Monthly Archives: October 2011

Jim Dine: Sculptures and Large Prints, has only a few more weeks at The Kennedy Museum of Art, the institution which now anchors the old Kirkbride section of the asylum on The Ridges. Last week I visited the show again … Continue reading →

Tomorrow the graves of 42 Civil War veterans buried in the asylum’s cemeteries on The Ridges will receive military markers honoring their service. The research to identify the men and their graves was done by Doug McCabe of the Ohio … Continue reading →

Half a century ago the orchards along the road to Radar Hill on The Ridges produced hundreds of thousands of pounds of apples each year for the Athens asylum.This evening while hiking there I noticed that this is the only … Continue reading →

A research study shows how  asking “what does it take to be well?” and then creating a life to provide those things supports persons with  schizoaffective disorder. In addition to taking medication and avoiding alcohol and illicit drugs, a fast-paced … Continue reading →

We now have a cover for Asylum on the Hill: History of  Healing Landscape. The Ohio University Press designers have used a photograph from 1893 and incorporated the mandala-shaped window bars into the cover and throughout the book. The view … Continue reading →

This weekend was Homecoming at Ohio University. George Eberts and I spent Friday and Saturday evenings giving tours of the grounds of The Ridges for the alumni association. Saturday especially (no rain) was a beautiful evening to imagine the views … Continue reading →

Last week I noticed on one of the lawns of the asylum on The Ridges a large stand of bilious looking flowering plants growing in what had been a caved-in area of the grounds. Unable to find the plant in … Continue reading →

1950 brought the completion of a 45,000 square foot  hospital attached to the eastern wing of the asylum. The hospital served patients and staff which numbered about 1,500 that year, according to a map of the grounds prepared in 1960. … Continue reading →

October in Athens brings Halloween and renewed attention to persistent and unsubstantiated folklore about ghosts of Athens and the old asylum.  This month the blog features actual facts about the asylum that in some cases have fueled sensational speculation. Asylum … Continue reading →