share.

By: James Gilbert

James Gilbert — Wed, 28 Feb 2018 01:15:45 +0000

This horrible building should be burned down. My mother was admitted there in the 1960s for a drinking problem, and there she was treated with shock therapy. When they released my mother she was convinced she was crazy due to her treatments. Her drinking became out of control and slowly died from liver failure. As a child I saw the change in her. Shame on you for bragging about this atrocity of abuse that took place here. This building is no better than the buildings that killed all the Jewish people during WWII by Adolf Hitler.