John- When did you start your employment at DSH?
Preston-I went there and applied in 1968 for a maintenance position. What they had open at the time was a handyman position and it was only a 90 day temporary position. I took the job and stayed there for the 90 days and a position opened up in engineering. The hospital asked if I wanted to stay on full-time and I said I would. In my 24 years of employment at the hospital I worked in engineering, I was a carpentry handyman, I worked over at the garage and ran the transportation department. Towards the end I was the director of transportation, the head of grounds and security.

J- Where was your office located?
P- My office was behind the Kirkbride near the plumbing department. Behind the Kirkbride was where all the shops were. Masons, Plumbing,Carpentry, Blacksmith, Tinsmith, Machine shop everything. I worked with them all. The talent they had in these shops was incredible. They made everything right on the property. All the tension screens you see on the Kirkbride windows were all made in the maintenance department. The steel screens in the stairwells for patient protection were all made on site. There was basically nothing they couldn't do there.

J-Were all the building in use and active when you first started?
P- Everything was for the exception of the Male and Female TB units. Even the Middleton Colony was in use. The farm, piggery, hennery was all in full operation. The slaughterhouse, the dairy where they processed their own milk, that was active and that was located at the top of the hill near the garages. We grew our own fruits and vegetables and always gave some to the inmates over at the Lawrence and Salem jails.

J-You mentioned the Middleton Colony was in use during your employment. Back in the 1930's that was housing tuberculosis patients. What was it being used for when you were there?
P-That was for elderly patients. Sort of like a rest home or nursing home for the very old mentally ill. Everything was in full swing even the kitchen over there in Middleton. All the cottages were open. The superintendent lived on the grounds, when I first started there and it was Peter Hogopian. His cottage is still in use today and that's located over in the colony as you first pull in, it's the house on the right hand side. I'm not sure but I believe DYS uses it now. Another old cottage that was renovated and in use today is the Cutler cottage. Well, we referred to it as Cutler because that's who lived in it. He was the assistant engineer to the hospital. His cottage is on the right of the CAB Center. Many employees lived right on the grounds. Even the head carpenter lived over at the Colony in the cottage right next to the mini power station which was also working. That was also our incinerator where we burnt all our rubbish.

J- Was the entire Kirkbride in use? All the wards?
P- All of them. Not only all the wards but the Hydros (B and I annex) were turned into wards because of the overcrowding. At one time those were strictly hydrotherapy. We tiled them and took all the plumbing out and made them into units because we needed the room. Every available space was being occupied. When I first started, there were 2100 patients there so we needed space.

J-The Kirkbride had some renovations only a couple years prior to closing. I read they spent 4 million dollars just a few years before the entire campus was closed.
P-Oh yeah they spent a fortune. Big money. They built a rehab center in back near the kitchen loading dock. During the final few years the only Kirkbride buildings that were in use was front and center (main administration) and the rehab center in back. Everything else was closed. Eventually the entire Kirkbride closed and we worked out of Medical Building (Bonner)