Tay Vaughan - Scrapbook 1960

So my dad arranged for a summer job for me after high school graduation in 1962. His friend, Bill Karn, ran the Wyoming State Hospital in Evanston and agreed to take me on as an "orderly." In fact, he said, the hospital was transporting a patient to New Jersey by chartered plane in early June. If I could meet up with the aircraft in Teterboro, I could get a free ride back to Wyoming on a Beechcraft twin. A Dr. Fitzgerald with a nurse had been tasked with delivery of the patient, which they did, and then the three of us flew to Wyoming. Of note, the pilot failed to refuel during the overnight stay in Moline, Illinois, and he also failed to check his tanks during preflight in the morning. Shortly after take-off we quickly returned to Moline in some consternation as the fuel gauge was flashing "empty." Dr. Fitzgerald was so incensed by this performance that, when back in his office, he persuaded the FAA to pull the pilot's license.

June 16, 1962 (Saturday) -- This was my first day on the wards. I arrived yesterday by airplane from New York with Dr. Fitzgerald. I was on ward 8, the medical ward, and did menial "scut" work: change sheets for untidy patients; I think that doing these things helped greatly to overcome my shyness and apprehensions as to medical work. This would have been like any hospital except that the patients had to be hand-fed and that the made odd noises -- those of then that made any noise at all. One man in the corner would start asking for "toast and coffee" or "just a little butter over here" and would repeat this for twenty or so times before changing the question. After about 10 minutes of this one of the other men invariably shouted "shut-up" whereupon the first would yell with emphasis, "shut-up, you son-of-a-bitch!..." and the repetition would continue. Another man at periodic intervals would loudly hum through his lips and move them up and down spasmodically -- with this sound, he would shake his whole body, and the chair he was sitting in would move forward... sounded like he was playing a new game called "sports car." Generally this ward held the extremely elderly who had little to do but to die... makes one philosophical.

June 17, 1962 (Sunday) -- Meeting many more people. Took trip into the Wasatch Range of mountains with social worker. He let me drive his TR-3, and I had a ball. Was my day off and I went with Mrs. Dushick to 5 of the wards asnd sang with the choir... was a lot of fun and interesting to see how the pts. reacte. In general they enjoyed this very much.

June 18, 1962 (Monday) -- Back on ward B. I have become geneerally bored with the nursing work. I went to see Dr. Karn about becoming involved in such aqctivities as psycho-drama, group therapy, and music therapy. These interest me far more than the tiresome and boring "baby-sitting" necessasry on the wards. Dr. Karn said that he sympathized with me and would keep me in mind. [Original notes are here.]