James Walker Memorial Hospital School of Nursing - Epitome Yearbook (Wilmington, NC)

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Glass Prophecy Oh! Crystal ball may I see plainly tonight what the 1958 graduating class of James Walkeriw ill be doing twelve years from now, so that I may give them a word of encouragement and hope. The ball is clearing up, lambeginning to see dear old James W alker Memorial Hospital. Oh, how wonderful, I'm so ex- cited! There is Dorothy Aldridge and con- gratulations are in order for her. She has been appointed Director of Nurses, and now I see her assistant. My word, if it isn't Doris Jenkins Gray. Who is that with Doris? Well if it isn't Merle Murray with her, twins. It seems she has brought them to have their tonsils out. Brad must have struck an oil well, I s e e Merle is wanting Nadean Phelps to do private duty with them. However Mrs. Phelps is not pr actic ing now. How about it Dean,boy or girl? Mrs. Murray then requested that Barbara Henderson who is also doing private duty, take care of her little darlings. Gosh, the ball is getting cloudy again and I was having such fun. Wait, the cloud is pas sing and I see Dix Hill. There is Barbara Jones Puiieytland Aleine Mathis Hill coming out the door, together. Aleine is telling Barbara about Junior and Mary writing all over her newly painted walls, and Barbara says she 'doesn't h ave- much trouble with her four months old Ann writing on walls. Now they have met Romona Atkins Pollard., It seems she and Linda'Bradsher' are doing Public Health Nursing. The crystal b all is now taking me to Beaufort Grammar School where I see Ada Taylor as the school nurse. She says she enjoys her work, especially since she can keep an 'eye on her three little boys. Oh, it seems the crystal ball is filling up with water. Now, it is disappearing and I can see two bathing beauties lying on the sands of W aikiki Beach in Hawaii. It is difficult to see them for the male admirers. But I think, yes, now Iknow, it is Bonnie Brown and Annette Gore. Boy is that the life. They work only five days a week in the Military Hospital and then loaf! The crystal b all has now switched to Germ any where I see Nell and Curtis Ward. They have made Germ any their home, and from what I can see in the crystal ball it is because they can't afford to bring their six children back to the states. It s e e m s this class was ve r y broad minded, for now we are in Japan. Her e I see Bernadette Dixon in he r beautiful Air Force blues. She is now m ar ried to her Marine, Muriel Vandervier. ' This is the travelingest crystal ball I think I've ever seen. Now I see Lois P i e r c e Williamson has given up nursing all together. She is out under a to b ac co bar n shelter, fshe married a farmer! and let me see, I think Isee a little woman with three small childr en coming up the road. Yes it is Bobbie Medlin with her triplets. S e e m s she is s t i ll waiting for Ken's ship to come in. Poor thing, she was doing the same thing whenwe were students. Oh! It is getting cold and the crystal ball is filling up with snow. I see some strange place that looks like mars. No it is Alaska! My the Eskimos are many ar ound the large Iglo in the back ground. Well what do you know! It is Doris Starling Batson and Martha How ar d Russ with all their little Eskimos. Seems the Army finally got Ernest and Kenneth. The c r y s t al ball is clouding, but oh, crystal ball let me see what the future holds for our twovother classmates. I now see Dot Colemanwith Bill. They have made their home in the hills of Tennessee. I see their three children playing with the mountain goats. Well, it s e em s that Janice Albertson has finally convinced Bill it is time to settle down and raise a family. As a m atter of fact I think I hear wedding bells! The light is out, it is dark now and the crystal ball has vanished. I must go, but 1 will return in twelve ye ar S to see if I am dreaming or if this is all true. ' CLASS PROPHETS: Nell Ward .U Bobbie Medlin it .-f'

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'-VTX , 'f - lf f .fi N it In N 1 'AW P Amr .re V My hu' W ll ' ,A ,Mg 1 5 Af 0 H 1, Let's have a pajama party. 2. Anyone care to kiss the bride? 3. Guess what I've been doing today! 4. Pick the fairest of them all.- 5. Help! She's burning my eye up! il 'fr 4' ,I g -, , 4 1 di 'iv -fp? ,'f3f,',' 4 V Q 1 4. I Q-J 'M QU f. rr Yea, I'm writing that man of mine. Hey, Come in! My Herol Hey, nurses, watch this technique. My friend Josephus. 11, Two heads are better than one. 'ey

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Elass History Sometime during the week of September 19, 1955 twenty-five of us arrived at James Walker, one by one, after winning the b attle with Hurrican lone. Our big sisters came by to welcome us and gave us the lowdown , on nursing life. The first week w a s a whirl, fwe've been whirling ever sincel of a pajama party, a movie, a tea, a we iner roast, and a slew of new names and faces. At night the older students would come by and relate such wierd tales of life in the hospit al that some of us considered going home. Proudly wearing our first uniforms, lab coats, we went on duty for the first time that week, not knowing where to go or what to do. By the end of the day, we were completely e x h au s t e d from folding linen, scrubbing cabinets, and dodging doctors. By the end of the s e co nd week we were beginning to under stand what real study was. We had cl'as s e s, tests, and m o r e classes. How in the world could we le ar n all those medical terms? How would we be able to do all those procedures ?Y' Thes e and many m o r e questions w e r e frequently discussed. We trudged o ve r to Wilmington College five days a week to tackle Uncle Zeb and to try to learn some Anatomy and Physiology. For nine months we struggled, studied and ate roast beef and dressing twic e a day and Nursing Arts between meals. Of c ou r s e we had our fun on the side, e s p e cially hiding Josephus in the beds and closets, m aking mysterious phone calls to each other, having our midnight snacks on the roof, short-sheeting beds, putting salt in them, and ramshacking the rooms. Thanksgiving we received our long- aw aited for uniforms and we w e nt on duty feeling less like greenhorns . Finally the great day arrived and on May 25, 19526, we were capped ,at the First Christiani-Church. At lasthwe felt th at- we were well on our way to becoming a nurse. Now we w e r e working eight hours a day and oh! how our feet ached! Some of us went to surgery and learned how mean those old doctors were, while others pushed diet carts, and emptied bedpans. We will all remember Dr. Graham's hot appendices , Dr.Sale's T 8: A's, Dr. Hare and Hooper's Cystos, Dr. Fales' hemorrhoidecto- mies, Dr. Walker and O'Quinn's hysterecto- mies, Dr. George Johnson's endo and laps, and Dr. Koonce's gastrectomies. Somehow we pulled through that summer. Then it was back to cramming for tests again. The new class came in and, Alas! we were no longer considered to be at the foot of the ladder. At last September 19 arrived and we received our Junior bands. Fr om then until April we worried, planned, sold hose, sponsored a dance, and baby-sat to finance our Junior -Senior Banquet. Next came our vacations and immediately afterwards our class split up and a third of us went to Raleigh for our Psychiatric training. Didn't we live it up though! So m e of the girls came backwith diamonds on their fingers and stars in their eyes, others with a little band of gold , and a st ar tl ing few returned who had still not found their one and on1y . In September, the marriage rule became effective, and it seemed that the whole class was getting hitched . Now we are S e n i o r s and publishing the annual is fo r e m o s t in our minds. We have sold doughnuts, candy, hot-dogs, Christmas cards, wrapping paper, ads, and anything else you can name. That's when everyone wanted to go the other way when they saw us coming, but determination kept us going. With the help of our doctors, bless their cotton pickin' hearts, we were off to a good start. As graduation grows nigh,we are thinking of the future, and happily, but r e gr e tfu l l y, leave, taking with us the memories of thr e e wonderful, unforgettable years. Historians: Dorothy Aldridge Ramona Atkins