Preserving Nursing History: Knoxville General Hospital School of Nursing

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

Cleveland Daily Banner

May 7, 2014

Exhibit to highlight Knoxville General, nurse graduates

Nurses' Week in 2014 will mark an important milestone in preserving the history and legacy of East Tennessee's Knoxville General Hospital School of Nursing, which closed in 1956.

Most of the buildings and much of the hospital's history are gone now. As a result of nearly two years' worth of collective efforts, the stories and memories of the nursing school and nearly 900 incredible women who graduated from there will be safeguarded forever at a permanent museum exhibit located on the joint campus of East Tennessee State University and the VA Medical Center in Johnson City.

A Nurses' Week proclamation and exhibit unveiling will be held on Tuesday, 12:30 p.m., at the museum....

...The collected information and artifacts will be available for anyone who has an interest in the development of nursing education and practice in South Central Appalachia, as well as areas where KGH graduates were leaders - the expansion of public health in Appalachia, rural visiting nurses, and industrial medicine in such places as coal-mining camps.

After graduation, KGH nurses went to every region in the U. S. to work, and many are recognized today as pioneers in the nursing profession.

Established by the City of Knoxville in 1902, KGH was one of the first schools of nursing in the region, and women came from nearly everywhere within a 100-mile radius. As the school's reputation developed, students came from as far away as southern Florida and even Arizona. Often, women bypassed established schools closer to their homes in other states in favor of an education at the nationally recognized Knoxville hospital.

Some of the trainees were recent high school graduates. Others were widows who left small children with family members while they pursued training. Still others were more mature women, often with college backgrounds and previous work experience as teachers. Most shared similar life stories: possibly orphaned or had lost one parent young, and mostly from lower economic backgrounds.

"My recently widowed mother had to sell timber from our farm outside Rogersville so I could pay tuition," recalls Bernice Davis Gibbs, a 1941 graduate who served as an Army nurse in both World War II and Korea.

"I couldn't even afford a 2-cent stamp to send a postcard and let her know I'd gotten to Knoxville on the train OK."

Eliza Baker Hix, a 1943 graduate, almost didn't get to attend training at KGH. Someone gave her enough money to pay for tuition, books, and uniforms, but Eliza didn't have proper shoes. Everyone in her rural Hancock County community donated pennies, nickels, and dimes to collect enough for Eliza's shoes. Eliza eventually completed post-graduate study and became director of public health nursing in Sumner County,.

"Those are just two of nearly 900 equally amazing personal and professional life stories," said Billie McNamara, local historian and daughter of a KGH graduate.

Two years ago, McNamara began a "little research project" to present an overview of KGH and its nursing program at the annual KGH alumni luncheon. Little did anyone know her research would expand as far as it has.

McNamara began compiling a list of graduates and researching every single one of them.

"It has been a privilege to do this research. I have called people in every state - sometimes asking them about people they only know from family legends - trying to find stories, historical documents, and photos we can either get donated or duplicated," McNamara said.

"We started a Web site and a Facebook page, and I have spent innumerable hours reading microfilm. We're making connections and getting the word out...

Website: Knoxville General Hospital School of Nursing