At the beginning of this century, tuberculosis (TB) was the number two killer, only slightly behind pneumonia and influenza. Eleven percent of all deaths could be attributed to this disease.

The Iowa legislature, pressed by physicians to do something about the alarming number of TB cases, appropriated $50,000 in 1904 to establish a sanatorium. In 1908, Oakdale Tuberculosis Sanatorium, which would remain in use until 1981, opened with an administration building and two cottage-style structures, one for men and one for women. A nurses' station connected the cottages. Bed rest, diet and fresh air were the only known treatments at the time, so the cottages were equipped with long open-air porches. The diet emphasized milk and eggs, and the Sanatorium acquired its own Holstein dairy herd and a large poultry house.

34. Scene from Oakdale Tuberculosis Sanatorium, c. 1920, courtesy of the University of Iowa Archives

One hundred and five patients were admitted to Oakdale in its first five months. In 1910, the number rose to 506 and peaked at 814 in 1926. The largest proportion of patients were young people 20 - 25 years old. A patient's existence was strictly regimented, with lights out and radios off at 9:00 p.m. Daily naps with absolute quiet were enforced from 1:00 to 4:00. The stresses of homesickness and apprehension about health, in addition to the severe life-style, made life most trying for many patients.

35. Scene from Oakdale Tuberculosis Sanatorium, c. 1920, courtesy of the University of Iowa Archives

Andrew Oftedal was a patient at Oakdale from 1921 to 1927. He remembered sleeping on the open air porch when it was -18 degrees; gallon jugs of hot water, called "pigs;" and pulling covers over their heads kept patients warm until 2 a.m., the rest of the night was torture.

36. Scene from Oakdale Tuberculosis Sanatorium, c. 1920, courtesy of the University of Iowa Archives

Lee Burton was released from Oakdale in 1931, in the depths of the Great Depression. With no work available in his home town, he returned to Oakdale and worked as a waiter, then as an editor of a monthly paper. He and his wife Elsie met as patients at Oakdale between 1927 and 1931. They were married in 1939, when both were completely cured.

Patients who were ambulatory took their meals in the dining hall, but men and women sat at separate tables. However, they were permitted to sit together at social events. Oakdale administrators put much effort into making life as pleasant and bearable as possible, and

37. Scene from Oakdale Tuberculosis Sanatorium, c. 1920, courtesy of the University of Iowa Archives

38. Scene from Oakdale Tuberculosis Sanatorium, c. 1920, courtesy of the University of Iowa Archives