'Grave Concerns' to Restore Another 50 Unidentified Graves at the Historical Western State Hospital Cemetery

April 7, 2009

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He was born an Irish immigrant and became the first homesteader of Des Moines when he came to the Washington Territory around 1854. He died in 1899 of dementia. Along with more than 3200 other hospital patients who died between 1876 – 1953 at Western State Hospital, John Moore (#447) was buried with only a stone grave marker etched with a number on it to anonymously identify the resting place of his remains and avoid the public shame and stigma associated with mental illness.

More than a century later, John Moore's name is now prominently displayed at his grave site, thanks to the Des Moines Historical Society and a concerned group of hospital staff and volunteers working to restore the cemetery and identify the patients buried there.

“With each numbered stone we replace, we erase some of the stigma of mental illness and restore the dignity and respect of that person," says Laurel Lemke, who entered state service in 1987, serving 18 of 24 years with the Department of Social and Health Service (DSHS) at Western State Hospital. Since its founding in 2000, Lemke has served as the chair of the Grave Concerns Association.

The Grave Concerns Association, a group of community members and staff volunteers at Western State Hospital who operate as a 501-C3 organization dedicated to the restoration of the hospital's cemetery, will replace 50 stone markers in ceremonies set for April 18 and May 30 from 9:00 AM to noon in Lakewood at the historical cemetery located at 8714 8th Avenue S.W. at Fort Steilacoom Park. The project, scheduled to mark Mental Health Awareness month in May, is called "Dignity for 50." This effort is supported by the Mental Health Transformation grant as a vehicle to bring involved consumers from Greater Puget Sound together in an effort to combat stigma.

Work is part of the ceremony as Lemke plans to have participants in the memorial take shovels and prep the ground for the new markers. She says she would love to see anyone interested join the ceremony and help place the new markers. So the events will combine work and celebration.

Lemke says the grave marker project really provides a venue to talk about mental illness and open a dialogue for community members, families and patients. “Mental illness is an equal opportunity illness," says Lemke. "It doesn't matter who you are or what you do, mental illness can run in any family." In fact, one in four families has a member with mental illness.

Lemke dedicates between five and 50 hours a month on Grave Concerns, which is powered by other board members, volunteers and private donor support. She says the effort helps bring people together to learn about the history of mental illness, as well as talk and heal themselves through the restoration activities. "One patient at the hospital was caretaking the grave of a person with his same first name," says Lemke. "He really helping at the cemetery and thinking about the other "John" who came before him and was very much a part of the evolution and progress of recovery for people with mental illness."

A tour of the Western State Hospital museum shows the history of the "insane asylum" which housed 21 people at Fort Steilacoom in 1871, and the progress that has been made in the and recovery of people with mental illness since the state hospital opened. The museum itself is housed in what was believed to be the old hydro-therapy units. Water treatments were used between 1911 and 1961 to sedate agitated patient through ‘continuous baths' which may have last for a half hour to six or seven hours, according to hospital historical records.

"That was the 'cutting edge' treatment of its day," says Lemke, who works in the forensic section of Western State Hospital to help provide recovery-based education and vocational training opportunities for patients who would be in prison if not for their mental illness. “Times, and treatments, have changed."

After rediscovering the graves in 2000, it took 18 months to find all the markers, hidden beneath tall prairie grasses in what is now called Fort Steilacoom Park. By poking the ground with sticks, patient work crews found over 2,700 of the cement markers buried by time. It took another two years to compile the names and birthdates of the people buried by number only.

By state law, the names of those buried in the cemetery could not be revealed. Sherry Storms, former ombudsmen for the King County Regional Service Network, led the effort to have state law amended in 2004 so that names could be made public for reasons of memorialization.

Going through old microfiche in 2004, work-study employees and hospital staff were able to piece together information from old records to find any birth records that were available. Historical charts and other hospital records provided the key to the remaining names, birthdates and year of death of the patients buried in the cemetery. All marker funds have been private funding.

“We didn't ask for state funding because we wanted those dollars to stay with patient care," says Lemke, adding that many other states have similar restoration efforts in place which are funded through their state legislatures.

Grave Concerns has now replaced nearly 120 markers and has erected a stone memorial that spans three grave sites and displays 500 names. Each marker costs $40, a special rate provided by a community business which use stone remnants from other projects and only charge for prepping the stones. The effect of the different hues of stone adds color to the hollowed ground. It remains covered in prairie grass, but now is kept mowed.

Lemke says the restoration project has really been a true community project. Boy Scout troops, Fort Lewis military crews, local businesses, local school groups, as well as family members and patients have all turned out to help memorialize the graves at volunteer community work events held twice a year.

This year's effort to replace markers is being supported by the Regional Organizing Initiative (ROI) of the Mental Health Transformation Project (MHTP). Consumers of mental health serve on the ROI and have been working since last November 2008 to identify projects that will help support education and raise awareness that recovery from mental illness does happen.

“Grave Concerns was a natural choice for the ROI to support as their efforts are so publicly visible and help the recovery movement in a meaningful way by honoring the past," says Jill SanJule, MHTP program manager and technical support to the ROI. In addition to financially supporting Grave Concerns, the ROI is building a consumer website to house educational materials and information on recovery.

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'Grave Concerns' to Restore Another 50 Unidentified Graves at the Historical Western State Hospital Cemetery

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