Few occupations come with the occasional spine tingling adventure of rummaging through abandoned buildings, basements, and old houses.  Being a Curator is one of those occupations.  The most memorable for me was when I gained permission to explore the old 1924 Gaston Memorial Hospital on Highland Street in Gastonia to look for objects that could be included in our North Carolina Orthopedic Hospital exhibit. 

Gaston Memorial Hospital

It was a somewhat dreary day with little light coming through the broken and shattered windows of the old hospital.  Electricity in the building had long ago been turned off, so like the ghost hunters on television we armed ourselves with flashlights and started cautiously wondering the hallways. You never know exactly what you are going to encounter on such expeditions; wild animals, a rare historical find, an eerily forgotten item long ago left by the owner, or a glimpse into a tragic event. 

The Old Piano

We started out in the wing with no windows, going through old office spaces with a lot of left over files and office furniture.  We even stumbled across a gurney that had been left behind, but it did not fit the “period” of artifacts we were looking for, so we moved on.    Next we traveled to the recreation/gathering rooms and encountered an old piano that gave us a view into what life at the hospital had been like. 

The Psyche Ward, however, gave most of the team pause.  A patient had set fire to this ward shortly before the hospital closed, and was never repaired.  The charred walls, lack of light, and the finality of a tragic event having taken place in this very spot left most of us with chills running down our spines and the hairs on our arms standing up; leaving each of us anxious to move on.

Fire Damage

Making our way into the basement and still a little on edge from the Psyche Ward, we finally found what we came for in the old fallout shelter.  Treasure beyond a Curator’s belief lined the floors.  Packages of old sterile bandages, needles, and medicine of all types had been left behind as if for the sole purpose of someone from the future bringing back to life the era of this once grand hospital.  Climbing over piles of supplies and dodging open needles, we were on a treasure hunt for the most pristine items.  We passed over many items with water or bug damage, and focused on almost perfect specimens. 

We gathered several other things during our adventure, but what will stay with us always is the excitement and adrenalin rush of that day.  To walk the halls of history and create in your mind the people who worked, lived, or just passed through is something one never forgets.  You cannot help but think about what was happening in the world and Gastonia while this hospital was operating, and putting stories to the experiences you have on an adventure like this.  I will never be able to pass the newly renovated apartment complex now occupying this building without remembering its past and the special impression it made on me that dreary day.