With a Dauntless Spirit

by Gramham, Effie

• ISBN13: 9781889963617
• ISBN10: 1889963615
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-08-01
• Publisher: Univ of Alaska Pr

Summary

"The itinerant nurses traveled by dog team and later by bush plane, experienced dangers and hardships their stateside colleagues could scarcely comprehend....For the most part they matched the rigors of the environment with a dauntless spirit." So read a 1954 report on the women nurses who lived and worked in rural Alaska in the first half of the twentieth century. They traveled by dog team, river boat, or sea-going vessel to isolated communities with extreme weather conditions and poor sanitation. In the days before antibiotics, they encountered epidemics of diphtheria and typhoid, as well as the enduring presence of tuberculosis in all its forms. With a Dauntless Spirit compiles a unique collection of journals, letters, and memoirs that give immediacy and vitality to the lives of these women. They ventured with a sense of duty and compassion to deliver much-needed medical services before the technical, medical, and social changes brought to Alaska by World War II and later by statehood. Despite physical hardships and emotional isolation, the spirit of these women is reflected in the adventurous, dramatic, and even joyous tone of their narratives. The arctic tests the character of many newcomers, and the nurses recount the very personal challenges that demanded choices and actions that ran contrary to their earlier socialization. Their personal sagas also have significant historical dimensions. They depict the major cultural encounters of their era that were to have such a profound impact on Alaska's future--with Native peoples, prospectors, aviation pioneers, and arctic explorers. This collection was selected from personal and archival sources by Alaska nurse educators and historians,who provide background and commentary, a brief biography of each person, and historica

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	ix
Introduction	xi
Chapter 1: Women who Could	1	(8)
Chapter 2: The Times and the Context	9	(12)
Chapter 3: We saved Some Lives: Lula Welch	21	(16)
Memoirs 69 Lula Welch (1956)	23	(14)
Chapter 4: We had More Fun Than Enough: Augusta Mueller	37	(86)
Letters written By Augusta (Gussie) Mueller, 1922-1926	40	(83)
Chapter 5: I Have Traveled Over Eleven Thousand Miles: Stella Louisa Fuller	123	(44)
Letters and Reports Written By Stella L. Fuller, 1922-1924	127	(40)
Chapter 6: The country is Beautiful, Beautiful Now: Gertrude Fergus	167	(52)
Letters written By Gertrude Fergus 1926-1927	170	(49)
Chapter 7: That Takes a Lot of Guts: Mildred Huffman Keaton	219	(40)
Excerpt from Mildred Keaton's Autobiography	224	(35)
Chapter 8: I Experienced the Lord's Providing: Alma Alvida Carlson	259	(46)
Letters written by Alma A. Carlson 1934-1947	263	(19)
Memoir, tape recorded in 1995	282	(23)
Conclusion	305	(2)
Glossary of Medical Terms	307	(6)
Bibliography	313	(4)
Appendix: From the U.S. Civil Service Commission, 8 June 1938, Concerning Appointments to the Alaska Division of the Bureau of Indian Affairs	317	(8)
Index	325