Minnesota History Center

I could not have written Open Window: The Lake Julia TB Sanatorium, a Community Created by Tuberculosis without the information I obtained from records at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul. The photo above is a portion of a page listing patients’ mothers’ information.

At the History Center, I was able to obtain copies of the patient records. Each patient was assigned a number, starting in 1916 with Nels Saltness, patient number one. Shortly thereafter, my aunts Flora Long Mackaman and Maude Long became patients number three and nine. The records helped me with the timeline of the book. The expense records showed me when various employees worked. I saw by comparing patient and employee records that many former patients, after their release from the San, become employees.  A cash disbursements journal provided further information.

The patient records, expense records, and cash disbursement journal were valuable to my research. However, the copies I have are incomplete. The patient records I obtained, for example, were missing records from May 1943 to the closing of the San, December 1952. The final page of my copies includes only nine records, dated May to September, 1943, rather than the usual 50 entries per set.

Do any of my readers have information on where to obtain the complete set of patient records and expenses or the pages that are missing from May 1943 through the closing of the San? I wonder if the sanatoriums might have changed their record -keeping system in 1943, perhaps changing to a card-file or other system. I would appreciate any help readers can give me on this.

Since I’ve already published the book, you might wonder why I am still seeking the missing patient registers. People continue to send me additional information and photos of former patients and employees and to ask questions about the hospital stay of family members. Soon, any history of the San that hasn’t already been gathered is likely to be lost. I would like to obtain as much additional information as possible to add to my blog posts for those who are interested. If there is enough additional information, I might  consider writing a second book.

You may send information and photos to add to the history of the Lake Julia Tuberculosis Sanatorium to contact@OpenWindowTB.com. I hope to hear from anyone who has further information on additional Lake Julia Tuberculosis Sanatorium records.

Open Window: The Lake Julia TB Sanatorium, a Community Created by Tuberculosis
by Pat Nelson

Available at: https://amzn.to/2WLjnSs   eBook or paperback, 8” x 10”, 283 pages, 135 historical photos
Also sold at Beltrami County History Center, 130 Minnesota Ave. SW, Bemidji, MN 56601 and Broadway Gallery, Longview, WA