Huge heavy clouds all day but no rain as we made our way to St Joseph to spend the day. Horrible traffic and then one-lane on the interstate. There are 16 museums in St. Joseph. Many of them related to Jesse James. We went instead to the Psychiatric Museum and Pony Express Museum after lunch at a new Ground Round on the corner of a new mall. They still bring you popcorn at the Ground Round. There was a lot of traffic on the outskirts of town but no one in the mall or at the restaurant for a Saturday noon - too bad. Very nice waitress.
The Psychiatric Museum is in the old state hospital - State Lunatic Asylum #2. This doctor who worked and then directed the state mental health system created the museum when he retired a few years ago. Goes all the way back to ancient times. Even showed a prehistoric skull with a large whole cut into it. Said it probably relieved pressure and worked pretty well for treating seizures or whatever. At the height of the state hospital, it had 3000 patients. Now there is a new 108 bed hospital across the street. Did some pretty horrible things to these people. It was certainly occupational therapy heaven in psych hospitals even with a brass plaque that was on their building. As usual, the PT department was in the basement with the usual hydrotherapy, etc. See pictures of one display. Another was of TV stuffed with all of these incoherent notes. Some of them even scorched. They think the guy thought if he put the notes in the tv they would somehow be transmitted.
On to the Pony Express Museum. The downtown was deserted. A tour bus with some people leaving the museum and maybe 3 other couples there while we were there. Interesting but I don't think it was anything I didn't already know. See picture of a mochila which was the special saddle bag for the mail. 3 of the pockets were locked and the key to open them was at each end of the route only. The 4th was left open for the mail they picked up as they rode along. I didn't know about that.
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