A photo of Barry Morrow (L) with Bill Sackter (R), who is wearing one the many wigs in his collection, 1970s. Courtesy of Barry and Bev Morrow.
From the exhibit:
An orderly once got angry at Bill and pulled his hair so violently that Bill often wore a wig or hat for the rest of his life. Bill was helping to bathe another resident when they had a seizure in the bath. Bill went for help.
“That’s when he turned and flung me right down the stairs… but he grabbed onto my hair and he didn’t let go. It came out in his hand like that. Then when they took the bandages off, the hair was gone. They took a lot of things, but they should never take a regular good man’s hair.” – Bill Sackter, as told by Barry Morrow in A Friend Indeed – The Bill Sackter Story documentary
The wig pictured above is one of many hairpieces worn by Bill in the 1970s. After his story gained national prevalence, a professional wigmaker (Mr. Executive, based in Des Moines) fitted Bill for a more sophisticated wig made with real hair.
“A good man’s gotta have good hair,” Bill said. “Stay-on hair.”
From co-curator Jen Knights:
“The wig from Bill’s first handful of years outside of Faribault is especially endearing to me because it’s so personal. So many stories of when Barry and Bev Morrow and Jack Doepke first met Bill include descriptions of Bill’s wig: how he wore it sideways without knowing it, how he maintained it with copious amounts of hairspray, and how much he needed it—because someone had damaged his real hair and he wanted to look and feel like a normal ‘good man.’ He got a better-fitting and sophisticated-looking wig later in life, and he deserved that. But this reminds me of how far he came during his life after the institution.”
Bill Sackter with some of his wigs, 1970s. Courtesy of Barry and Bev Morrow.