Identifier:
2016.15.3
Description:
This apron has student signatures throughout from the class of 1964 at Blodgett Hospital School of Nursing. An attached tag reads: “We the class of 1964 who have broken and started many traditions do will this autographed apron to Mrs. Hole as a symbol of the ending of a grand tradition.” Historical records usually depict nurse training as an experience that is formal, regulated, and labor intensive. However, amongst the students, there were many informal rites of passage that they experienced. After students graduated from their blue and white striped probationary uniform, the garment was considered useless because they would be getting a new white one. It was not uncommon for the uniform to be destroyed in some way, either ceremonially torn into pieces or burned. In this case, the white apron was autographed, also making the uniform useless for work but a keepsake of classmates and colleagues. The black stockings and shoes which were unpopular with the probationary nurses (as they would also be getting white ones after the probationary period) would also be destroyed or as some classes recall, throwing them into a lake. This did happen on at least one occasion for the Blodgett nurses. This behavior was generally tolerated by the administration as long as the activities were not done in public. This signed apron is a record of these significant and often undocumented moments of a nurse’s life in training that include the rituals and camaraderie they shared as students.
Date:
1964
Materials:
Cotton
Current Location Status:
In Storage
Collection Tier:
Tier 2
Source:
Gift of Blodgett Hospital School of Nursing Alumni Association
Related Entity:
Blodgett School of Nursing Alumni Association (donor)
Related Objects:
Related Place:
Grand Rapids
