Material Type

Artifact

Date Range From

1960

Date Range To

1965

Materials

COTTON

No. Pieces

1

Height

10.5

Length

16

Width

11

Description

WHITE HEAVILY STARCHED COTTON NURSES CAP. CAP WAS A FLAT PIECE OF FABRIC FOLDED INTO A STANDUP BRIM, AND A POINTED CROWN. THERE IS THE REMNANTS OF A TAG ON THE EDGE MARKED "DONNA MELLORM?". ALSO MARKED "M.H." IN ONE CORNER. ITEM HAS THREE PAPER CLIPS ATTACHED TO KEEP HAT IN PLACE, BUT WITHOUT HAT STILL MAINTAINS SHAPE.

Subjects

CLOTHING-HEADWEAR

Historical Association

HEALTH SERVICES

EDUCATION

History

FROM DONORS UNIFORM FROM THE ST. MICHAEL'S SCHOOL OF NURSING. DONORS MAIDEN NAME WAS FLETT. FOR MORE INFORMATION SEE P19970075001-GA. *UPDATE* IN 2016 COLLECTIONS ASSISTANT RUTHANN LABLANCE CONDUCTED A SURVEY OF CLOTHING, INCLUDING A NURSE’S UNIFORM DONATED BY MARION WRIGHT. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION COMES FROM AN INTERVIEW CONDUCTED BY RUTHANN LABLANCE WITH THE DONOR, MARION WRIGHT (NEE FLETT), AND HER CLASSMATES MARLENE SIMPSON (NEE BACHMEIER) AND MARY ANN PRASKACH (NEE SERA). THE THREE WOMEN STUDIED TOGETHER AT ST. MICHAEL’S NURSING SCHOOL AND GRADUATED IN 1966. NONE OF THE THREE WOMEN HAD ANYTHING SPECIFICALLY TO SAY ABOUT THE NURSE’S CAP. THEY DID RECALL THAT THEY RELIED ON SAFETY PINS TO HOLD THEIR UNIFORMS TOGETHER. ASKED ABOUT THE OTHER NAMES WRITTEN IN HER UNIFORM, MARION REPLIED: “OH, IT WAS PROBABLY REUSED … THEY WOULD NEVER WASTE A THING, AT ST. MIKES WE WERE TAUGHT TO CONSERVE … NOTHING WAS THROWN OUT THAT COULD BE REUSED, WHETHER IT WAS ON THE NURSING UNIT OR AS FAR AS OUR UNIFORMS WERE CONCERNED. I REMEMBER ONE INCIDENT: I WORKED IN THE OPERATING ROOM AT ST. MIKES AND I BRIEFLY WORKED THE “OR” AT THE FOOTHILLS HOSPITAL AND I COULDN’T GET OVER [IT], I KEPT RUNNING TO THE GARBAGE AND PULLING OUT WHAT THEY WERE THROWING AWAY BECAUSE IT WAS STILL GOOD. AND WE WOULD NEVER CONSIDER THROWING AWAY THINGS THAT COULD BE RE-STERILIZED AND REUSED.” MARY ANN ADDED: “OUR UNIFORMS WERE WASHED FOR US. … SO WHEN WE GOT OUR UNIFORMS, SOMETIMES WE GOT THE WRONG HAT AND STUFF.” THE FOLLOWING BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION WAS COMPILED USING ARTICLES FROM THE LETHBRIDGE HERALD AND “OUT OF THE BLUE: SCIENCE, SERVICE, SANCTITY: ST. MICHAEL’S SCHOOL OF NURSING YEARBOOK 1966”. MARION WRIGHT (NEE FLETT) GRADUATED FROM THE ST. MICHAEL’S SCHOOL OF NURSING IN 1966. SHE MARRIED DR. GERALD A. WRIGHT AND AT THE TIME OF HIS PASSING IN 2007, THEY HAD BEEN MARRIED FOR 25 YEARS. GERALD WAS BORN ON MAY 7, 1917 IN SOUTH WALES. HE IMMIGRATED TO LETHBRIDGE IN 1951. HE WAS PREDECEASED BY HIS FIRST WIFE, ISOBEL WRIGHT. GERALD PASSED AWAY ON MARCH 31, 2007. SEE PERMANENT FILE FOR A TRANSCRIPT OF THE INTERVIEW AND FOR HARD COPIES FROM THE LETHBRIDGE HERALD AND “OUT OF THE BLUE:SCIENCE, SERVICE, SANCTITY: ST. MICHAEL’S SCHOOL OF NURSING YEARBOOK 1966”.

Catalogue Number

P19970075002

Acquisition Date

1997-08

Collection

Museum

Less detail