Crownsville workers share memories : Hospital subject of documentary

Sarah Maddox was adjusting to her work at the Crownsville Hospital Center when a patient approached her with a knife.

It was the 1950s and Ms. Maddox, a nurse, was one of the few African Americans on staff. The patient with the knife was a woman she had seen around, but everyone stayed out of her way.

"How would you feel if I cut your head off?" she asked Ms. Maddox.

"I wouldn't feel anything," Ms. Maddox said. "I'd be dead."

"Don't worry," the woman said. "I'll protect you."

Ms. Maddox was one of eight of the closed hospital's former workers who recalled their memories at the Banneker-Douglass Museum Tuesday...