John Meeker: Memories

The following is an email exchange I had with Mr. John Meeker, posted with his permission:

Christine,
My learning of surgical severing of the lobotomy occurred in 1953 when, because I was attempting to get myself classified as a conscientious objector to service in the Korean police action, I was sent to Rusk State Institution for the Mentally Ill in Rusk, Texas, for observation. Among many appalling scenes I saw while there, was the ward where people who had been “lobotomized” sat looking at the walls or out the window, if they were lucky enough to have one.

My guide was Dr Jackson, a distant relative, who was in charge of the institution & the resident surgeon who performed the operations. His boast was how many a day he could do & how successful the out come was for the patient & the staff. Dr Jackson took me through the operating rooms, showed me the instruments he used to perform the operation and introduced me to several of the patients who had the procedure. He was a devout Southern Baptist & truly believed that he had found the answer to the uncontrolled behavior of troubled patients. I was impressed that the outcome which was most mentioned was that the patients were now tractable & easily handled by the staff.

Because I was under observation, what scared me was that everyone of the staff I came in contact with thought that the operation was a wonderful discovery for “treating” some kinds of mental illness. Naturally I was studying the situation to learn what kind of behavior called for such an operation, for I was surely not going to be caught acting in such a way as needing it.

Apparently I was successful. They let me go home without “treatment” . . . well, I think I got no “treatment.” I can’t remember having received any. The U.S. Army apparently thought I was mentally fit to serve, which I did soon after my visit to Rusk.

Since Dr Jackson was the superintendent at Rusk for many years, your investigations into the results of that operation might uncover many stories from relatives who had loved ones in that institution. And I shouldn’t be surprised if they had records still there which would be statistically interesting.

John Meeker

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Wow, John. That is fascinating. I would absolutely love to post this story on the site. Would you mind if I did? I could leave your name out of it if you wanted.

Thanks so much for writing. If you remember anything else about it, please let me know. I’d love to hear it.

Kindly,
Christine

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Christine:
You may post the story on the website with or without my name. I’m 72 years old with a secure pension, most of my closest relatives are dead & I ain’t got nuthin to hide.

I’ve pretty well exhausted my memory of the event in so far as it was related to lobotomies. I have other memories about how schizophrenics were washed down en mass with a fire hose, all done in a basement. My memory is of naked men with shaven heads screaming and flailing about as the force of the water drove them into the shadows at end of the room.
But that memory & others have nothing to do with lobotomies.
It would be interesting to sort through the records of mental institutions in the 50 States to gather data on how many people were lobotomized, their life span afterwards, institutional support or outcomes. There must be a Ph.D. in there somewhere.

John Meeker