Page 22 - Wallingford Magazine Issue 59 Spring 2026

able the underpinnings of treatment bers who had the means might move street from Gaylord Farm Sanatorium.
consisted of strictly enforced long pe- to the area to be near their recovering “I loved living there”.
riods of rest outdoors (including sleep- family members. Nevertheless, for
ing at night) in “clean” air, sunlight, a many patients physically isolated at As an early teen Dolly spoke of the reg-
scheduled daily intake of high-caloric Gaylord Farm Sanatorium their con- ular interface with the staff and patients
and protein-rich solid food and milk tact and interactions were limited to including watching TV and attending
supplied by the adjoining farm. Pa- other patients and staff. While acting weekly movie sessions with patients.
tients strong enough to be out-of-bed on physical attraction was not deemed She remembered the rides she got to
were prescribed graduated exercises helpful to recovery, creation of a close- and from school with the staff who were
including outdoor hikes thought to ex- knit community was encouraged as picking up and dropping off mail at the
pand the lungs. There were, however, part of the process of getting well. To post office on South Main Street. Dolly
long periods of unstructured free time honor these close ties that persisted be- noted fondly that when she got married
to be filled. Aware of the relationship tween patients and staff, even after dis- the baker at Gaylord made her wedding
between physical and mental health, charge, medical director Dr. Lyman was cake. Following in the footsteps of her
the Adirondack sanatorium would be credited with initiating the “custom of mother, who became night nursing su-
the first to initiate meaningful struc- homecoming for former patients upon pervisor, Dolly became a nurse who
tured activities or occupational therapy the model of college reunion classes” worked at Gaylord and ultimately re-
for their patients in 1909. The formal (NYT, 9/7/29, Section R p.14). tired as the Vice President of Nursing.
field of study and practice, occupational
therapy, would not be established until The ultimate goal of Gaylord TB sana-
1919. torium, to find a cure, was successful-
ly achieved when streptomycin was
In several sanatoria it was jewelry-mak- discovered. The founding focus for the
ing and design and pottery that last- Gaylord Farm Sanatorium was success-
ed and successfully generated funds Maker's Mark fully met when the cure for TB was
to underwrite the ongoing care of the Early examples of this individual rela- discovered. The spirit of care for the
patients. Not surprisingly, in an area tionship and connection to the Wall- “whole patient” with chronic life-alter-
which was long known for its silver in- ingford community manifest in varied ing illnesses lives on in its successor,
dustry, notably, R. Wallace and Sons ways. The famous playwright, Eugene Gaylord Specialty Healthcare, a nation-
and International Silver, the silverware O’Neill, wrote a play, The Straw, based ally recognized rehabilitation center.
and jewelry workshop at Gaylord Farm on his 5-month stay at Gaylord in 1912.
Sanatorium had a lasting presence. In Former patients motivated by their care As this institution, so important to Wall-
1923, the sanatorium employed Marga- went on to study nursing and return to ingford’s history, continues its journey,
ret Wheeler Robinson, an early occupa- Gaylord as staff. Members of local com- there are more stories about town res-
tional therapist skilled in metalsmithing munity groups participated in volunteer idents - yet to be told. They live in the
who was living in Meriden to be near activities including donations of time, family histories and memories of those
her patient-husband and mother. Wil- expertise, and money. who worked as staff, were patients who
liam Waldo Dodge, an architect, who came and stayed, and members of civ-
had been previously hospitalized in More recent memories of Gaylord’s his- ic groups who volunteered at Gaylord.
Oteen Veteran’s Hospital Sanatorium in toric past live on in former Wallingford To commemorate the upcoming 125th
North Carolina had learned silversmith- residents’ stories. Richard Stancil, the Anniversary celebration of Gaylord spe-
ing there, taught by his wife-to-be, Mar- former owner of Milton’s Men’s Store cialty Health in 2027, let us add to and
garet Robinson. The initial endeavor recalls siblings’ family stories about his enrich our town’s history and tell our lo-
would successfully continue at Gaylord mother’s stay at Gaylord Farm Sanato- cal stories before we lose them!
Farm Sanatorium until 1944 - long after rium. A 1995 Hartford Courant article
Dodge’s discharge and he and his wife written by Amy Ash Nixon included an
returning to their home in North Caro- interview with Johanna Manfresa Fish-
lina. According to Scott Martin, Forum bein where she recounted her singing
Master of Silver Salon Forums (1999) and dancing “my little doll dance to
the ongoing workshop would involve cheer patients” at Gaylord Farm Sanito-
481 patients spending over 100,00 rium.
hours, and would produce 28,990
brooches, bracelets pins and serving Florence “Dolly” Parisi and her fami-
pieces. Each would be stamped with ly experiences represent a transitional
the Gaylord Silvercraft Maker’s Mark of time as (at) the Gaylord Farm Sanato- Gaylord Entry Arch
a hammer with wings. Some pieces are rium transitioned from its focus on TB
still available at various on-line sites. In care to to its current place as a nation- Hospital to Sanatorium: Institutional
addition to the workshops created to allly recognized rehabilitation center. In Care of the Tubercular Poor in Hartford,
manage free time the Gaylord Sanato- a personal interview with this author 1900-1910 SANDRA L. WHEELER
rium had, since its opening, fostered before her death in 2022 Dolly spoke Connecticut History Review (1997) 38
friendly ties amongst staff and patients of her family’s many connections with (1): 1–11.
as significant part of the healing of the Gaylord. In 1948 her father became
whole person. Because of the long the farm and business manager and
length of convalescence family mem- her family moved to a house across the

22 WALLINGFORD MAGAZINE - SPRING 2026