June 4, 1951

Went to Finis’s & Doris’s tonite. Mrs. Teters is there. She told us about the sanitorium. Billy & Johnny have a billy goat. Moma got 2 new bedspreads for boys beds. 

The Rector boys have a goat — that otta keep ’em busy . . . keeping the goat out of things!

I don’t know who Mrs. Teters is, or exactly what she told them about the sanitorium. What I can tell you about the sanitorium is that it is a big fancy building in Macon with quite a history. It was built in 1899-1900, as the Blees Military Academy, by Col. Frederick Wilhelm Victor Blees. After Col. Blees’ death in 1906, his wife operated the school for 3 more years, at which point bankruptcy forced her to sell it. It was purchased by four prominent Macon men.

These men approached two doctors, both with the name of Still (Charles and Harry, sons of A.T. Still, the Father of Osteopathy), about converting the building into a sanitorium. The Doctors Still asked Dr. Arthur Hildreth to join them, and on March 1, 1914, the Still-Hildreth Sanitorium became the world’s first osteopathic sanitorium, otherwise known as an “insane asylum”.

I don’t know how long the sanitorium operated, but after its closing, the property later served as a Missouri National Guard Post. When I was a child, the buildings had been pretty much abandoned and let run down. It was creepy, scary, and to add to that, they used to host haunted houses in there at Halloween. Hauntings aside, I took a (daytime) tour of the building at one time, and the “cells” for the patients were just plain scary and totally depressing. In danger of being demolished due to its condition, the Macon County Historical Society rallied to save the property, and the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. 

Remodeling began soon after, and the building was restored to its former beauty, and now serves as an apartment building. There is an annex building located next to the large building that has been designated as the Macon County Museum, taken care of by members of the Macon County Historical Society. If you’re ever in the area, you should stop in and look around. It’s an amazing and beautiful building. Hard to believe it ever operated as an insane asylum. Here’s a picture of what it looks like today:

Enough with the history lesson, right? Let’s get to quilting . . .

Option 1 (large quilt):

Today you’ll need all the squares you have cut so far for Block 8. 

On the back side of each small square, draw a diagonal line with a marking pencil.

And yes, you know what’s coming next — more Flying Geese! Are you tired of them yet? Do you have the process memorized? Here’s the tutorial, just in case: Flying Geese Tutorial.

When you’re done with those, store them back in your “Block 8” baggie.

Option 2 (small quilt):

Today you’ll need all the squares you have cut so far for Block 8. 

On the back side of each small square, draw a diagonal line with a marking pencil.

And yes, you know what’s coming next — more Flying Geese! Are you tired of them yet? Do you have the process memorized? Here’s the tutorial, just in case: Flying Geese Tutorial.

When you’re done with those, store them back in your “Block 8” baggie.