The West Coast Years
(1910 to 1931)
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Chapter Twenty - County Farm
1928 to 1931 |
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"You will not be burdened with oppressive rules. The one called the Golden Rule covers them all." Mr. Harrison, Administrator, circa 1927 |
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Gegoux concluded his life in residence at the Los Angeles County Farm. Whether he had qualified for admission due to actual poverity or due to a progressive senile demenitia, which eventually caused his death, it is true that he suffered from both conditions in the end. Gegoux never saw any proceeds from the "Birth of Oregon", beyond what his son Frank may have given him. This is mentioned because Gegoux had signed the painting over to his younger son in 1925. It was left up to Frank to arrange the sale, presumably due to his youthful energy. The document makes it clear that Frank owned to painting from the time of the transfer. Further, other documents make it clear that the Birth of Oregon was not sold during either Gegoux's lifetime or that of his sons.
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Gegoux's death certificate lists the County Farm as the location of death. Known these days as the Rancho Los Amigos Medical Center, the location has not changed and some original buildings still stand. The death certificate also records Gegoux's length of residence as three (3) years; ten (10) months; and 23 days. This places the date of admission at August 11, 1927, which was just short of 3 months prior to the untimely death of his eldest son, Theo. Jr., at the age of 44, on November 3, 1927. With the admission of Grandpa to the County Farm, followed shortly by the death of Father, the close of 1927 was a sad time for the Gegoux family.
Gegoux was residing in the Psychopathic Ward at the time of his death. Senile Dementia was listed as the cause of death, with a contribution from chronic myocardial degeneration. There may be more detailed information about Gegoux's condition and his life at the County Farm in his medical records, if such can be located. As of this writing Gegoux's medical record has not been located. What follows is a description of patient processes, during the time of Gegoux's residence at the County Farm. |
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In the early years of the County Farm, the mental patients were kept clean, fed, and comfortable. But by the early part of the 1920's attempts at some sort of treatment were being made. A visiting specialist conducted weekly clinics in mental and nervous disease, for example. Psychiatrists believed that it was beneficial to place a mentally distraught patient in a warm soothing hydrotherapy bath, and requested that a hydrotherapy unit be established at the farm for this purpose in 1925. Sometime in 1928, two "continuous bath tubs" were installed in the Psychopathetic Buildings - one for the men and the other for the women inmates. These bathtubs were used for "soothing treatment of excited and disturbed mental cases." (1)
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By 1928, the limited time given by the visiting psychiatrist was not sufficient to keep up with the demand, so a resident physician specializing in psychiatry, Dr. Douglas W. Ritchie was assigned to the County Farm on a full time basis. With only a small break in service around 1930 and again during World War II, Dr. Ritchie served the inmates at the County Farm for nearly 20 years eventually becoming the medical director. (1)
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Beginning around late 1927, an attending orthopedist began coming to the Farm each week as a visiting specialist and was paid $20 per visit, plus one meal in the dining room. If a patient had an ailment that could not be taken care of by one of the Farm physicians or a visiting specialist, or if he or she needed more complex treatment or surgery (such as eye surgery), the patient was transported to County Hospital. For instance, about 25 of the cancer patients in the Infirmary Wards were taken by ambulance to County Hospital to the "Malignancy Board" for treatment with radium, x-ray, or cautery.
After a new male patient had been examined, he was expected to spend a day or two in the "receiving ward" until the results of his blood, sputum, urine, and other tests had been received. (The first receiving ward was in the west end of Building 30.) Then the patient was assigned to the appropriate ward, and a recommendation was made as to how much and what type of labor he could perform. Women and psychopathic patients were examined in treatment rooms within their own buildings. The first regular laboratory technician was Deacon Sinclair, employed in 1927. He took over this position in 1929 and remained in this post for 21 years. Each of the infirmary patients was visited by a doctor every day, and a daily medical report was filled out with the patient's prognosis. If a patient's condition had become critical, a letter was immediately sent out to any and all relatives asking about funeral arrangements in case of death. Each patient's file included the names and addresses of any visitors. This was a practical measure which helped reduce the cost of the county having to provide burials for the deceased patients. (1) (1) Centennial Rancho Los Amigos Medical Center (1888-1988), 1990, by Colleen Adair Fliedner |
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News & Information While at County Farm (1928 to 1931)
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The Daily Times, Watertown - June 9, 1926 - Wednesday Mrs. T. Gegoux, Sr, who has spent the last four years in Los Angeles and Monrovia, Cal., has returned to Watertown for the summer and is residing at 115 Mullin street. Mrs. Gegoux for the past 50 years, has been a reader of The Watertown Dally Times. Theo. Gegoux dies at County Farm.. |
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Death - Certificate Theodore Gegoux July 3,
1931 Portable Document Format (PDF)
Theo. Gegoux dies at County Farm.. |
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