Duke Medical Center Archive Blog

This week the School of Nursing welcomes back its graduates for their annual Reunion Weekend. In honor of the occasion, we shine our spotlight on a special part of the School of Nursing Records: the scrapbooks. Coincidentally, it was during a Reunion Weekend in 2006 that these scrapbooks were donated to the Archives. There are 11 scrapbooks in all, covering a 30-year period, from 1952-1984.

Highlights include two scrapbooks from nursing conventions. The first is of the 1952 Biennial Nursing Convention held in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It features a conference program, registration directory, and many newspaper clippings about the event. Pictured on the right are two pages and the cover. The second is from the 1965 National Student Nurses’… MORE

Category: Collection Highlights

Duke University Graduate School has released The Education of Ida Owens: Science, Civil Rights, and the Integration of Duke University, a documentary about the life and work of Ida Stephens Owens, the first African American woman to receive a doctorate from Duke University. Owens was recruited to the graduate school in 1962 by Dr. Daniel C. Tosteson, then chair of the Department of Physiology, and under the mentorship of Dr. Jacob J. Blum, James B. Duke Professor Emeritus of Cell Biology, received her PhD in physiology in 1967. Owens went on to establish a well respected research lab at the National Institutes of Health.

The DUMC Archives contributed… MORE

Category: News

The DUMC Archives is happy to announce that we have added more historic photographs to MEDSpace. Over two dozen images from the 1930’s to the 1990’s have been uploaded to the digital repository. Included are portraits key faculty and staff, views of campus buildings, and photos of medical and nursing students (such as the 1950's image of nursing students to the right).

The new additions can be viewed by scrolling down to the bottom of MEDSpace’s homepage and clicking the “Recent Additions” tab on the far right. While some of the people in these images have been identified, others have not. You can help us identify individuals by visiting our Demystify… MORE

Category: News

The architecture of Duke’s campus has been long admired for its gothic features and manicured gardens. Even modern structures, like the Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans Center for Health Education, are gorgeous from every angle. Yet it is beneath their exteriors that these walls become truly interesting. The Davison and Seely G. Mudd buildings, for example, share a design feature not found elsewhere in the medical center: each has a columbarium.

The idea for a columbarium began in 1949 when the Executive Committee of the Medical School formed a subcommittee, chaired by Dr. Wiley Forbus, to draft a proposal on how to commemorate the founding of the medical school. The initial proposal recommended murals be painted to honor significant events and… MORE

Category: DUMC History

We are happy to announce that our new exhibit, “The Medical Garden,” is now on display at the Medical Center Library. Highlighting herbs and flowers from the Library’s medical garden, the exhibit features plant specimens, botanical illustrations, and archival materials. Items from the DUMC Archives on display include Wilburt Davison's botany notebook from his undergraduate days at Princeton and materials on poisonous plants from the Jay Arena Papers.

The idea for a medical garden was first suggested by Susan Carlton Smith Cavanagh, the Assistant Curator of the Trent Collection, who also worked as a botanical illustrator. In 1976, she and the Curator of the Trent Collection, G.S.T.… MORE

Category: News

This article first appeared in the February 2014 issue of the Medical Center Library's newsletter.

In honor of Black History Month, this look back at DUMC history features Duke’s licensed practical nursing (LPN) program. When it began in 1948, there were already several others in the state. Duke’s was unique, however, as it was the only one in North Carolina established exclusively for training African American nurses. (To the right is a photo of some of the program's first students.)

The program, known as the Practical Nurse School at Hillside High School, was a collaborative effort between Duke University Hospital, the Durham City Schools, and the North Carolina Department of… MORE

Category: DUMC History

Love is in the air! This week, in honor of Valentine’s Day, we highlight two notable couples from Duke Medicine’s past. These men and women were not just couples, but also colleagues, committed to the work and mission of Duke Medicine. 

First are Dr. Joseph Beard and Dorothy Beard (pictured right). The Beards came to Duke in 1937 after meeting at Vanderbilt University in the late 1920s. Dorothy trained as a surgical nurse and became an important part of Joseph Beard’s research team. Joseph Beard was one of the few Duke doctors at the time to focus entirely on research and teaching. Just one year after arriving at Duke, the Beards developed the first usable vaccine for equine encephalomyelitis, a disease… MORE

Category: DUMC History

The Archives has many publications created over the course of Duke University Medical Center's history. One we're especially fond of is Shifting Dullness, a newsletter produced entirely by Duke medical students.

When Shifting Dullness began in 1968, its earliest issues were often a single page of announcements and events. Over the years, though, it grew, and by the 1990’s the publication had become a space for medical students to discuss professional issues as well as personal interests. Issues averaged 16 pages and included a wide variety of content: articles about the student code of conduct… MORE

Category: Collection Highlights

Similar to badges, patches are a form of official identification often affixed to a uniform. These range from simple name tags to much more elaborate designs. Historically patches feature symbols and colors of importance to the organization. While there are different varieties of patches, embroidered are the most common. 

Over the years, Duke has produced patches for various staff and units affiliated with the Medical Center. The Archives has a representative selection of these within our collection. Pictured on the right is the patch from a Cadet Nurse uniform. In the center is a white Maltese Cross on a scarlet and gray background. The cross symbolized caring for the sick. The Cadet Nurse Corps began… MORE

Category: Collection Highlights

In honor of the Medical Center Library’s Trent Room being renamed the Richmond House Room this month, the Archives is highlighting materials from our collections about its history in the display case on Level 2 of the Library.

The Richmond House Room is a 1730 period room containing pine paneling, bookcase doors, and fireplace surround removed from the Richmond House in Plaistow, England, which was once the seat of the Duke of Richmond. The room was donated to Duke in 1956 by Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans and architect Karl Block. (To the right is an image of the room's first visitors during the 1956 dedication ceremony.)

The room’s first location on campus was at the Duke University Hospital library in the Davison… MORE

Category: News

Happy Holidays from the Medical Center Archives staff! While gifts exchanged vary year to year, cards have stayed a consistent part of the holiday ritual. In this post we extend our seasons’ greetings through the cards of Christmas past – three, to be exact.

The first card (pictured right) was sent by Dr. Norman Ross of the 65th General Hospital Unit to his wife in 1943 while he was stationed overseas in England. In a departure from the traditional red and green color scheme, this card features a patriotic red, white and blue illustration. (The 65th General Hospital Unit was organized by Duke to serve in the allied war effort during World War II.)

Pictured on the left is a 1962 holiday card by medical artist Elon Clark.… MORE

Category: Collection Highlights

The DUMC Archives is happy to announce that we have added more historic photographs to MEDSpace. Over 30 images spanning the 1930's to the 1990's have been added to the digital repository. Included are mock clinic and student-faculty show performances (such as the 1950 image to the right), views of the medical campus, 1940's photos of the Medical Art and Illustration staff, 1980's pictures of Duke North, 1960-70's photos of the hospital pharmacy, and early images of nursing students.

The new images can be viewed by scrolling down to the bottom of MEDSpace’s homepage and clicking the “Recent Additions” tab on the far right. While some of the people in these images have been identified… MORE

Category: News

With this post we’re starting a new feature, "Collection Spotlight," which will focus on a particular collection at the DUMC Archives. For our first in this series, we're excited to highlight the papers of Russell Dicks, a pioneer in modern pastoral care who worked at Duke during the 1950s.

Born in Oklahoma in 1906, Dicks received his BA from the University of Oklahoma in 1929 and his BD from Union Theological Seminary in 1933. He served as chaplain at Massachusetts General Hospital and multiple hospitals in Chicago before joining Duke in 1948 as a professor of pastoral care, the director of clinical pastoral training, and the chaplain of Duke University Hospital.

Dick’s methods and ideas about pastoral psychology,… MORE

Category: Collection Spotlight

In honor of Thanksgiving, we wanted to highlight this 1967 holiday issue of the Intercom, Duke Medicine’s primary news publication from 1953 to 1986. The cover story, “All This to Cook the Turkey,” gives a behind-the-scenes look at the dietetics staff’s work to prepare a special “home cooked” Thanksgiving meal for patients. The amount of planning, preparation, and food involved may surprise you. Check out a few highlights below, or click on the image to enlarge and read the full article.

1967 Thanksgiving dinner at Duke University Hospital:

• All 246 dietetics staff pitched in to help prepare meals for 1,000 individuals
• Preparation began several days before Thanksgiving, with a… MORE

  Category: DUMC History

The School of Medicine class of 1958 was among those honored at the Medical Alumni Weekend last month. During this event we were reminded of a unique group of students from this class. A few musically inclined students formed the group called The Fungus Five (they later expanded and were renamed The Syphilitic Six). The members (pictured on right) were Roger Berry (guitar), John Thorton Dunn (piano), David Randolph Jones (mandolin), James Davis Mallory (banjo), John Halloway Milam (clarinet), and George Edward Cassady II (drums). 

Similar to the Student-Faculty Shows, the goal of The Fungus Five was to make the audience laugh. They sang in a country/folk style about various ailments and life as medical… MORE

Category: Collection Highlights