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Muhlenberg Hospital School of Nursing collection

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Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Barbara Bates Center for the Study of The History of Nursing [Contact Us]Claire Fagin Hall, 418 Curie Boulevard, Floor 2U, Philadelphia, PA, 19104-4217

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the University of Pennsylvania: Barbara Bates Center for the Study of The History of Nursing. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.

Overview and metadata sections

Call Number:
MC 212
Repository:
University of Pennsylvania: Barbara Bates Center for the Study of The History of Nursing
Extent:
0.917 linear feet
Language:
English
Preferred Citation:
Muhlenberg Hospital School of Nursing collection, Barbara Bates Center for The Study of The History of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania
Date:
1912-1915 (bulk) and 1912-1972 (inclusive)
Form:
Photographs and Postcards
Abstract:
Muhlenberg Hospital Nurses Training School, New Jersey, was created in 1894. This collection consists of photographs and other memorabilia relating to Muhlenberg nurses in the early part of the 20th century. Of particular interest is a series of photographs depicting nurses playing baseball.

Muhlenberg Hospital opened in 1881 with twenty beds. After two minor expansions and the installation of electric and plumbing systems, the Muhlenberg Hospital Nurses Training School was established in 1894 as a two-year program. In 1896, the first class of two students graduated, and a Nurses Home building was completed. In 1903 the hospital moved to its present location at Park Avenue and Randolph Road in Plainfield, New Jersey. At this time the hospital had a capacity of sixty beds. The Alumnae Association was organized in 1905.

The hospital continued to grow throughout the 20th century. In 1986, Muhlenberg Hospital changed its name to Muhlenberg Regional Medical Center. In 1998, the hospital merged with John F. Kennedy Medical Center as part of Solaris Health System, but ten years later, the Muhlenberg location’s acute care facility was closed. Muhlenberg Regional Medical Center currently offers a satellite emergency department and a small number of outpatient services as Solaris Healthcare System’s JFK Medical Center – Muhlenberg Campus. The School of Nursing was transferred to JFK Medical Center in Edison, N.J., and continues to educate nurses through a cooperative nursing program with UNION County College in Cranford, N.J.

This collection consists of documents and photographs relating to the Muhlenberg Hospital School of Nursing. It is primarily comprised of photographs of nurses from about 1912-1915. These photographs, some of which were removed from a scrapbook, show nurses participating in various activities, such as a "Nurses vs. Doctors" baseball game. The photographs are accompanied by an assortment of memorabilia. These items include a certificate and a pin previously belonging to Adele Krooks Kirkgard, class of 1922. Also included is a copy of a 1961 memorial book entitled "Muhlenberg Nurses Through the Years, 1896-1961," which features historical information on the school.

The Muhlenberg Hospital School of Nursing Alumnae Association Papers, 1904-2000, are held at the Plainfield Public Library, Local History Department, 800 Park Avenue, Plainfield, NJ 07060.

Organization
Subject
Place

Publisher
University of Pennsylvania: Barbara Bates Center for the Study of The History of Nursing
Finding Aid Author
Finding aid prepared by Bethany Myers
Access Restrictions

This collection is unrestricted.

Use Restrictions

Copyright restrictions may apply. Please contact the Center with requests for copying and for authorization to publish, quote or reproduce the material.

Collection Inventory

Scope and Contents note

This series contains items issued by the Muhlenberg Hospital School of Nursing Alumnae Association. Materials include a certificate (with related correspondence), a pin, and a book of Muhlenberg nursing history.

Adele Krooks Kirkgard materials: correspondence from Selena Cornwell [?] to Adele Kirkgard concerning the 50th Anniversary, Class of 1922 Award of Merit, May 8, 1972; Award of Merit to Adele Krooks Kirkgard, April 26, 1972; Kirkgard’s Muhlenberg Hospital School of Nursing pin, 1972.
Box 1 Folder 1
Book: Muhlenberg Nurses Through the Years, 1896-1961, Presented by the Muhlenberg Hospital Alumnae Association, June 1961.
Box 1 Folder 2

Scope and Contents note

This series contains photographs, postcards, and scrapbook pages depicting Muhlenberg nurses. Photographs include interior and exterior locations at Muhlenberg Hospital and around Plainfield, N.J.

Nurses and doctors in a field, with a marching band, 1913.
Box 1 Folder 3 Photo 1
Nurses and doctors in a field, with a marching band. A sign reads “June 14th, Doctors vs. Dentists, Parker Field”, 1913.
Box 1 Folder 3 Photo 2
Nurses on a baseball field. A sign reads “The Female of the Species is More Deadly Than the Male", June 20, 1914.
Box 1 Folder 3 Photo 3
Nurses marching. A sign reads “Put Your Money On Us, We Will Take All You Got", June 20, 1914.
Box 1 Folder 3 Photo 4
Nurses marching. A sign reads “The Female of the Species is More Deadly Than the Male” and “This is the Femi-NINE”, June 20, 1914.
Box 1 Folder 3 Photo 5
The baseball game in progress, with the audience (and some of their automobiles) in the background, June 20, 1914.
Box 1 Folder 3 Photo 6
The game in progress, June 20, 1914.
Box 1 Folder 3 Photo 7
The game in progress, June 20, 1914.
Box 1 Folder 3 Photo 8
A woman holding a United States flag and a British ensign, undated.
Box 1 Folder 3 Photo 9
Group of nurses outdoors, labeled with names.
Box 1 Folder 4 Photo 10
Two nurses with a man and a woman.
Box 1 Folder 4 Photo 11
Six nurses sitting on stairs.
Box 1 Folder 4 Photo 12
Nurse standing near a small pine tree [Christmas tree?].
Box 1 Folder 4 Photo 13
Group of nurses sitting on stairs.
Box 1 Folder 4 Photo 14
Nurse and doctor standing on stairs.
Box 1 Folder 4 Photo 15
Three nurses on the stairs.
Box 1 Folder 4 Photo 16
Group of nurses outdoors.
Box 1 Folder 4 Photo 17
Group of nurses, labeled with names, standing next to Muhlenberg Hospital ambulance.
Box 1 Folder 4 Photo 18
Nurse standing outside.
Box 1 Folder 4 Photo 19
Two nurses sitting on an automobile.
Box 1 Folder 4 Photo 20
A woman and a nurse inside an exam room.
Box 1 Folder 5 Photo 21
Photo of nurse: “Harriet Connelly,” with inscription on back.
Box 1 Folder 5 Photo 22
Two women outdoors, “Ken & Mollie”.
Box 1 Folder 5 Photo 23
Three nurses, with a woman and a man, on a front porch. Labeled “Elsie – Alice ‘Boob’[?] ‘Pink’ & Ken”, 1913.
Box 1 Folder 5 Photo 24
Nurse standing outside.
Box 1 Folder 5 Photo 25
Nurse standing in front of building.
Box 1 Folder 5 Photo 26
Nurse standing outside, “Catherine S. Knox", 1912.
Box 1 Folder 5 Photo 27
Two nurses and a young African American child, labeled“Ruth Kenny – ‘Billy’ Green – Sara Nevins”.
Box 1 Folder 5 Photo 28
Nurse and woman, seated indoors.
Box 1 Folder 5 Photo 29
Group of nurses on a front porch, labeled with names.
Box 1 Folder 5 Photo 30
Group of nurses lined up outdoors, labeled with names.
Box 1 Folder 5 Photo 31
Album page: Two nurses, “Kenny & Brownie”; Three nurses, a woman, and a man, “’Ken’ ‘Boob’ Alice –‘Pink’ – Elsie”; A nurse giving a drink to a male patient, “‘Bill’ Bullock & Brownie”; A nurse standing in front of a building, “Cora M. Charleton – Isolating Hospital, 1912.”, 1912.
Box 1 Folder 5 Photo A-1
Album page: A nurse, a doctor, and a man; Group of nurses outdoors, labeled with names; Two nurses and a doctor; a doctor and a man.
Box 1 Folder 5 Photo A-2
McKennan Ward, November 1913.
Box 1 Photo 32
Hyde Ward, November 1913.
Box 1 Photo 233
Pupil nurses, 1914.
Box 1 Photo 34
Dr. E.S. Rochfort and Dr. S. Smelin, 1913-1914.
Box 1 Photo 35
Pupil nurses, 1913.
Box 1 Photo 36
Pupil nurses with Helen Carol Howes, September 1913.
Box 1 Photo 37

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