St. Bendict's School of Nursing is commemorated

Courtesy photo Sarah Langsdon

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A nurse graduate of the class of 1951 receives a cap from Director of Nursing Benedictine Sister Berno Flint, (second from left), and Jeane Morton, instructor and an unidentified nurse seated in the chair.

OGDEN — St. Benedict’s Hospital School of Nursing will soon be documented into history by Mount Benedict Monastery and Weber State University Stewart Library Special Collections Department.

The School of Nursing opened in 1947, under the direction of the Benedictine sisters who also ran the hospital that opened only a year earlier. By the time the program was phased out in 1968 to join forces with Weber State University’s nursing school, over 350 students had graduated.

To accomplish the documentation, graduates are being interviewed about their training, instructors and experiences. Sarah Langsdon, WSU associate curator of special collections, is coordinating the project with Marci Farr, WSU manuscript processor in special collections. To date they have interviewed 50 graduates from throughout the United States.

Ogden’s McKay-Dee School of Nursing Oral History project was completed in March, said Langsdon. “We wanted to document St. Benedict’s nursing program, which overlapped McKay-Dee’s by about five years and continued through the 1960s.”

Langsdon and Farr have heard some interesting stories about what the nurses remember. “I’ve got to find a photo of the purple Jeep with pink polka dots the sisters used to drive in the 1960s,” said Langsdon. “It’s hard to imagine them wearing habits and driving a Jeep.”

Farr’s favorite story is Judy Binkley remembering her class being so proud the night they graduated, they slept in their caps.

The nurses talked about their experiences with each other, the sisters, the patients and the doctors, said Langsdon. “Much has changed such as sharpening reusable needles, bed baths, taking out the trash and dusting the rooms,” she said. “St. Benedict’s was a Catholic-run nursing school, but they came from different denominations and religion didn’t play a part in their education. Throughout the years they were a tight-knit group and were basically together 24-hours a day.”

The students lived in dormitory rooms that had room only for a desk and two twin beds; the bathroom facility was down the hall, said Pat Brown, a 1958 graduate. “The rooms were rather sparse, but they were home to us. The bonding that took place was phenomenal, and we still keep in touch. At the time, I don’t think we looked at it as a marvelous experience, but it really was. I don’t think we could have sustained and managed if we hadn’t had the kind of support we had between us because it was a grueling experience. We used to call ourselves forced labor because the student nurses staffed the hospital. But we were capable and able.”

The nurses were given uniforms that were so heavily starched they could have stood alone, Brown said. “We wore a white belt around our waistline, a white cap and white nylons. I tried to hold on to the tradition of wearing the cap, but as electronics came into the profession, it got in the way,” said Brown, who retired as director of nursing from St. Benedict’s after 38 years.

Many of the nurses earned doctorate degrees and became professors. Iris Beckwith, a graduate of the class of 1968, became a Benedictine Sister at Mount Benedict Monastery. Benedictine Sister Stephanie Mongeon taught her nutrition in 1966. “The sisters were always so happy,” said Sr. Iris, who had no idea when she decided to become a nurse she would also become a sister. “There were 30 in my class and only 11 graduated. It was a tough program, but I had a stick-to-it personality.”

Sr. Iris graduated from nursing school and entered St. Benedict Monastery in St. Joseph, Minn., on Aug. 26, 1968. After working in various hospitals, she returned to Utah after the death of her father in 1983, to be close to her mother. Sr. Iris is now a pre-operative nurse at Ogden Regional Medical Center.

WSU will hold a reception for the graduates April 8, 2011 at WSU Stewart Library where memorabilia will be on display.