Christmas at the Asylum for the Insane - 1893

It was a looming, foreboding presence dominating the west end of the city.       It was a place from which unsettling sounds would occasionally emanate, day or night.

It was a place to which ordinary citizens would give a wide berth.

          In 1893, it was still officially known as the Hamilton Asylum for the Insane.

          However, on Christmas Day, 1893, many charitable Hamiltonians went up the James street mountain road to help the staff at the asylum bring some Christmas cheer to the over 1,000 patients confined in the institution.  

          For many days, staff at the Asylum, assisted by those patients were able, went to great lengths to decorate the halls of the immense building, and it was those decorations which a reporter for the Hamilton times described in great detail for the readers of that paper on Boxing Day, 1893:

          “Many and varied as have been the schemes invented for the diverting of the mind diseased, the Christmas decorations at Hamilton Asylum for the Insane appear to lead them all, and the results hitherto have been always beneficial. This year the decorations are far in advance of any previous year.” ¹

                ¹ “Christmas at the Asylum : The Decorations Prettier and More Elaborate than Ever : Something About the Appearance of the Various Halls.”

          Hamilton Times. December 26, 1893.

          In the early afternoon, before the day’s festivities were in full swing, the young man from the Times was given a tour of the asylum, “accompanied by the ever courteous and genial medical superintendent, Dr. Russell.”¹

                The descriptions provided by that scribe follow:

          “In the main building, Hall ‘A’, supervised by Geo. Weelgar, first claimed attention. Besides a profusion of all kinds of pretty wall and ceiling decorations, there was an unusually large number of mottoes exhibited. Among these were noticed the following appropriate selections : ‘He that ruleth his own spirit is greater than he that taketh a city.’ Another bore the legend, “Mowat will not go until the Lord sends for him.’ Side by side were the mottoes, ‘Canada first, last and all the time,’ and ‘Equal rights to all creeds and nationalities.’ One patient from the land o’ the heather was responsible for ‘We’ve aye been provided for and more will we yet.’ In this hall was secured the first glimpse of the handsome new dining rooms since the addition of which in each hall, the old plan of having all the patients in the building eat in the same building has been discontinued.

          “Festoons of evergreens were a feature of Hall ‘B,’ supervised by Mr. William Robinson and in Hall ‘C,’ supervised by Mr. Wm. Wylie. There was a great deal of their work noticeable, and there were also handsome evergreen arches erected at each end of the hall. Among the mottoes here was ‘Here is the wrap of life, see that you weave it well.’ Even in Hall ‘D,’ in which were confined the most demented and almost helpless patients, under Supervisor Peter Ling’s direction, the men had made praiseworthy efforts at decorating the halls and ceilings. The basement hall in charge of Supervisor O. Dimmick, was also nicely decorated.

          “In the opposite wing of the main building, where the female patients are confined, the decorations were equally elaborate. The basement hall, in charge of Miss Maggie Gordon, had a very pretty appearance, for  which Miss Gordon deserves special credit, because of the fact that her only assistants were patients of the most demented and refractory kind. Hall No. 2 has all the advantage of elegant appointments of a permanent nature, but the effect of these was, of course, heightened by the decorations. Miss Rebecca Laird is in charge of this hall, and her efforts and those of her assistants in beautifying the hall deserve praise. Mottoes abound in Hall No. 2 in charge of Miss Jennie Aiken, and in Hall No. 3 , supervised by Miss Agnes Baxter, autumn leaves make a pretty departure from the time-honored evergreen as decorating material. Miss Mary Aikins and her charges in Hall No. 4 have made an equally great success of their work.

          “The East House, both in the male and female wings, is prettily decorated throughout. Mr. Joseph Harkison is the supervisor in charge of the male halls and Miss Maggie Chapman looks after the female patients. Great attention has been paid to detail here, and the effect is very pleasing.

          “The handsome halls in the Orchard House claim special attention. The decorations this year are unusually elaborate, and those who are familiar with decorations of previous years, such a statement may convey a faint idea of how beautiful the halls are just now. Hall No. 2 is far ahead of anything of the kind at the Asylum. A natural arbor of moss, evergreen and potted plants laid out like a miniature maze with a small aquarium in the center has evoked more admiration than anything else among the decorations. Everything else about the hall is fully in keeping with the arbor and of the display. C. Simmons is supervisor in charge. Ferns and hanging baskets innumerable give a charming effect to the many bright decorations of Hall 6, in charge of James Laird. The dining room decorations include a paper facsimile of the old Liberty Bell, exhibited at the World’s Fair. Mr. James Thompson and his assistants have succeeded in beautifying Hall No. 4 very much, the decorations showing a great deal of artistic paper and brush work, Here also there is no lack of flowers and plants.

          “In Hall No. 3, in the women’s wing, Miss Minnie Weatherstone and the many willing hands directed by her have vastly improved the external appearance of things. The walls are adorned with many pictures, and there were also quite a number of artistic mantel and mirror drapes to be seen, and of course admired.

          “Hall No. 5 and 1, in charge of Miss Ada Welch and Miss Annie McDonnell, also amply repay a visit. When brilliantly illuminated, most of the halls present a sight which would make many a person think they had run across a material selection from ‘The Arabian Night’s Dreams.’ ”¹

                It seems as though the reporter’s visit to the Asylum was confined to a tour of the facility but he was able to provide a two paragraph overview of the festivities which took place throughout the rest of Christmas day, 1893 at the institution :

          “Nearly 1,000 patients sat down to Christmas dinner in the asylum. The amount of beef, poultry, bread, vegetables, plum pudding, mince pie, fruit, etc., consumed in less than an hour there would have opened the eyes of a World’s Fair caterer. At night, the annual Christmas tree distribution took place in the amusement hall.

          “The orchestra under Dr. Forster’s leadership, played several selections, Dr. Russell sang, several other ladies and gentlemen contributed to the programme, and last but not least, the two Christmas trees were stripped of the stores of pretty and useful articles and every patient got a present.”¹

                While not always the happiest places, at least on one day, December 25, 1893, there was a happy atmosphere at the Hamilton Asylum for the Insane.