Thibodaux museum exhibits photos from Vacherie man who advocated for leprosy community

An exhibit at Thibodaux’s Jean Lafitte Museum shows how one man was both a patient and the chronicler of America’s first leprosy community.

Carville, Louisiana, became America’s first leprosy quarantine community. The hospital began in 1894 and saw its last patients in 2016.

Johnny P. Harmon was a professional photographer who contracted the disease, now known as Hansen’s Disease. He became a patient in 1935 and was discharged 1955. While he was a patient, he captured photos of the lives of others within the community and eventually wrote a book about the experience.

Now his daughter, Anne Harmon Brett, and fellow author Claire Manes are jointly holding an exhibit at Thibodaux's Jean Lafitte Museum until Aug. 27. The exhibit, which includes about 20 items showing the history of the Carville leprosarium, is open for viewing from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays.

Patti DelDuca and her husband, Matt DelDuca, of New Orleans were driving through Thibodaux on July 13 when they decided to stop at the museum. They said they didn’t know the exhibit was going on when they arrived but found it very informative.

“I've gone through a couple tour guide classes, and I've never heard or learned any of this," Patti DelDuca said.

"It was very interesting, and terribly, terribly, sad," Matt DelDuca added, "It's not very long ago, and its not hard to imagine, you know, I mean there are people today who don't pay attention to the science and facts, and people suffer when that happens."

Just before their arrival, Brett gave a presentation that included many of the photos her father had taken during his stay in Carville. They included portraits and photos of community gatherings. She said the photos captured the humanity of the people who lived there because they trusted Johnny P. Harmon.

“Because he was a patient there... he knew these people and they trusted him," Brett said. "They would have reporters come from outside, but the people wouldn't look at the camera. They were very secretive because they never what the agenda was for those other people."

Carville

The quarantined grounds were originally intended to be established in New Orleans, but political attitudes within the city forced public officials to move the plans to Carville. The plan was to move it back to New Orleans, but local sentiments were unwavering, so 350 acres of land used by the Houma Native Americans during the winters were purchased and converted into the hospital grounds in 1905.

“Public outcry prevents the Louisiana Leper Home from relocating to the New Orleans area. The State of Louisiana decides to purchase the Indian Camp property (350 acres) in December,” The Health Resources and Services Administration’s timeline says.

The Federal government took over operation of the hospital in 1921 and made many improvements. In 1999, it was transferred back to the state, the headquarters downsized and moved to Baton Rouge, the National Hansen’s Disease Museum's curator Elizabeth Schexnyder said. There were still nearly 150 patients at that time, which were taken care of until the last one moved away in 2016.

During the time Johnny P. Harmon was a patient at the hospital, the illness carried a negative stigma that Manes said was similar to the stigma that arose surrounding the AIDS epidemic of the '90s. That stigma meant that by law, patients could not use public transportation, they were encouraged to adopt a different name, and for many years they could not leave the grounds without written permission.

“Am I, an American, denied my rightful heritage — LIBERTY, JUSTICE and the PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS, when my only crime is being sick?,” Betty Martin wrote to The STAR in July 1945. “Am I made to feel that it is a disgrace to come to this institution instead of a privilege, when it is the only hospital in the country where I can get the medical treatment I need?”

This didn’t stop many patients from breaking the rules though. There was a culvert that was under the fence and had sunk into the ground. According to Johnny Charles Harmon, Johnny P. Harmon's son, it was just out of view of the guards, and his mother, Anne Triche, would slip out so they could go have a picnic together.

“We'd be waiting there by the fence, and we knew mom would be coming out with her fried chicken. So she'd come out with her basket, and we'd meet, and we'd hug and all that, and then we'd cross the road, and we'd go over the levee," Harmon said. "They had benches, and we'd have a picnic."

Who was Johnny P. Harmon?

According to Johnny Charles Harmon, Johnny P. Harmon worked as a draftsman for a local highway department and would hand draw the landscapes. He began taking photos of the landscape for accuracy, and over time the department came to realize the value of the photos. They invested in a top-of-the-line camera for Johnny P. Harmon, and his skills continued to grow.

According to Brett, he eventually began to feel numbness in his fingers and knew he had contracted Hansen’s Disease. Johnny P. Harmon’s illness was mild, and he did not show outward signs of the disease. He entered the hospital on Aug. 2, 1935. According to the official medical record, he absconded March 18, 1938, but re-entered Sept. 26, 1942, and remained until discharged in 1955.

Patients of Carville started their own magazine, The STAR, in 1931, and Johnny P. Harmon took photos for it and drew comics. He also later published a book, "The King of the Microbes."

When he was discharged from the hospital in 1955, he didn’t want to leave because his wife Triche was not also discharged. According to Brett, he was forced to leave, moved to Vacherie, and opened a photo studio named Harmon's Photo Shop. Triche was discharged three years later, and the two were reunited.

Hansen’s Disease

The disease is caused by a bacterial infection from a germ called Mycobacterium Lepromatosis. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, it can affect the nerves, skin, eyes and lining of the nose. Because it affects the nerves, those affected may lose their sense of touch and pain.

According to the CDC, about 95% of all people cannot be infected because their immune system naturally fights it off. It is currently unknown exactly how the disease spreads, but medical officials say it takes months of exposure to contract.