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Page 13 text:
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St. Luke ' s Hospital, First Building, 1864 St. Luke ' s Hospital By the Rev. George D. Wright, Chaplain ON A SUNDAY morning early in 1864, the Rev. Clinton Locke, rec- tor of Grace Church, preached a sermon to his congregation, in the course of which he told of the great need in the city of a clean, free Christian place where sick poor might be cared for. After the service, Mrs. Locke invited some of the members of the Camp Douglas Society into the rectory to consider the matter with the rector. This society of women had been organized to supply the sick soldiers of Camp Douglas with needed comforts. The result of the interview was a request that the rector lead them in an effort to found a Church hos- pital. He consented to do so gladly. So a meeting of those interested was held on Feb- ruary 18th, 1864, at the home of Mrs. B. F. Hadduck. A simple constitution was framed and officers were elected: Rev. Clinton Locke, president; Mrs. W. Franklin and Mrs. H. W. Hinsdale, vice-presidents Mrs. B. F. Hadduck, treasurer; Mrs. Aaron Haven, secretary, and Doctor Walter Hay, house physician. A small frame house with pleasant surroundings, on State Street, near Eldredge Court, was rented and the Hospital opened with seven beds. A few months afterwards a large brick house about three blocks farther south on State Street came on the market and was rented. This af- forded room for eighteen beds. Up to this point it had been a parish enterprise. The importance of inviting the interest of Churchmen throughout the di- ocese was apparent. A meeting of some well known Churchmen, willing to act as trustees, was held and an organization per- fected and incorporated under a charter drawn up by Mr. Melville Fuller, then a member of the State Legislature, afterwards Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. This provided for holding property to the value of $100,000 free from taxation. Without Dr. Locke ' s knowledge, a clause was inserted making him president as long as he remained rector of Grace Parish. This incorporation was a great step in advance. Another was
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Page 14 text:
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taken at this time when the services of Miss Sarah Miles as matron and head of the house was secured. For many years she was the presiding genius of the hospital. The pres- ent housekeeper, Mrs. Jane Herchmer, for more than twenty-five years connected with St. Luke ' s, is a most worthy successor. Early in 1871 the hospital was moved to a large frame building on Indiana Avenue, built for a workingman ' s boarding house, and secured for the hospital through the generosity and zeal of Mr. John De Koven, the treasurer, and Mr. E. K. Hubbard, its secretary. Money for the furnishing was raised largely by a concert, netting $731, pro- moted by Mrs. John Tilden. A fair was given under the direction of Mrs. Hadduck, netting $1,212, and the first of a series of charity balls given by Mrs. N. K. Fairbank, Mrs. H. O. Stone, and friends. In October, 1871, oc- curred the great fire. St. Luke ' s, working in co-operation with the Relief and Aid So- ciety, rendered much relief to the fire suf- ferers, in turn receiving considerable ma- terial benefit. In this unpretentious building the good work was carried on with much self-sacrifice and devotion and with creditable results until 1881, when the first steps towards a new building were taken. By that time a building fund of $8,000 had accumulated. Mr. N. K. Fairbank purchased for $10,000 and donated to the hospital one hundred feet additional frontage on Indiana Avenue. He and his friends also gave $20,500 towards the pur- chase of one hundred feet frontage on Mich- igan Avenue just back of the Indiana Ave- nue site. Gifts of $25,000 from Dr. Tolman Wheeler and of $5,000 each from Messrs. N. K. Fairbank, J. W. Doane, P. D. Armour, E. H. Sheldon, C. K. Cummings, Marshall Field, and George Armour, encouraged the trustees to proceed with the building. The corner stone was laid on All Saints Day, 1882. The full plan consisted of five build- ings with connecting corridors. Four of them were erected at this time. The total cost was $151,037, all of which except $10,000 had been subscribed on the date of the opening, January 29th, 1885. A donation of $25,000 from the estate of W. B. Ogden, and a gift of $5,000 from Mr. E. H. Sheldon helped materially to this result. The necessity for a Training School was now pressing, and Dr. Owens and Mrs. Locke set themselves to the task. A school was soon organized on the general plan of the Illinois Training School for Nurses. Under the di- rection of Miss Lett, Miss Hutchinson, the late Miss Johnstone and Miss Collins, this School became well established, and took an enviable position in the nursing world. Com- fortable quarters for the nurses were pro- vided in 1886, when Mr. Byron Smith added two stories to the west building at an ex- pense of $13,000, one floor for the obstetrical department, and the other for the nurses. This year $10,000 from the estate of Mr. John De Koven, and $15,000 from that of Mrs. Clarissa Peck were added to the en- dowment fund. In the year 1888 the John- ston wing of the hospital was begun. Mr. Samuel Johnston, a Churchman, had left $55,000 by legacy, which his family desired should be used for this building. Mr. W. H. Getty gave $1,000 to furnish the Getty Ward, Mrs. W. G. Hibbard $1,000 to furnish the Hibbard Ward, and various other friends money to furnish the rooms on the top floor. Miss Florence Pullman, now Mrs. Frank O. Lowden, furnished the beautiful children ' s ward in a most complete manner. The ca- pacity of the hospital was then increased to 152 beds. Additional room for nurses was required. This was furnished by raising the attic of the northwest pavilion, for which Mrs. E. H. Stickney gave $900. Her interest in the nurses finally culminated in a bequest of $55,000 for the erection of a nurses ' home in memory of her husband, by which pleas- ant quarters for fifty nurses were provided. This building was opened in 1898, when there were forty-two nurses on the roll. In August, 1891, an organization known as the Association of the Blue Cross was incorporated, to provide means of every character for the benefit of nurses, to take care of them in illness, accident or misfor-
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