Windsor Locks High School - Herald Yearbook (Windsor Locks, CT)

Page 21 text:

THE HIGH SCHOOL HERALD 19 We were shown the Male Ward and just beyond this ward we saw the Canary Room. The Canaries, women volunteer workers, assist in the hospital, thus re¬ lieving nurses of minor duties. Our tour so far had included the main work of the hospital, but now we came to the section of the hospital which, even though it is not in the public eye, is of great importance. This section includes the supply room, special diet kitchen, and main kitchen, which serves 1200 meals a day. The diet kitchen provides the diet for those who cannot cat the ordinary meals served, as they might prove insufficient and even harmful. From the supply room come the provisions for the main kitchen and special diet kitchen. We left the main hospital building and entered the Educational Building, which included a large library where students studying nursing arc able to gather helpful information and reference material for their studies. Student nurses have classes in the nutrition and chemistry building, where they receive preliminary training for their future work. The nurses’ dormitory includes small cozy rooms which have that homey at¬ mosphere which enables the girls to relax in their free hours. Our tour ended here, but the rooms we visited will long be remembered. Be¬ hind the professional walls of a hospital lie the close relationship and co-operation among all members of the hospital staff in their constant fight for humanity. Here is enacted daily the story of life and death. After my visit through the St. Francis Hospital, I can understand why the hos¬ pitals of America, of which the St. Francis is a fine example, are marked with distinction and honor, for here more than anywhere else is true Americanism shown. Here basically is shown no difference between the rich or poor, nor is there any racial or religious differences, for the hospital of America strives only to aid and benefit mankind. Elsie Colo ’47 STORIES NEIGHBORS We were siftin ' on our porch two weeks ago last Sunday evenin’, gettin’ the air and seein’ the scenery, when we saw Mr. Evans, the man who moved in a few weeks ago across the street, putterin’ ’round in his small garden. John, that’s my husband, said to Letty Eskins, my best friend, Seems as if Mr. Evans is havin’ a good time in that garden. Wonder why his wife don’t come out in the air. It must be swelterin’ in the house.” Letty speaks right up in that fresh way she has and says, Don’t seem to me the old man even has a wife. Nobody ever saw her.” I spoke up then, becuz I know how fast John can get riled up over nothin’, ’specially if someone says anythin’ against anyone, Letty, maybe the old lady is sick. They’re pretty old, the both of ’em. P’raps she can’t get up and around. John follers me right up by sayin’, Yes, Letty, the old man walked downtown with me yesterd’y and he said % the old lady wasn ' t feelin’ too good. Letty gives him her arrogant look and just says, Hump, you have an awful lot of faith in somebody you don’t even know, John,” CN Page

Page 20 text:

18 the high school herald Surely, with all these magic preparations at her disposal, the modern girl should be just as beautiful as the dazzling heroine of the fairy-tale of old. So all you lassies who are not especially favored by Mother Nature, can now, through the magic of cosmetics, blossom into the beautiful maiden of whom you have al¬ ways dreamed. Aileen Rouleau ’45 A SIGHT SEEING TOUR THROUGH A SCIENTIFIC WONDERLAND Have you ever been on a tour which has proved to be one of the highlights in your educational development? I have taken such a tour through the St. I rancis Hospital, and it has proved to be not only a place of interest but has shown me a new world of research and discovery. The St. Francis Hospital stands as one of Hartford s most prominent institu¬ tions, for within its walls, where recovery and death are always in evidence, doctors and nurses strive constantly to aid in the fight to preserve life. Under Sister Alice Mary’s guidance we first visited the Out Patient ward, where Miss Coleman, the nurse in charge, explained fully the purpose of this ward which is for those persons who have been discharged from the hospital but who must return for check-ups, change of bandages, for treatment and x-rays. VC e took the elevator and came to one of the most impressive sights in our tour, the operating rooms of the St. Francis. Here daily is played in those silent rooms, the drama of restoring health and giving back life to its patients. The hospital contains three major operating rooms which include a brain op¬ eration room. The main purpose of this room is to reflect as little light as pos¬ sible, since the brain is so sensitive that strong light would render the operation unsuccessful. With this thought in mind, the room is done in light green tiling with gray curtains, drawn during the operation and with the doctors and nurses wearing gray during the operation, to create the atmosphere of subdued light. Other special operating rooms are used for tonsils, kidney, and fracture operations. We also visited the pathological laboratories where metabolism tests, bac¬ teriology count and blood count tests are taken. The x-ray laboratory contains a diagnostic room .and developing room which proved to be most interesting. The floor of the diagnostic room is entirely in rubber, so as to protect the doctor as well as the patient from being burned by the electrical facilities used. Before an x-ray picture is completed it must go through many processes in the developing room. Here it must stand from five to seven minutes in solution: fifteen minutes must be allowed for hardening; one half hour to wash it, and one and a half hours to dry it, and then the x-ray is completely developed. We next turned to the ward where new life is being constantly ushered into this world, the Maternity Ward. This ward includes a formula room where bot¬ tles are sterilized, tabbed individually for each child and later filled with the cor¬ rect formula of milk for each baby. Another section of the ward could be called a School for Mothers, for here all mothers are taught to care for their babies properly when they leave the hospital. We viewed several private wards and looked in on some of the patients. The pediatrics wing, which is the children s ward of the hospital, is enclosed partly in windows so that the nurse may observe the patients within, while she is perform¬ ing other duties. o CN Page

Page 22 text:

20 THE HIGH SCHOOL HERALD John never likes to argue a point if he can help it becuz he always gets too hot under the collar. So he just closes his lips tight-like when he gets mad, and Letty knew better than to say anythin more. She d clashed with John before. The next day, that was Monday, I did my washing real early and was gettin ready to bake a cake, when the idea hits me to send a cake over to old Mrs. Evans seein ' that she wasn’t able enough to bake one for herself. So I starts in and bakes her one, too. About 2:30 I puts on a clean apron and hot foots it over next door carryin’ my cake all covered up in waxed paper. I went round to the back door and knocked, but I didn t get any answer. I knocked again but still I didn’t hear any- thin . When I knocked the third time and still no answer, I went back home thinkin’ the old lady was nappin’. When John came home about 5 :30, I tole him to take a run over with the cake. He came back sayin that the old man took it from him and said his wife would appreciate it. Well, that made me feel good becuz I done my good deed for the day. Tuesday—no, I guess it was Wednesday, I was havin’ a hot stew fer supper. No matter how hot the weather is, John always wants his hot soup or stew, so I always have it hot fer him. It was mighty good, too. Well, I was puttin’ on the stew when the idea comes to me to send some over to Mrs. Evans. Hot stew always could cure anybody’s ails. When it was done, nice and savoury, I puts some in a bowl and goes across the street. I knocked on the door and then I knocked again, but like the time be¬ fore, I didn’t get any answer. Then I got real worried, becuz John tole me that the old man was plannin ' to go out o’ town fer a few days, and I thought that maybe the old lady got sicker er somethin’, and she couldn ' t get ’round to call fer help. I tried the door, but it was locked. I ran ’round to the front door and it was open, and I walked in to a sort of hall with stairs leadin’ up to the second story. There was nobody in the kitchen, but there was two places set at the table. No food was cookin on the table though and that seemed mighty funny to me becuz I don’t see any sense in settin’ a table unless there’s food to put on it. I peeked in the other rooms, but nobody was there either, and the place was pretty clean, too. I guessed the old lady must have been pretty clean for someone so old. Then I started up the stairs to the bedrooms. I knew the old lady must ’a been up there if she wasn’t downstairs. She wasn’t in the first room, and it didn’t look as if it had ever been used, so I went in the other room. The old man’s pipes and books was layin’ on the table, and his clothes was in the closet, but not a sign of anythin ' that might ’a belonged to a woman. I just couldn’t understand it. Then I looked up on the wall over the bed and saw a picture. It was one of them painted portraits of an old lady with white haif and pearls. Under the pic¬ ture it said: . r Lydia Evans, beloved wife of Avery Evans Born 1850 — Died 1928 Then I understood, the old man was livin’ in his memories. I went home, takin’ the stew with me becuz I didn’t want him to know I ' d been there and knew his secret. CN CN Page